We were waiting – and it’s here: the Age of the Hate Crime.
Photo/illustration Ryn Gargulinski
We already have an accusation going down in Phoenix, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.
Juan Varela, 44, a third-generation Mexican-American, was shot dead May 6 while outside watering a tree in his Phoenix yard.
Varela’s neighbor, 50-year-old Gary Thomas Kelley, was arrested for the killing and is facing charges of second-degree murder.
Kelley allegedly stuck a gun in Varela’s neck and pulled the trigger. Police initially said the reason behind the killing was either an ongoing feud between the two neighbors or a case of Kelley being drunk and disgruntled – Kelley was holding a beer when arrested.
Varela’s family wants the slaying classified as a hate crime. And now police are saying well, OK maybe.
“Investigators said (Kelley), who was arrested immediately after the shooting, repeated a racial slur several times and told Varela to ‘go back to Mexico’ or he would die,” the Republic reports. “Phoenix police Bias Crimes Unit investigators are looking into the allegations of a hate crime.
“The victim’s brother and mother, Antonio and Paula Varela, each filed harassment injunctions against Kelley this week in (Maricopa County) Superior Court.”
No killing is a good killing – but those motivated by bias are even more senseless and tragic.
If convicted, Kelley genuinely deserves punishment that fits the magnitude and motivation of the crime.
And now the floodgates have been opened.
Every other killing, assault, robbery, car crash and bike theft may now come riddled with accusations of being a hate crime.
Just watch.
A quick glance at FBI statistics show 9,691 people were victims of hate crimes across the nation in 2008. The total number of violent crimes for that period was more than 1.3 million.
The majority of the hate crimes, 51 percent, were motivated by race with anti-black crimes at the top (anti-white placed second); nearly 18 percent were motivated by religion with anti-Jewish at the top; more than 17 percent were motivated by sexual orientation with anti-male homosexuals at the top; 12 percent were motivated by ethnicity or national origin with anti-Hispanic at the top; and nearly 1 percent were motivated by a disability, with anti-mental disability over anti-physical disability.
Arizona reported 185 hate crime incidents for 2008, a total that represented 6 million residents, which happens to be on par with the population of the entire state. The number of residents listed in these state statistics reflect the “population represented” by the reporting agencies, which is not necessarily the state’s entire population.
Keeping the population in mind, Arizona was still not near the top of the list.
California, with 36 million residents represented, reported 1,381; New Jersey, 8 million represented, reported 744; New York, 17 million represented, reported 570; Michigan, 9 million represented, reported 560; Ohio, 9 million represented, reported 345; and Massachusetts, 6 million represented, reported 333.
The states with the fewest hate crimes reported include Mississippi, with a represented population of 750,000, with four; Wyoming, represented population 500,000, with six; Alaska, represented population 280,000, with eight; and Georgia, represented population 550,000, with nine. The full state statistic table is available at www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2008/data/table_12.html
Since the “fever pitch” of anguish and anger over illegal immigration issues does not look like it’s going to break anytime soon, we should keep an eye on Arizona hate crime statistics to see if they do, in fact, increase.
The fever’s fire is also being constantly fed with more potential boycotts, like the rumor of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game moving out of Phoenix and interpretations of the Arizona law that read something like the description found in the Republic article.
“Arizona’s new law makes it a crime to be in the state illegally.” Is it not already a crime to be in the country illegally?
But maybe that’s not the point. The point is the law was never enforced. Ugly things happen when big issues are consistently ignored, only to rear up and bite us in the kneecap. We’re witnessing those things right now.
[tnipoll]
What do you think?
Are you outta here yet?
Will this “fever pitch” die down anytime soon?
Have you or someone you know been the victim of a hate crime? Was it prosecuted as such?
Better re-check those stats for Georgia-the state has way more than 550,000 residents-Atlanta alone has 4-5 times that many.3
hey jerry –
thanks – I double checked – appears the population number is the “population represented” – meaning that x number of agencies reported hate crimes and these agencies cover x number of people in this particular state, not the entire population (as you pointed out).
thanks again. will amend.
