We've certainly generated a lot of pixels and megabits this week over the tragic death of Trayvon Martin in Florida at the hands of George Zimmerman. There have been issues of Racial Profiling, even Hate Crimes allegations brought up in Zimmerman's motivation and in how the police willfully chose not to even do a basic cursory investigation. And when the lead Homicide Detective wanted to charge Zimmerman with Manslaughter anyway because his story completely stank, he was overruled and shutdown.
That's a bad story. That's a real bad story. It's no wonder it has us all completely enrapt.
But that's not the worst story of bigoted murder this week. That's not anywhere near as clear cut a case of racism, of a hate crime - OF TERRORISM - that has recently occurred.
As bad as it is, and the Killing of Trayvon Martin is bad, in my open honest opinion - it's not nearly as disgusting as this.
El Cajon, California (CNN) -- The possibility that the killing of an Iraqi woman who was left brutally beaten in her Southern California home last week was a hate crime is "just one aspect" being investigated, a police official said Monday.
Shaima Alawadi, a 32-year-old mother of five, died of a severe head injury after she was taken off life support Saturday, El Cajon, California, Police Chief Jim Redman said at a news conference.
A note that was "threatening in nature" was found near where her 17-year-old daughter discovered her lying unconscious in the dining area of her home in El Cajon in San Diego County last Wednesday, Redman said.
"Threatening in nature"?
Threatening?.
The note said : "This is our country, Not Yours Terrorist".
They didn't leave that note once, they left it twice. Before the attack and next to the body after she'd been beaten to death.
"Why did you take my mother away from me? You took my best friend away from me," she said, choking with tears, in an interview with CNN affiliate KUSI. "Why? Why did you do it? I want to know. Answer me that."
Why? I don't know, but I have another question. Why don't we care about Shaima?
Maybe it's because she was 32 and not just 17, never mind the fact she had five children including a 17-year-old daughter.
Maybe it's because most of us probably can't even correctly pronounce her name.
Maybe it's because she's not a size 2.
Maybe it was her Choice of Head Wear that set them off. Yeah, you wouldn't want to be caught dead in a Hoodie or a Head Scarf - those are Scary!.
Maybe it was the fact she was in her own home, meaning these people either already knew her, or else had to force or break their way in while she was there.. Zimmerman has the excuse that he was performing his duties as part of the "neighborhood watch", and that he thought Trayvon was a "threat". But what's the excuse here? They didn't like her cooking so they broke in and stopped her?
Maybe it's because most of us, can't put ourselves in her shoes. We can't imagine that someone might do anything like this to us. We're not Muslim. We can't imagine someone targeting us because of our National origin, or religion, or race, or gender orientation or choice of clothing, or style of facial piercing, or the music we listen too breaking into our house and beating us in the head until we bleed to death on the floor.
And then probably laughing about it when they're done. That's doesn't happen in AMERICA - anymore - does it?
It's just plain Inconceivable.
So we just can't relate. It's outside our scope of experience. Outside the scope of our imagining. Many of us can say "We Are Trayvon" and mean it.
Damn few can say "We are.. uh, what's her name again? - oh yeah, Shaima - We Are SHAIMA!"
See, that's got no resonance. No Juice.
Nothing.
Anybody seen the #IAmShaima hashtag yet? I haven't. (Just to be fair I also checked for it, and as of typing this - I got Six Hits. 6! Better than I expected by, um, 6!)
Many of us are absolutely sure that George Zimmerman is a Racist (although I'm not convinced of that, not yet - being "Coward, Assclown, Punkass, Dipstick" is enough all ready) But THESE GUYS SIGNED THEIR WORK.
There isn't much question about either their premeditation or their mindset.
Yet police are saying that being a Hate Crime is a "possibility"? A Possibility?
As opposed to what, exactly? Nothing was taken so it wasn't robbery. It wasn't spur of the moment or a crime of passion, this was the second note - which was exactly like a previous note that they family hadn't even told anyone about.
Unless someone, for some reason, completely out of the blue murdered this woman in cold blood and planted both notes therefore STAGING A HATE CRIME to hide their real reasons - whatever they may be - this is should absolutely be considered a Hate Crime. Period. In fact, it's Terrorism itself.
