I checked in to see if the news out of Duncan, Oklahoma, yesterday had made any ripples in the DKos pond or prompted any diaries. I can't say that I'm surprised that it hasn't.
An Australian college baseball player, studying here in the U.S. on a scholarship, was murdered a day or two ago while jogging in the small town of Duncan. The three teens who killed him have been apprehended, and one of them has offered police investigators the following explanation:
We were bored and didn’t have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody.
The three who have been arrested range in age from 15 to 17 years old. Their pictures are here:
http://i.i.cbsi.com/...
I was sure that this story would spark some outrage here, and an outpouring of support for the victim. Perhaps some angry demands that the full extent of the justice system be brought to bear upon the murderers. I was wrong.
Nobody, it seems, has come forward to claim that "I am Christopher Lane."
I suppose the dynamics of this tragic and disgusting news story just don't conform to what triggers a grassfire on the DKos site.
The perps don't conform to acceptable targets of universal outrage, and the victim, apparently, doesn't fit the profile that demands an instant flurry of outraged diaries.
Just another day in America. Nothing to see here.
That's just what they do for shits and giggles in Duncan, Oklahoma. Shoot a complete stranger in the back, just to watch him die.
The teens, aged 15, 16 and 17, were hanging out on a hot, summer day in the dusty little town of Duncan, wondering WTF to do with themselves. And then Christopher Lane jogged by.
"That's him", one said..."That's our target." They got into a car and followed him. Lane was, at that moment, in fact being "stalked." He just didn't realize it. He didn't turn around and confront his stalkers. He didn't engage them verbally or physically. There was no exchange of angry words, nor any punches thrown. No wrestling match on the ground during which a gun was brandished. The teens made no claim of self defense.
They simply drove up behind him and shot him in the back, for absolutely no reason, apparently, than they were bored and wanted a little jolt of adrenaline. It was recreation. They even had plans to shoot somebody else, because, like Lays potato chips, you can't shoot just one. They went online and posted to their Facebook page the boast:
"Two shoots, and two downs."
That seems to have been an exaggeration, as Lane seems to be their only victim.
So far, at this stage in the reporting, there is no clear racial motivation. It is at yet unclear who initially identified the Australian as "their target", or why he was selected. I will point out that the two Black teens have been charged with murder, while the White teen, who was driving the car, has not yet. That is a travesty, if it isn't corrected. All 3 of them set out with the same intent, the same motivation, and in complete accord about what they were about to do. They will be tried, under Oklahoma law, as adults. And they should be.
I don't care what anyone here says...a 17 year old is not a "kid." Especially when they have access to a gun, and such a lack of humanity or concern for others that they consider murder to be an acceptable way to pass a hot, slow, dull summer day.
One of the murderers' father has already come out with a statement that his son is "sorry." Sorry??? Sorry is what you are after deliberately knocking over a neighbor's mail box, or throwing a rock through their window. Not for shooting a stranger to death in the back for the entertainment value of the moment.
Don't look for much media attention to this story..After it was first reported yesterday, it has already disappeared from Google News' top list of U.S. stories.
Don't look for Spike Lee to develop carpal tunnel syndrome from tweeting his outrage (or the home addresses of the perps)
Don't look for the NAACP to weigh in.
Don't look for the parents of Christopher Lane to get a dime from anybody.
Don't look many diaries here on DKos about this crime.
Don't look for much, at all, in the form of public outrage. This crime doesn't fit the mold. It doesn't have all of the ingredients. It's just tragically, and drearily, common.
And don't look for a universal demand that the assailants get the harshest justice meted out to them.
Afterall...they are just "kids." Barely 17. They are only lads, and society failed them.