Yes, these are uncommon crimes. They represent the tip of the iceberg; those people who are drunk enough or disturbed enough to act out their prejudices in a violent way. There is real danger though. I don’t expect a sudden upsurge in violent drunkeness or mental illness, but, human behavior being what it is, if people perceive approval from the crowd or a lack of individual responsibility in certain circumstances, they are more likely to act in ways they wouldn’t otherwise. This facet of human behavior explains why people will stare at someone who has collapsed in public while waiting to see what someone else will do and also how lynch mobs operate.
hiya leftfield,
i am glad these crimes are so uncommon – but i’m also guessing part of the reason stats are so low is because it’s so tough to PROVE motivation. same reason animal cruelty cases often go unpunished as such – authorities have to PROVE the intent was to harm.
my theory is not so much that hate crimes will increase but ACCUSATIONS of hate crimes will skyrocket. since our society is already infected with the politically correct mindset, throwing hate crimes into the mix seems a natural progression. so many are already so quick to accuse others of prejudice, etc.
case in point: i was reading a recent sports column on tiger woods and how the author was glad tiger was messing up because he was sick of tiger’s public apologies and blah blah blah. from the get-go comments attacked the (white) columnist of being racist.
it’s become that ridiculous.
One person’s PC is another persons obvious injustice. There will be accusations of hate crimes that are unfounded (e.g. Tawana Brawley) and, then, there will also be what are clearly hate crimes like the one you reported an above. The courts will have to sort them out. Better to go through one hundred false hate crime reports than to let one get by unnoticed, IMO.
i will agree with 100 false reports better than letting one hate crime slip by – but i’m also bracing for the flood of perhaps FICTIONAL reports such as brawley-ism.
not subjective, but out-and-out lies.
Drugs, alcohol, and fire arms are a dangerous combination. I think this man was so drunk that he let his emotions take over his actions. Now he will serve many years behind bars and when sober he will be regretful for ever the rest of his life.
hi al,
i hear ya – i also remember reading stats that something like more than 70 percent of crimes committed are committed by those under the influence.
yes, this guy will hopefully have PLENTY of time to sit in his cell and review his behavior.
Militant activist groups have simply targeted AZ as a media op-ed in their attempts to force our politicians to change laws to give amnesty to illegals.
Truth is – every state has been invaded…and we need to fine employers 10K for each illegal hired so that they self-deport.
This is an “isolated incident.” Any other position is just sensationalism. Good luck with your journalism career!
thanks, defendurrights,
good luck with commenting career!
ahahahahahah! Good one Rynski! 🙂
“Militant activist groups have simply targeted AZ…”
Yes, the Republicans in the Arizona legislature could fairly be called “militant activists”.
I say ‘hi’ to my neighbors, give them lemons or oranges from my trees, a small flower arrangement of the roses I grow, share food when I make big batches, or even help them pull weeds or paint their house.
Killing a guy while he’s watering his tree? You gotta shoot a guy like that. He sounds scary! (note the sarcasm)
Neighbors help neighbors…period.
How and why can you hate anyone so much? There is no reason for this behavior.
i’ve said it before and will say it again – azmouse is the BEST neighbor!
even if i’m less than neighborly, just because i like to keep to self, and even though some of my own neighbors are less than neighborly, just because they engage in bike boy antics or have dogs that attack, doesn’t mean we’re going to go around shooting each other.
so much hate – WRATH – is awful, i agree – and just when we thought gluttony was the deadly sin that would do us in.. (haha).
Please let me know when your neighbor moves out, I wanna rent the house next door to you, Much Love,~A “hump concern” is the captua
I’m thrown off by your ‘leftfield’ avatar, Andrew!
HA!
I thought that was how we all treat our neighbors but I’m learning me and my neighbors may be the exception?
Brownies for the Mom’s and Dad’s on Mother’s/Father’s Day, baskets for all on Easter, cupcakes on the Fourth of July, plates of goodies for Christmas…..and we all look out for each other.
Let’s hope good comes from stories like this one and more neighbors will actually start being neighborly.
Neighborly: of, relating to, or characteristic of congenial neighbors; especially : friendly <a neighborly welcome>
synonyms see amicable
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, is it not?
That is surely what I’ve heard.
