With their video camera rolling, a young white couple threw eggs at an Alaska Native man and kicked him, slinging slurs in what appears to have been a racially motivated assault, police said Thursday. During the attack, the victim held his hand out trying to shake the hands of his aggressors, police said.
The assailants, who were arrested Thursday night, recorded the downtown assault in two short clips and posted them on the video-sharing site YouTube, where detectives downloaded them after getting a tip Aug. 5, police Lt. Dave Parker said. The only apparent motive for the attack was that the man was Native.
"Apparently they were targeting a Native individual," police Lt. Dave Parker said. "They found him and he became the object of their ire."
This kind of aggression toward Alaska natives is not new.
I can remember hearing about teens in my school going downtown and "rolling drunks" way back in the seventies. It saddens me to realize just how little things have changed since then.
But wait! Things have changed.
Back in 2001 there was another videotaped attack on Alaska natives, only that one was with paintballs. And it resulted in the House of representatives passing Joint Resolution 22 naming that attack, and future aggressive attacks motivated by race, as hate crimes.
It also elicited THIS response from "best Governor ever" Tony Knowles.
The incident inspired governor Tony Knowles to appoint a 14-member "Commission on Tolerance" which reported back to him with over 100 recommendations for improving race relations in the state of Alaska. This list included more new hate crime laws, increased funding for schools in rural villages, and even adding new verses to "Alaska's Flag" (the state song) to recognize contributions of aboriginal natives.
So now I await the response to this egregious action from our spanking new Mayor Dan Sullivan, and Sean "I still can't believe I am the governor" Parnell. And I have a feeling that the native population is watching for their response as well.
This might be a little OT but it was from an editorial in Huff Post-
ReplyDelete"So Sarah Palin wins.
I keep thinking about what Robert Stone wrote about Lee Harvey Oswald.
This was a man whose only gift was the wit to compound his mistakes exponentially. A man to turn a personal fuck-up into a national disaster and make his problems everybody's."
I have NEVER understood the mentality of those who can deliberately harm another human being.
ReplyDeleteEven less can I understand being so damned proud of it that you want to film it and show it to the world?!!
What does it take to change this kind of attitude? IS there an answer?
Here's hoping the new Mayor and/or Governor will step up to the plate appropriately. Guess we'll see, eh?
Another off-topic post (sorry)
ReplyDeleteHere is a sample of what is sure to be SP's next crusade.
http://projectsaviorreborn.blogspot.com/2009/08/palins-death-panel-will-be-run-by.html
Wow - I think we all know it happens, it just is still so awful and disgusting when it does.
ReplyDeleteThis is what violent extremism represents and it CAN happen to YOU if you are different - or simply disagree.
Let's see what Parnell does? Palin would have kicked the victim into the gutter.
People in Alaska and the Outside forget native Americans/Alaskans were this country's first people. These once proud people who once lived comfortably by hunting and fishing have been reduced to subsistence existence and are to be pitied not mocked.
ReplyDeleteI hope something is done to those people who did this, and blatantly posted on youtube, as if it was something to be proud off! I hope they throw the book at them. And how is the Man who got attacked...I hope he is ok?
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful someone up there will address this, but it is after ALaska, and it seems no one does anything, unless their permanent fund check is disrupted. (no offense Gryphen, I mean the majority of Alaskans Did NOTHING about Sarah fucking Palin)
Anonymous - I completely disagree that our Alaska Natives should be pitied! They don't want our pity, they need our understanding, neighborliness, and appreciation. They are the First People, and our neighbors as well.
ReplyDeleteI recently read: "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." Awful, sad, I had to skim through the atrocities, but a must read to be more understanding of what the native Americans have had to endure.
ReplyDeleteanon@7:38am: I kind of diagree with you. Many of us are very attuned to violence against Native Americans, whether they be Alaskan or in the Lower 48.
ReplyDeleteActually, the level of violence in this country is frightening. It is being directed and used as a political tool which is something that is relatively new in the Republican arsenal of attacks.
When you see within society that violence is being directed by politicians against citizens and that it's ok, it doesn't seem a stretch to believe that the politicians are now ok with any type of violence.
Palin/McCain's agitating for violence during the campaign was the first time I heard it and took note. WE are NOW the ENEMY. That was always ok - to dissent, to differ, and to disagree.
Now the Republicans wants to KILL people who disagree with them - or those who are different. They have hired thugs to come and beat their own constituents when their opinions are different.
