This does sound like a frightening situation. But as someone who has lived in various ethnically-diverse neighborhoods in differnet large cities, I have to say that it is a fact of life that urban teens who engage in gang (or gang-like) activity are often from communities or neighborhoods where the local crime is concentrated along ethnic lines.
But that is not to say a group of violent, disrespectful white teenagers would never attack the black friends of a black family in their neighborhood. The black-white divide in urban areas is often the locus of violent activity, driven by many facts, not just racism.
The problem, it seems to me, need not be "religious" or racial prejudice, but just the ongoingand targic problem of disaffected youth who have no respect or compassion towards themselves or others. No reason is needed for such behavior other than blind hatred of their situations and selves: any victim will be seen as "deserving" what they got. But the media likes to find a clear reason for hate crimes. Hate has no color or culture. It's a result of bad upbringing, disinterested communities and an increasingly narcissistic society within which individuals refuse to be accountabel for their actions.
Yes, I would agree hate doesn't seem to need a reason. Though it seems we try to give it one, maybe to try to make sense of it all? Anyway- very sad to hear of this. I'm surprised to hear of it in Canada. I've always thought of "those Northerners" as a bit ahead of us (in the U.S.) on acceptance and such.
Speaking as Shauna's current business partner (there are no 'former' ones, thank you), the article you have quoted left much to be desired.
For the record, of the six individuals, at least 2 were white. They have not been named yet due to fear of retaliation. Therefore, this is not a case of blacks against whites.
Also, the individual that suffered the assault with a rock- the rock was thrown through the kitchen window first, and this occured while the young woman was attempting to make a call to 911.
Ms. Cook does not have any dealings with her neighbors. She doesn't throw slurs or insults. Her children don't associate with the attackers. And yet, the year this family spent in this particular neighborhood has been tense- for lack of a better word.
And the reporter of the originating article DID speak with me. But as I also live in this smae neighborhood (with my husband and 2 children), wished not to be 'interviewed' and expressed my hesitance.
I would tend to agree that 'gang' like behavior is a result of their situation. It's a depressive system that is perpetuated by the perception of not being able to escape their situation. The problem is the race card is so easily put in place. As a person who has also been accused of 'white supremacy' ,despite the glaring evidence to the contrary (including a Hispanic last name, I am all too familiar how it can be a wild card to excuse any treatment you might receive. The sad thing.. is that it works. My heart goes out to this family.
'not to mention her grammatically correct English, makes her different.'
Reading this entry, that didn't really help the "I'm not a racist" angle (please note, potential rabid readers, I'm not saying one way or the other. That just seemed an odd thing to say.)
I have a hard time believing it's as simple as wearing all black, but I'm sore glad everyone is alive, and I hope they have a safe, peaceful move.
I'm going to copy something here- it's the comment I left on witchvox.com. Perhaps after reading this, you'll have a better understanding...
"I'd like to give you a run down on what this particular family has been through for the year they lived in this neighborhood.
Shauna's oldest son (who was 14 at the time) was assaulted about 6 months ago. This was most likely due to the fact that he was 'new' to the neighborhood.
late July- Shauna and a young female friend (of no blood relation) were surrounded by a large group of teens. These teens had gone to school with Shauna's friend, and knew her to be Pagan, as well as Goth. Shauna sent the young friend to safety. Shauna's husband then came to her aid. This attack happened after 10 p.m., while the two were returning to Shauna's home- just a few feet from her front door in fact. There were 9 teens to begin with. By the end of it, there were 12 teens, 3 baseball bats and the mother of one of the teens (not to mention his 'drunk' aunt who was on the sidelines holding a butcher's knife- her own 14 year old daughter disarmed her) . Shauna's husband required stitches in the back of his head and his elbow. His torso was black and blue from being struck repeatedly with bats. Shauna also suffered some bruises from the bats. These youths were out to kill, not to invite them over for tea.
Over the next period of time, there were many things called out to Shauna and her family members and friends as they exited or entered their home. They commented on one's height, weight, clothes. And yes, there were comments made in reference to her religion. I can't give you a quote verbatim, but the one I remember was something along the lines of 'becareful, she'll turn you into a toad!'.
In early August, their home was broken into.
This family was now afraid to leave their home to walk the hundred (or so) feet to the bus stop. They would call for a taxi to take them to the nearest bus terminal. The reason they did this was due to the local youths 'watching' every move they made. These kids would pointedly stare at them, get out the cell phone and make a call. Maybe the call was innocent, but there was implied threat.
This all exploded around midnight of August 31. The same young female friend from the first attack, as well as one of her friends, had been visiting. They were going to catch the bus home. Four youths approached them. By the end of it, there were six youths against the two. The young woman ran back to Shauna's to call the police. Her friend was beaten and stabbed with a sharp instrument. He was stabbed 4 times, in the back. While she was attempting to call the police, one of the youths threw a rock at the window she had been looking out of. She dropped the phone and put her hands to her head as a pool of blood quickly formed on the floor. For those who wonder, my 14 year old daughter had been on a sleep over, visiting Shauna's son. She was standing next to the young
(continuation of above comment)
woman when the rock went through the window. This information comes from her...
And just a bit of further information, after the family had been delivered to safety, their house was broken into once again. This was discovered when her husband came back to start packing things.
During the interview, yes, Shauna did make a comment about using grammatically correct english. We live in an area where using slang is as common as breathing. Most of these kids use *S'up!* instead of *Hi! How are you?"
Shauna is NOT a white supremacist. Her son is 1/2 Native American, her husband is 1/4 Dutch Jew. But this neighborhood, a low-income/subsidized housing neighborhood, this kind of comment is not one which you want people screaming about you. These youths did just that. They terrorized this family for a long time. When the reporter asked Shauna if she had any idea why these kids had targeted her family, she had very few reasons to offer. The reporter took her comments and reported them out of context. I should know, I was standing right next to her while she was being interviewed.
As for Police Intervention, and their abilities to dig for the truth in the matter, the responding officer from the July attack did NOT offer to show Shauna or her husband a photo array to try to find out who was involved. Shauna did not have any names to offer the police (until a couple weeks later) , no charges were laid. In fact, the officer advised the family to 'keep their heads down'. And yet, mere days after Shauna and here husband were swarmed, one of the kids involved beat a five month old kitten to death with a golf club, in front of the kitten's 11 year old owner. There was more hew and cry over this than the swarming. In fact, the swarming didn't even make the news, but news of the death of the kitten was all over the place. In this neighborhood, the violent youths are in charge. And the police know this. Those that see things suddenly become blind and tell the police (and the reporters) nothing. Those that hear things turn up the volume on their t.v.'s so as to drown out the noise. No one comes forward, so no charges can be laid.
Paula Sepp
aka Autumn
Well that sounds like a witch-hunt to me and it sounds like the police are not doing very much to deal with it. Ican`t help but wonder if they would be as lax if Shauna was attacked because she was Jewish or Muslim. . .
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