Predicting that the floodgates are now open, that now there will be more and more claims of hate crimes, adds to the hysteria that’s been generated by Arizona’s stance on immigration.
The reality appears to be, in this particular situation, that a man displayed his hate through racial slurs and “Go back to Mexico” declarations to a man who is a third generation Mexican American (USA, in this case as Mexican American could also apply to Mexico which is in North America also).
The truth is: there might be more people accusing someone of committing a hate crime but there will definitely be more actual hate crimes as that’s what comes out of the kind of mentality that seems to be prevailing right now due to Arizona’s law which is a major hate crime in and of itself if we look at it closely enough.
We need to, as a society, act a bit more “azmouseish,” if you will, and try to care more about each other.
awww, you certainly are right on with your last sentiment, erniemccray –
we all need to be more azmouseish – hahah.
perhaps you’re right on the floodgate prediction adding to the hysteria? – but i don’t know.
the whole climate already feels like one big hate fest.
i didn’t/don’t think that a prediction COULD add to the hysteria, as how much higher could the hysteria go? (maybe i should be safe and not even ask that question…)
good to hear from you, ernie!
Hey: “…”how much higher could the hysteria go?” Touche, Ryn. Have a good one.
By the way ernie, good to see you on here. It’s been a while…..hope you’re still doing your beautiful writing and hanging tough.
A few months back (or more, actually!) My Dad and I were at the UofA basketball game when you were honored. That was great! Then you had that brilliant article written about you in the paper.
At the time of the game, we couldn’t hear what they were saying exactly. After I read the story in the paper, I realized it was you, our blogging buddy! I told my Dad about that and my Dad realized after seeing the story about you, that he remembered you from high school.
It’s a small world……
Yeah, azmouse. It is a small world. Is your dad an “old” classmate of mine? It’s really something to be honored for something one did such a long time ago and couldn’t come anywhere near doing it anymore. That’s how so many pasts get embellished, I guess.
I think Dad said he did know you from Tucson High? (he ended up graduating from Catalina after it was built. Also, he may have said he was a year younger than you?)
May or may not ring a bell, his name is Phil Harris.
Azmouse:
My kids always tell me, “Dad, you think you know everybody (because I know a lot of people from having worked with thousands of kids and their families)” – but I think I do remember your dad. It seems like I remember him being teased every now and then because he had the same name as a radio star of the time. Phil Harris, of course. And I remember a few of the Catalina people (oh, we were so crowded at Tucson High), Mary Lou Doolen, Bill Mower, Jim Seal, Kirk Young, Bud Doolen, Jr….Doolen Elementary or is it Doolen Jr. High was named after Mary Lou Doolen and Bud Doolen’s dad, who was my basketball coach until he died my junior year. Anyway, it’s always exciting trying to remember somebody, to remember the times of your youth especially if you were having a good time and I had one heckofa time growing up in the Old Pueblo, playing ball, singing doo wop beneath wiltering shade trees (I used to feel for plants in the blistering sun because they couldn’t go inside and sit in front of a swamp cooler), acting in church plays, hustling “chicks” (oh, we thought we were so cool and slick and girls would look at us and go “Get real, McNeil!), picking cotton in Marana to get money for the picture show or UA ball games, drinking way too much, clowning and chanting: “What’s the word?” “Thunderbird!” “What’s the price?” “Thirty twice!” “Who drinks the most?” “Colored folks!” – azmouse, don’t you tell anybody I told you that (smile). It’s a wonder we survived and some of us didn’t survive. More than a fair share of my homeys didn’t make it. They gave in to the racism of the times, the belief that they really were “less than” like society was preaching to us. Racism rips the heart out of children because they have no way of understanding such unreasonableness that’s why what’s happening in Arizona now bothers me so deeply. It’s deja vu. I know some brown child is quivering in his or her boots, feeling like dirt, wondering: Que paso? And they don’t have answers unless they find out as I did: it’s up to you to make it, to be loving, to be caring, to understand that you’re unique and talented, to reach out and most of all: don’t treat anyone as “less than.” I’ve been involved in African American and Chicano studies and the whole idea is to show students that they have worth, that they have a history that’s intertwined with our country’s complex stories. It’s not about teaching hatred as has been stated in this website. I’m sure some instructor somewhere has gotten a bit overzealous with the message but such is an individual case and should be dealt with as such because most teachers of these courses want to just help the students get it right.