What you see is a government NOT of the people. You are now seeing members of Congress turning against taxpaying, legal, voting constituents because we disagree with their point of view.
Congress advocating violence is absolutely the next step. It is obvious that many Congressman (the majority being Republican) are not only allowing violence, but supporting it.
Something is very wrong here. Our system is breaking down and violence is taking over. It isn't just against natives (who appear to be easy targets), but it's against anyone they don't like, or just want to do it for fun.
No, Anonymous @ 7:38 AM, First People aren't to be pitied.
ReplyDeleteThat's condescending, and to me seems to spring from an attitude of the "have" society toward the "have nots" -- or rather the "had it taken away from them" segment of society.
First People can thrive in their subsistence lifestyle in the 21st century if their sources of subsistence aren't stripped from them by their government's policies, "outside" profit-motivated anti-conservation harvesting, and similarly profit-motivated trophy hunting businesses (who in some extreme cases have even suborned by profit motives the very people who are suffering).
Sorry OT but the Twit is tweeting again.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA
Anon 7:18
ReplyDeleteSorry but I have to disagree with you. The First People of Alaska should not be pitied but respected.
Hate cimes are committed by the most ignorant members of our society and should be dealt with severely.
The Mayor and the Governor need to step up to the plate to denounce these unprovoked attacks and ask that this couple be punished for their crimes.
Taking a que from former half term governor Palin these people treat natives as if they were not worthy of being treated like they were human beings, rather people like this see natives, as subhuman, worthy of hate and abuse.
ReplyDeletePalin while claiming a love of the native people because she married a man who is in part native, still showed her disdain by refusing to take seriously their plight and by refusing to act upon the devastation beset them by encouraging them to give up the way of life they have always known.
This attitude while not spoken aloud is seen through actions and behaviors, and Palin was one of the worst examples of this attitude.
Instead of celebrating our differences and expressing the joy we should take from our diverse cultures and learn from them, Palin and those like her feel we should discourage those who are different, and encourage them to give up who and what they are in order to fit into a preconceived mold of who she (and those like her) think people should be.
Attitudes like what has been shown by these two hoodlums should be shunned and punished for encouraging hate. Instead many will support their behavior, show them leniency, when that mindset only encourages more of the same behavior.
Alaska always has been full of hate mongers. Just look at this blog.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK:
ReplyDelete"Happy Slapping" is a term given to incidents of indiscriminate violence which are filmed and then disseminated via mobile phones or the Internet.
The YouTube guidelines on the subject of violence may also appear to be too lenient. The guidelines state: "Real violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone getting hurt, attacked or humiliated, don't post it." This is hardly a stern message which is likely to wipe out determined users, although it is certainly unequivocal in its condemnation of the acts of violence which do manage to make their way onto the site. A YouTube search with the term "happy slapping" currently returns 1375 results and "violence" returns 10227.
http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/live/articles/violent-videos-banned-after-youtube-.asp/3284/
Well she wins again. Now she claims victory on the death panel. Talk about teflon!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm sure she is dancing and prancing around..hey she's so smart and cleaver. WHEN is she going to be taken down!!!
The "LOTUS" (Liar Of The United States) does not "win" anything except proof that she is a hypocrite, a liar and someone who cannot follow through on anything. She has become what she claimed to despise (a pj clad blogger). She cannot speak to the public because she would not be able to withstand questions on her positions and viewpoints. She will be viable only as long as she has others doing her work for her. She proved that while governing in Alaska, she could not even answer questions instead passing those questions off to others around her who actually were able to explain what "she" thought.
ReplyDeleteShe cannot work with those who disagree with her, or don't fall in line with her specific viewpoints and desires.
She has no ability to speak in a clear and concise manner, and is lacking in the ability to grasp complicated issues.
She is supportive of people who have money and influence and anyone else can simply be tossed by the wayside if she feels they have nothing to offer her.
Her latest statements on facebook prove she will swap her positions on an issue if she feels it will generate more support within her base, and cares nothing for facts and truth.
EOY
How can she win when what she claimed wasn't even there to begin with?
ReplyDeleteKallie in Texas
Another OT-
ReplyDeleteOh and yeah- (SP whooping it up about "victory") that made me want to vomit. Here is a comment from ADN writeup on the visit of US cabinet members to the remote villages in AK...
Begich says that Alaska to date has enjoyed the highest per capita benefits in the nation from the stimulus bill -- $1,024. At the end of two years, he said, about $1.4 billion will have poured into the state.
