Thread: Alamance NC: Man's death is unfortunate part of debate on im

By Scott Sexton | Journal Columnist

Published: April 16, 2009

Bryan Barber probably wouldn't have wanted to become a symbol in the contentious debate over illegal immigration.

Yet Barber, a well-known figure in his neighborhood off Clemmonsville Road, is becoming one anyway because of the circumstances surrounding his death.

About 3 p.m. April 5, Barber and his 9-year-old son, Will, were out enjoying an early spring afternoon on a Harley Davidson that he had borrowed from a friend.

As they rode through Burlington on Church Street, a 1995 Dodge pickup ran a red light and collided with another car. That collision, police said, caused a third car to clip the Harley and send Barber crashing into a utility pole.

He died at the scene. Will was flown to Duke University Hospital, where he was admitted and released three days later.

The driver of the pickup, Lidia Monica Lopez, was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, running a red light, and driving without a license. Two days later, a spokesman for the Alamance County Sheriff's Office said that Lopez was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been cited last summer for not having a driver's license.

And now the Internet is buzzing with emotionally charged remarks about illegal immigration.

"As far as all that goes, (Bryan) didn't have time for all that," his father, Terry Barber, said of his only son. "He loved everybody. That stuff didn't matter to him."


Focused on family

The debate over illegal immigration is particularly heated in Alamance County.

The day before more than 1,500 people filed through Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home's Silas Creek Chapel to pay their final respects to Barber, more than 200 protesters on opposite sides of the immigration debate staged competing demonstrations near the Alamance County Jail in Graham.

About 100 people showed up to support Sheriff Terry Johnson, who was among the first local law-enforcement officials in the state to volunteer his deputies to help enforce immigration laws, according to newspaper accounts. Traditionally, local police departments have viewed immigration as a federal problem.

A block away, another 100 or so staged a counterdemonstration to protest what they view as draconian efforts to demonize people searching for better lives. A woman dressed as a handcuffed Statue of Liberty was a visual flashpoint.

A study released that same week by Elon University no doubt stoked emotions. The study found that Alamance deputies had stopped Hispanic drivers 1,344 times over four years. Johnson said they had done so 494 times.

Barber's death -- and Lopez's arrest -- entered the debate. Certainly Terry Barber has his opinions, but right now his focus is elsewhere.

"I'm not worried about that at this time," he said. "I'm just trying to take care of my son's business."


‘A good man'

These days, Barber's family and many, many friends are more concerned with mourning the loss of a big-hearted man who touched many lives in his neighborhood in south Winston-Salem.

Barber was well-known for a quick smile, his mechanical ability -- friends said he went out of his way to keep cars running for his elderly neighbors -- and his devotion to his son.

"He just had a way of keeping everything in balance," Denny Key said. "After my uncle died, he came around to check on my aunt and my mom, to make sure they were OK."

Key wasn't surprised that an online memorial book swelled to more than 20 pages, or that 1,500 people would come to the funeral home, but Barber's family was a little taken aback and deeply touched by the outpouring.

"I knew he was easygoing and knew a lot of people, but I didn't know it went that far," Terry Barber said, his voice trailing off. For now, he doesn't want his son to become a talking point in the debate over illegal immigration. He simply wants to grieve and let the legal process take its course.

"I want to see that the woman who caused this is taken care of, yes," he said. "Right now, let's just remember that my son was a good man."

â–* Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.

http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009 ... on-immigr/

Sad

If my loved one was killed by an illegal, there would be hell to pay!

I'd sue the DMV if they had a license and I'd sue the Governor of the Sanctuary Town, if they didn't. I wouldn't stop there either. I'd be on so many shows you'd get sick of my face. I would call SO MUCH ATTENTION to illegals. I could be sad after I got over my anger.

The driver of the pickup, Lidia Monica Lopez, was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, running a red light, and driving without a license. Two days later, a spokesman for the Alamance County Sheriff's Office said that Lopez was an illegal immigrant from Mexico who had been cited last summer for not having a driver's license.

Sue the State and Federal government, too. There should be a class action in which Americans killed by any illegal will get a million immediately without a word from our stupid governments. Money will say Americans are our greatest asset!

"As far as all that goes, (Bryan) didn't have time for all that," his father, Terry Barber, said of his only son. "He loved everybody. That stuff didn't matter to him."

While I have great compassion for Bryan, his son and his family, I am also put off by his father's statement. I don't think that most Americans hate or even dislike Mexicians and/or illegals cultural affiliation. It seems that they ( Americans) feel that anyone in our country that is not here lawfully and then dips into our social services and dares to march in our streets demanding more welfare and other monies from us, is not welcome. It is not a question of not liking people it is a question of not liking the actions of the particular population. It is a question of law and morality, and integrity.

History can not be re-written, though.

Don't blame Mr. Barber's father. The problem with this article is the heavy bias by Scott Sexton of the Winston Salem Journal.

The paper is pulling damage control for the illegal alien lobby AGAIN. We have come to expect this from that paper.

W

As they rode through Burlington on Church Street, a 1995 Dodge pickup ran a red light and collided with another car.

I've observed that the illegal alien population has a proclivity to ignore other laws, especially traffic laws, in addition to immigration laws. I suppose that it is consistent behavior in that if they think borders and immigration laws don't pertain to them then neither do any other laws that they deem inconvenient. (They do seem to be well aware of and even twist laws that work to their benefit, however). Both traffic and immigration laws exist for a multitude of reasons and they need to be enforced. But, more importantly we need citizens and neighbors who understand that to have a safe, productive, and good quality of life society then it is the duty and responsibility of the individual to adhere to some basic rules of conduct regardless of whether there is a cop or a Border Patrol agent there or not. Allowing a mass illegal in migration of a group that just doesn't "get it" is self-destructive.

A woman dressed as a handcuffed Statue of Liberty was a visual flashpoint.

Oh, I wish something could be done about this constant hijacking of one of our national symbols by the open border anarchists. That torch she is holding was originally meant to be symbolic of a light radiating out to other countries and places in the world inviting them to consider and possibly adopt our concept of individual liberty and representative government, etc. The statue was regarded as and even originally called "Lady Liberty Enlightening the World"; not Lady Liberty inviting the world. In reality, the statue symbolized and should continue to symbolize just about the opposite of how they are using it.

Illegals disobey workplace laws, too.