Anyway, tell your dad “Hi” if for no other reason than we shared some pretty exciting times crammed into school buildings like sardines.
Hi Ernie-I see you’ve been going back and forth with Jim Kelley. For as long as you can stand it, you’ll have to carry the torch with little support. Most folks who are not simpatico with Jim Kelley’s POV have been banned from his blog, myself included. Don’t let ’em bring you down.
What a world, eh?
Awww, thanks you guys. I get joy from making people happy, so I’m really just being selfish!
well we can wait on the white jesus to fix this (his people, white) since they are his creation hmm.
My daughter who is half Swedish, 1/4 Mexican American and 1/4 Lebanese (decendancy) emailed me from Washington the other day and said she is no longer calling Arizona her home state. With all this hysteria, should I be worried about her coming to visit? She has olive skin and dark hair. Guess she better make sure she has her passport if she does!
hi susan,
wow – that is crazy. thanks for input. what a shame about arizona no longer being called her home state.
the ancestry sounds like a gorgeous mix.
i just hope the hysteria dies down soon. it has to. then we all can sleep better at night.
Susan, I’m really sorry your daughter feels that way but I hope she continues to have pride in her home state.
I personally DO think we need to protect our borders, which doesn’t mean I feel SB 1070 is the way to do it, but I’m glad it’s making people talk about what can be done and which way to do it.
Your daughter sounds beautiful, by the way 🙂
Too bad for your daughter, to seem to have such prejudice.
Obviously she is giving into the hyped-up hysteria going on.
Arizona STANDS PROUDLY FOR THE LAW AND FOLLOWING
WHAT IS RIGHT AND NOT WRONG – JUST THE OPPOSITE OF
WHAT THE ILLEGAL ALIEN LAW-BREAKERS STAND FOR.
Too bad that you also seem to be pulled into all the fantasy
B. S. that all the hype has created. DON’T DO THE CRIME/BREAK
THE LAW(S) AND YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO FEAR
OR WORRY ABOUT!
I just hope everyone knows, I am not related to the alleged perpetrator.
At first I had my doubts, but when I found out that the victim was shot and not merely annoyed until his despair was so great he could no longer go on, I knew it wasn’t you.
Lefty that is the most truthfiul analysis I have ever read from you.
Jim, since you’re a friend of Rynski I’m sure she will not run the article ad nauseum on her macabre dead blog site.
She usually only continues to rerun story that match her political, social and ecomonic agenda and sometimes just for spite. Gotta watch out for those red heads. Are there red headed blood sucking vampires? Just sarcasm.
Don’t worry Jim, we all know that only illegals are capable of such acts and we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and call this a hate crime. Just sarcasm.
dearest pesquiera,
you do flatter me deeply, but i am sorry i must burst your bubble and confess that i do not suck blood.
i leave that task to my pet rats and bats.
Hey Rynski: You don’t know what you’re missing. My son Willi and I used to take a nice big thick NY Strip steak out camping in the desert with us and just cut it up into bite-size cubes and eat it raw with black rind NY Sharp Cheddar Cheese & crackers, washed down with a few cold Cerveza Pacificos and maybe a shot or two of Hornitos, over a nice open campfire. IT was a tossup as to who howled at the moon the loudest . . . the coyotes, or us. <g>
What a way to end a good day of hunting, bonding with your son, and the bird dog.
Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba
ferraribubba – i can hear the howling from here! hahahahahhahah
Hey Rynski! Pesky seems to think you have an agenda.
If so, please state it now for the record.
I have been reading your blogs since the demise of the Citizen as a newspaper.(actually a little before, shhhhhh!) 😉
Your ‘agenda’ plumb evades me, I just enjoy your perspective and the humor you bring to your articles.
From equal pay for days work, to smoking marijuana because nothing else in this crazy world seems to be working, to visits to haunted houses and graveyards…I wouldn’t miss your stuff for the world.