He turned aside a question on whether Alaska projects and programs are receiving more scrutiny because of the high profile of former Gov. Sarah Palin.
"Sarah Palin is not part of the equation, so I want you guys to kind of move that off the table," he said. "It's a new day in D.C. Being part of the majority, helping explain what Alaska is about, in a factual way, can make an impact. We are seeing people who are clearly seeing more about what's happening in Alaska."
http://www.adn.com/news/story/897810.html
I wouldn't say she has won,it was just taken out of the bill grassely was working on I think her crowing is just a might early.Lets hope so anyway.There is still a long way to go. This is just like her response to Levi before he said a word.A big ta do about little done.
ReplyDeleteI don't see the hate someone posted said was here just because some one disagrees does not make it hate.Hate crimes like the one talked about should be treated as the felony they are or should be if not.
@ Anonymous 10:42
ReplyDeletePaliin didn't "win" anything but a worse rep than she already has. The end of life stuff may in fact remain in the finished bill, and the two reasons the committee took it out in my view: 1) they felt it was distracting to the overall work, and 2) we have Grassley the disengenuous on that committee who should be kicked off because just like the Twit, he makes stuff up and does not have community or country at heart.
She's not teflon, either - she's a narcissist and a snotty mouthed twit. She has plenty to answer for, and plenty more where that came from. She's a snake who keeps slithering and sliding away from her karma but it won't save her.
Have faith, and keep spreading the word and fighting the good fight! This is an ugly time, but not the country's first and not the last. We are on watch, it's up to us to turn this around!
anon@10:42: She is DOWN. If she doesn't keep her screaming idiocy out there, everyone forgets within 10 minutes who and what she is.
ReplyDeleteIf she just shut up for a week, NO ONE would care and NO ONE would notice.
She is yesterdays trash.
Just FYI - I think someone may have made up the SarahPalinUSA twitter account to "drive the libs crazy."
ReplyDeleteAccdg to Twitter when you change the name on your account, all of your followers remain. Her AKGov account had some 160,000 followers. Nowhere near that on SarahPalinUSA. I'm just sayin'
sick.
ReplyDeleteAnon 10:42
ReplyDeleteSure she claims victory. WHEN HAS she told the truth yet. The last poll that showed her dropping 8-9 points was before the 'Death Panel' FB. We will see. Karma will come around
Thank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteWhether you'r a lower 48'r like me or an Alaskan, this kind of intolerance must be addressed, crimes punished, and lessons learned.
crystalwolf aka caligrl congratulations on showing some prejudice yourself by lumping all Alaskans together. Don't even get me started on California and those kind of people.
ReplyDeleteMan, that is so effin sad. I don't understand prejudice and bigotry. Thankfully, because of my parents suffering as dark olive skinned immigrants, they taught us kids well. They had to put up with a lot of it. But being the 21st century, it should not be tolerated at all. I hope that your Mayor and Governor do their jobs accordingly. Maybe they'll surprise you and go above and beyond their duties. But sadly, rethugs have their own track record to speak for them.
ReplyDeleteak1953-touched a nerve? Well READ! I said the majority which is obvious how palin was allowed to ruin the state of Alaska by her lying and unethical behavior while only a few were brave enough to speak up. Those that have, have been ridiculed, stalked, lied about, smeared, Diva, Andree, Kim, Leah, Gryphen, AKM, Shannyn do I need to go on? Even others who wrote to the leg about Troopergate were treated with no respect from the certain members of the leg and senate.
ReplyDeleteWhy did not the people of Alaska Rise up against this? Tell me. Just what did you do for Alaska...ak1957...besides signing up for your permanent fund check this year?
Did you send money or food to the Bush? What did you do? Yeah talk about Cali, if it wasn't for cali and the other lower 48 states you in Ak wouldn't survive without the FED. funds you get from us. So STFU!
AK is the most socialized State in the Union!!!
Ak1953 - You reveal much about yourself by using the phrase "those kind of people" in your rant against California. Very nice - got your tea bags and your nazi signs ready?
ReplyDeleteNot to downplay anything, but anyone who commits a crime like that and then puts it on YouTube (and apparently it happens a lot) deserves to get busted and have the book thrown at them no matter what crime they've committed.
ReplyDeleteBut, in saying that, I'm also glad that they put that video up on YouTube, because it made it easier to find them.
What they did was horrible, and I hope that they have the book thrown at them regardless of the YouTube factor being just another show of their egregious stupidity.
I hope that you follow this, Gryphen, and report on it as new information becomes available!