| BG youths charged for racial graffiti |
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| Written by BILL RYAN Sentinel Staff Writer | |
| Thursday, 13 December 2012 10:40 | |
According to Tim Atkins, an assistant prosecutor for Wood County in the juvenile division, two of the four boys were responsible for a swastika and the words "white power" written in chalk on the driveway of the African American coach's driveway. They are both facing charges of criminal mischief and ethnic intimidation. The other two individuals were believed to be present when that was done, but did not write on the driveway. Those two are facing only criminal mischief charges. All four are students at Bowling Green High School, and range in age from 15-17. Atkins said other property in the area had chalk markings as well in addition to having pumpkins smashed in a typical youth prank spree prior to Halloween. "They were all in the same general location, but the incidents were separate and distinct, so two of the boys were not charged with the racial charge," Atkins said. "Had it not been their use of a swastika and 'white power,' people would have likely just took a hose and washed it all off and there would be no charges." The assistant prosecutor added, "It was a very poor choice of imagery and words. This is not something you expect in Bowling Green." He said all of the cases will be heard in juvenile court with the next proceedings scheduled for mid-January for all. Some of the defendants have been arraigned. Atkins said that it does not appear the defendants were targeting the coach. "They knew an African American lived there, but did not know that it was the coach's home," he said noting their familiarity with Orr's nephew, a sophomore who also lives at the Orr residence. "It wasn't done maliciously." Atkins also referenced another incident near the time of the graffiti involving a busted watermelon and other verbiage at a different location. "There is no indication they are connected," he said. He indicated all of the defendants realized it was a "very poor choice of words" and he does not expect any further instances from these students. |
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Comments
Also, the PARENTS need to be re-educated here. That is where the full accountability lies.
Why, because you say so? What do you know about it that others do not? Were you there, a witness? Maybe you have information that would help the prosecution. You should step forward and testify in court.
How on earth is the use of the phrase "white power" or of a swastika not malicious? Explain that.
You make me sick defending such MALICIOUS racists.
If these precious juveniles were so underdeveloped, then who the he** gave them these racist ideas?
~Watching old news clips wouldn't help them; they need to be assigned some kind of community service that would help them identify with others. Helping and serving create love and that's what these boys are missing.
This really IS a big deal if the BG community is going to confront the skeletons in it's racist closet.
Yes racism is learned at home, but the racial implications of phrases like "White power" and imagery like the swaskitka are ubiquitous. As a result it is difficult to defend the assumption that these teenagers learned the impact of these devices at home. Nor is it appropriate to assume that the insensitivity or hate displayed is a result of poor parenting. Teenagers do stupid, insensitive, and hateful things, and they should be held responsible for those actions. But let's not assume there is an underlying ideological motivation. Maybe there is; maybe there is not.
We are-after all-making the assumption that these teens have parents, and that those parents are capable (having not suffered abuse themselves or become addled with addictions), and that they have time to invest in their children (instead of having their days eaten away by the struggles of poverty). My point was not to absolve the teens or the parents; my point is that we should not assume the roots of values. Maybe they learned these values at home; maybe they didn't.
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