Keep it up, you’re an interesting read and a damn fine journalist.
heya radmax!
why, thank you! what an awesome compliment. and i’m glad you discovered my ‘real’ agenda of simply trying to amuse, inform and give people a different (although sometimes strange) perspective on things.
if i do have a hidden agenda, it is so well hidden i’m not even aware of it – hahahhaha (although phoebe might dig it up in the yard one day…)
i am honored to have you as a loyal and dedicated reader. thanks!
YEAH!! What Radmax said!
I loved your crime reporting back with the Citizen too, and your unique spin on things.
thanks, azmouse!
i am honored to have you as a loyal reader, too. you’ve given me so many cool ideas and photos, to boot (not to mention a level-headed and kind perspective).
keep reading and i’ll keep writing!
Ryn, which law were you referring to at the end of your column that was “never enforced”. If you mean immigration laws violated by illegal entry, overstaying visas and other ways by which an immigrant becomes “illegal”, these are not crimes for which people are imprisoned other than being placed in detention centers pending deportation. That is why the term is illegal immigrant, not criminal immigrant. It is SB 1070 that seeks to criminalize the presence of an illegal immigrant. Let’s set aside the racial profiling issue for a moment. The unintended consequences of SB 1070 should alarm us all. The state legislature has in effect created an unfunded mandate. Who is going to pay for the additional police, prosecutors, and jails needed for full enforcement of this law? We have already endured drastic funding cuts of state, county, and city funds for these resources. And if the resources aren’t expanded, we will be limiting the ability of the criminal justice system to deal with the real criminals who perpetrate physical harm and property crimes every day. And if local authorities don’t enforce SB 1070 they can be sued. Who is going to pay to defend those suits? My guess is the lawsuits will come no matter what the enforcement levels are because we don’t have the resources to please those obsessed with this issue.
hi cynthia,
i was referring to any laws/regulations that stop illegal immigrants from living in the united states without going through the proper procedures one should go through to legally live in this country and any laws/regulations/enforcement that stops them coming here to live in the first place without such procedures.
the border reminds me of an open sieve.
perhaps “never seems” enforced would have been better way to word it, as maybe some of these laws/regulations are enforced somewhere, sometimes.
You want an answer, Cynthia? TAKE AWAY THE JOBS FROM ILLEGALS AND THEY WILL SELF – DEPORT! Wouldn’t have to
lift a finger. They’d never survive out on the street. And if they
don’t leave, well, you can figure it out…
Hi Ryn,
Perhaps you’ve heard of this from a few years ago, but it is my favorite example of the kind of PC I imagine you’re talking about. I don’t remember where, but I do remember that a university somewhere in the East had, in response to a number of sexual assault and harassment incidents, had promulgated some new regulations regarding romantic encounters between students. It seems that during such encounters, any escalation of the intensity of activity between the two participants had to be preceded by a clear verbal request and a clear verbal agreement to proceed to the next level of intimacy.
Now, I’m a firm believer in “no” meaning exactly that, and I probably am as PC as anyone you know, but I am still curious as to how this would work in practice. I imagine two young people; who are most likely to be “dealing with mysteries without any clues”, trying to negotiate matter-of-factly in the dark, no doubt quite awkwardly while both are pretending they’ve more experience in these matters than it would seem. It all sounds like the stuff of real romance.
hey lefty –
you got it! that is EXACTLY the type of PC to which i refer.
i had not heard of those rash of incidents – or even such regulations – but when i did a quick google search i saw a few different similar type of “mutual consent” clauses for romance on campus. hahahahah.
you are right about that sounding QUITE romantic – hahahhahaha…but at least there would be no sexual harassment lawsuits….i wonder if they have to tape record the verbal agreement for it to stand up in court?
Remember right after 9/11/2001 that a Sikh man in a turban (Balbir Singh Sodhi) was shot to death in Mesa, which was later proven to be a hate crime against Arab looking individuals? I have been verbally assaulted by people judging me negatively just by the way I look. Let’s watch if there is an increase in hate crime in Tucson and Arizona, post SB 1070.
Judging this senseless crime to be in some form a reaction to sb1070 is just plain dumb.
This booze addled idiot was obviously not literate enough to have even heard of the pending legislation.
