Here in Lubbock (pardon me if this has been diaried already, please: I did look and found nada), it appears to be, mostly, men.
Young, white, privileged men -- I deduce privileged from (a) the quality of clothing they're wearing (b) the vehicle they're driving (c) their lack of concern for possible lawbreaking. The first conclusion to jump to, since this location is within a half-mile of Texas Tech University? Frat boys. Drunken ones, probably.
So why would (over the Itzl-arabesque if you will)
frat boys do this?
Why not?
Really, why not? They're the cream of the crop in their social circles. So why not?
After all, the Lubbock Police Department isn't going to arrest them for destruction of property, or even assault, unless someone files a complaint -- and the guy they beat up is afraid of retaliation enough not to file charges.
I was at Gilberto Hinojosa's GOTV rally a few hours before this happened. We made the 6 and 10 pm newscasts. It's a shame this happened the same night; but I'm not surprised this happened the same night. That's a shame, too. This is what living in the bleeding-scarlet heart of Bush country looks like, sounds like, feels like.
Here's the text of an email the Texas state Democratic party chair sent out after the LPD returned the memory card from the camera containing the video of the attack:
On Tuesday night, just mere hours after I addressed Democratic supporters at an Early Vote rally in Lubbock County, a local Democrat was assaulted by four men vandalizing Democratic and Obama yard signs.
Lubbock has experienced a high level of recent vandalism targeting Democratic yard signs. Hundreds of Obama yard signs have been stolen from neighborhoods all across Lubbock. Over half a dozen large 4x4 and 4x8 signs have been stolen, vandalized, or shot. And two 4x4 signs were vandalized with the n-word written multiple times and mustard sprayed all over the signs.
On Tuesday night, Leo Flores watched over some signs with a video camera. Just days prior, Lubbock Republican Party County Chair Carl Tepper had said, “I have a weird suspicion that the Democrats might have damaged their own signs. It’s an outlandish story.”
Leo wanted to capture proof that Democrats in Lubbock County were being targeted, and to disprove the absurd Republican talking point that they had caused the vandalism themselves.
At about 2a.m. four men drove up to attack the signs. Leo was there with his camera on, and called 911. The vandals then jumped in their truck and went to where Leo stood. They attempted to take his camera and punched the volunteer in his face. Throughout all of this, Leo kept his camera on.
The Lubbock police have now released that video, and we share this breaking news and footage with you.
You can catch that video here.
This spew of ignorance and hatred needs to stop. Across the State of Texas, Democrats are being targeted for expressing their constitutionally protected rights of speech and assembly. Meanwhile, the Republican Party will not address this hatred. They deny that it exists. Well, our footage proves otherwise.
The Texas Democratic Party will continue to fight against these hate crimes and stand with our local communities across the State.
We’re won’t let aggressive and hate cause us to back down. Throughout history we have stood our moral ground. And we stand strongly again now.
Yours,
Gilberto Hinojosa
Chair
Texas Democratic Party
Pol. Adv. paid for by the Texas Democratic Party, www.txdemocrats.org.
This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
4818 E. Ben White Blvd., Ste 104
Austin, TX 78741
Turning Texas blue is coming.
It's these privilege-laden frat-boy types, be they pubescent immature jerks living on their parents' money in their college years or sad old relicts hanging empty chairs in their yards, whose days are numbered.
They know that. They hate that.
We shall overcome.