This should be national news.
To these punkfucks somehow Shaima was the "Terrorist?" Where? How? Seriously, I can't see how people this stupid could possibly think that far ahead to plan to fake the note. Twice.
We're killing Iraqis in America now? The ones who either left the Saddam regime or ran away after we invaded them for no fracking good reason? Wow.
How many Iraqis were in the planes that attack the World Trade Center and Pentagon?
Z.E.R.O.!!!
What did Saddam have to do with al Qeada?
N.O.T.H.I.N.G.
How many troops do we have in Iraq right now fighting those damn "Terrorists?"
N.O.N.E.
We need to stop talking about Hate Crimes as if they're just the result of one guy in a bad mood having a "lack of Snickers" moment. It's not just one crime, it's two crimes. First there's the violence, and in this case Murder, and second there's the Act of Intimidation.
Both the first and second notes were intended to send a message. It was intended to frighten and put them in a state of fear. Actually killing this poor woman, then leaving another note - is yet again sending a message, which is we're Coming to Get You!
"All of you."
"GET OUT OR ELSE!"
That's what makes it Terrorism. It's not just because of the first attack, it's the continuing threat of the next attack, and the next, and the one after that. That lingerig fear the wraps around you like a cloak you can't get out of, can't escape. Suffocating you.
That's what Terrorism does. That's what this is.
And yeah, that's America these days. Get out of our Gated Community if we don't think you look like you belong there. Get out of our Country if you're not Christian enough for us. Get out of our "Public Parks" and Off Our Lawn, if you don't we'll have our taxpayer funded thugs Beat the Living Frack Out of You, then hit you with Pepper-Spray, then Kettle You - then come the Flexi-Cuffs of Gangrene-Goodness you #OccupyHippie piece of shit! Just GET OUT, and if you don't leave -- DIE!.
But the sad thing I know is that we're not gonna have rallies about this. We're not gonna lobby Congress. We're not gonna have a big shit-hemorrhage over this dastardly attack on Religious Freedom in response. I would like to say I hope I'm wrong, but it's not gonna happen. Not until it happens again, and again, and then suddenly people wake up and go "Hey! Doesn't she looks like me? Couldn't that happen to my family? Couldn't that be my husband on the ground with his brains bashed in under his turban? My son. My daughter. ME?"
Isn't that exactly what it takes for us to give a damn? When we feel the threat too?
I think Shaima should be getting the Tracy Casey Anthony reaction. The El Cajon Police should be giving us updates, telling us if there might have been other victims targeted before Shaima. (Was this their first Rodeo?) This isn't just a threat to that one woman and her family, it's a threat to every Muslim in the area. They should be asking for people to come forward if they've received similar notes. Checking the handwriting, checking for trace on the paper. Investigating. The press should be asking questions. We should have a massive man-hunt as we did for Natalie Holloway. We should feel this the way we felt the death of Jon Bonet Ramsey, or the disappearance of the "Runaway Bride" Jennifer Willbanks, or as shocked as we were about Astronaut racing across the country in a Diaper to confront the woman who stole "her man". We should care about this the way we care about Kim Kardashian's next impending ex-marriage. But we don't.
That's not gonna happen.
Because this woman, even for some of us who claim to be progressive, simply doesn't look and feel American Enough - she's not enough like US, what happened to her couldn't possibly happen to ME - for our hearts to ache, for us to stand up and say - this CANT happen here. It's got to STOP.
But it's not gonna stop. Not until we make it stop.
The Shooting War for America's Soul has already started. Now we're just counting the dead.
Vyan
Thu Mar 29, 2012 at 2:12 AM PT: One last point. If, as I suggest in the dairy, the notes are merely a ploy to throw police and public off track - then in some ways that's still worse. That's like Susan Smith who claimed a "Black Car-Jacker" took her kids, when in fact she drowned them herself, it's like the girl who claimed she was mugged by Black Obama supporter when in reality she carved a backwards "B" into her own face. That's still Racist, it's still evil, it's still Terrorism - only now we're talking about an attack against two groups, in this case, Muslims are made to feel fearful and Non-Muslims are made to feel responsible. This would be an even bigger media story if that were the case.