What, so now that standing laws will be enforced the fed-up folks who have so long waited for this moment will become crazed with a lynch mob mentality and start killing all non-whites as a result?
Talk about your convoluted logic…
‘booze addled’ – hahahah. enjoy your way with words and catchy little terms!
Drunkenness while committing a murder is not good reason to be minimally charged with 2nd degree murder. IMO, this guy deserves to be charged with capital murder and be executed(after a speedy and fair trial of course).
hey ado1,
agree – drunkenness is lame excuse for anything, esp. reduced murder charges.
Hate crimes?………..Sure!
Try growing up in rural Pennsylvania and being the only gay for 100 miles……..You learn how to take a punch PDQ. People started calling me “queer” in 1st grade, I was “fag” by middle school, and “gone” the day after graduation.
If I had just accepted it myself and come out and owned it, I’m sure the abuse would have stopped…Maybe. But then I would have missed out on all the childhood years of constant daily fear, threats, and intimidation, which I wouldn’t trade for anything. LOL!!!! Kidding.
I’m out now, for years, and just had an altercation in Surprise a few months ago. Apparently the locals didn’t want a “fag dog walker” on their street. LOL!!!!! Stupid Str8s LOL!!!!
Nothing my Bersa can’t fix. Luckily, it’s never come to that, hopefully it never will.
wow, veganman – thanks for sharing experiences. sorry to hear you had to go through that crap but glad you came through it OK.
i know i, too, have gone through bits of hell. not nec. because of usual hate crime motivations, but because i didn’t always fit the standard mold that so many push themselves to fit.
but at least i nabbed ‘most eccentric’ back in that horrorville called high school – hahah. i’ll put it on my resume.
one more note – i think a big factor behind hate crimes is FEAR. fear of what people do not know or understand. or FEAR some are different than they are.
Fear. I couldn’t agree more…..except maybe ignorance. There’s a lot of that in the Poconos. “hill folk”. 🙂
FWIW, I got Class Clown, and Best Hair. Neither of which appear on my resume. LOL!!
As a hairstylist, best hair rocks!!!
Sorry about the hard times, veganman, but you sound like you’ve risen above it with a wonderful sense of humor and self still intact.
also agree ignorance plays a part. fear and ignorance are often mingled into a rancid melange.
yessssss! best hair does rock! class clown is a good one, too. i feel sorry for the ‘most likely to succeed’ people with all that pressure (hahahahha).
Or even worse, head cheerleader and prom queen….
I’ve risen above those. I would have rather had best hair.
awww, but head cheerleader and prom queen is THE ULTIMATE at the time!
you’d have the rest of the students worshiping you, rather than throwing snowballs and rocks (hahah) – i think that’s one of the reason i now hate snow so much – double hahah.
I like to think it was because of my wacky sense of humor. I always want to be ‘the fun one’. lol
I learned early on that if you can make them laugh, they’re not likely to beat you as senseless.
Best Hair did rock, but it was the 90’s and it sure looked different than it does now. I couldn’t wear it today. LOL! No one should.
Our Head Cheerleader was dethroned and shamed for taking the literal interpretation of her title with the QB. She succeeded. 🙂
At the end of your blog, somehow you feel to lie and use the word “never” in your sentence, “..The point is the law was never enforced.”
Why lie? Sliding a lie like that in makes it straight out plain you’re spreading hate graffiti on your blog. You wouldn’t even concede that maybe the enforcement had not worked 95% of the time? Or how 99% of the time? But you say “never” and you may feel that those that know you know also that you’re an exaggerator or liar but I have little time to know you except by this once in a lifetime reading so I have to go with liar. So per this article if this is it and all I ever hear from you again my entire life then you’ll agree that in my view I believe you’ll never stop telling lies. Tell me, am I wrong? If I am can you see my point of how you might then you might be wrong using the word never?
I’ll tell ya right now pal, you’re wrong.
Rynski’s assertion that the law is never enforced is common knowledge in these parts. I believe that law enforcement officers were directed by superiors, be it police or politicians to do so.
Look at our beloved Sheriff. Dupnik says he won’t enforce the new law!
Why do you think there had to be a law to usurp an existing set of laws regarding illegals?
Hint: because nobody ever enforced them.