Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 2-25-22

Editorial
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National
Jury Finds Three Men Guilty In Ahmaud Arbery Hate Crimes Case
AHMAUD ARBERY
From left, Travis McMichael, William "Roddie" Bryan, and Gre- gory McMichael during their trial at at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga.
A federal jury found Gregory McMichael, his son, Travis McMichael, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, guilty on all counts in the Ahmaud Arbery hate crimes case.
The U.S. District Court panel of eight white people, three Black people and one Hispanic person received the case on Monday after- noon and reached its deci- sion on the eve of the second anniversary of Ar- bery's murder in the
Satilla Shores neighbor- hood near Brunswick, Georgia.
After deliberating for less than four hours, the jury convicted all three men of being motivated by racial hate in interference of Ar- bery's civil rights, and at- tempted kidnapping. Travis McMichael, 36, and his 64-year-old father were also convicted of car- rying and brandishing a weapon during the commis- sion of a crime of violence.
Travis McMichael
was also found guilty of dis- charging a firearm in rela- tion to a crime of violence.
"We got justice for Ah- maud in the federal and the state," Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, said fol- lowing the jury's announce- ment.
Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, noted that the verdict came a day before the second an- niversary of her son's death, saying, "Ahmaud will con- tinue to rest in peace but he will now rest in power."
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Hate: Fighting The Cancer Of Hate
he continuous attacks on Asians, recent anti-Semitic
rallies, destruction of synagogues, the hate-mongering tee shirts worn by some attackers of the U. S. Capitol in Washington, D. C. on January 6, 2021 and the Confederate flag wavers with the attackers, reminded us again of a poem (worth repeating) written by a German Lutheran pastor in 1946, Marin Niemoller. These acts are just a few of thou- sands of in-your-face hate attacks post-George Floyd, post- Ahmad Arbery, post-attacks on children in Iowa because they appeared to be Middle Eastern and Mexican and an at- tack on a restaurant owned by an Armenian.
The poem reads, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – Be- cause I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
The history of hateful acts towards Blacks since before the end of slavery is well known, just as the history of Jews in Germany and other countries (the U. S. is among them). Indeed, the history of hate against Chinese, Japanese and Mexican immigrants has almost become unknown. Why? Because not enough people have spoken out loudly enough.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned America’s leadership that the biggest threat to the American democracy is by domestic hate and terrorist groups. In the latest Hate Crime Report released by the FBI, hate crimes against Blacks increased and hate crimes based upon race/ethnicity/ancestry represented 61.8% of all attacks. There were 8,263 hate acts reported (many go unreported) involving 11,129 offenses.
Sexual orientation and religion were the second and third highest reasons for hate attacks. The majority of of- fenders (55.1%) were white. Sadly, 21.2% of the offenders were Black. Given our history, it is shameful while we were still struggling in this country to be treated as humans, that we would perpetuate hate against other groups.
We ask you to think about the power we could exercise if we joined with other ethnic groups, religious groups and gender groups and spoke out in support of each other and agree to protect one another. We represent 39.9 percent of the population. Every day, someone is attacked because of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, gender identity,
or nationality, yet news reports of these attacks are obscure – a growing cancer on the spirit and soul of America that needs to be excised from our society.
Never in the history of humanity has there been a more diverse and democratic society than the United States. Yet, we remain a work in progress. The future of our nation is what we make it. Let it not be marred by the cancer of hate.
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