Thread: Teen beaten, robbed 'because she was white'

This article is followed by a letter to the editor of our paper. Read both and everyone decide if the letter writer is correct. I know there are many of us here of varying races, but this kind of crime, no matter who is committing it, and who is the victim, should be something we should be appaled by in America. Here our prime example of what this letter writer is saying was the Duke Rape case, and here, these young girls specifically targeted, of their own admission, this other girl because she was of another race, yet there has been no public outcry for this vicitm.

Teen beaten, robbed 'because she was white'

11:22 PM PST on Friday, January 12, 2007

By DREW MIKKELSEN, kgw.com Staff

A 16-year-old girl’s ethnicity may have been the reason why she was beaten and robbed at a Portland Max train stop Thursday.

Detectives said the girl’s attackers targeted her because she was white.

Following the alleged attack Thursday afternoon, Portland police arrested four girls between the ages of 13 and 16.

They have been charged with assault, robbery and intimidation.

The suspects are all African-American.

Police said the girls attacked and robbed the 16-year-old victim at the Lloyd Center Max train stop around 4 p.m. Thursday.

“They set out to rob someone,” said Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz, “And they told detectives they chose this victim because she was white.”

Police said the four girls first made contact with the victim at the Rose Quarter Max station.

Detectives are reviewing Max train surveillance camera tapes as well as tapes from the Max platforms between the Rose Quarter and Lloyd Center.


The 16-year-old suspect will be charged as an adult. The robbery charge is a Measure 11 crime.


"I don't think it was a race thing," said Delores Beasley, grandmother of one of the 13-year-old suspects.


Beasley told the juvenile court judge Friday afternoon she thought locking her granddaughter up in juvenile detention would be a good idea.


"It's something serious," Beasley said, "But she doesn't realize how serious it is."


Portland Police want to speak with anyone who may know anything about the alleged assault.

Why Silent on Attack?

So where is the outrage? Last week, a 16-year-old girl was attacked and robbed atthe Lloyd Center Max station, and police said her attackers admitted she was singled out because of the color of her skin (see www.kgw.com, "Teen beaten and robbed 'because she was white'", Jan. 12).

So where are the protests and marches? When are Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson flying in to speak about healing the community? Why isn't this national news?

The girl who was attacked, and her attackers, according to the Portland police, are four African-American teenage girls. Oh, not even front page news, sorry.

Charles Sites, Northeast Portland

Racism against any color including against white citizens is horrible.

pretty sad, that 4 had to attack one person.

I hope this is a thought provoking article and letter to the editor. As a nation we need to stop having this kind of thing happen, in all groups, and then is becomes important only if the victim belongs to a minority, as far the national media and the civil rights groups are concerned.

Now correct me if I am wrong, when we talk of civil rights, don't those rights belong to ALL Americans, and not just the minorities?

These girls who perpetrated this attack upon this lone girl, were wrong, but also it appears from the grandmothers statement, that they are being brought up to believe they were not really committing a racially motivated crime (although they admitted it to police). Shame on the parents/grandparents for allowing them to get away with this kind behavior, and excuse it as well.

I would hope, that if MLK was alive today, he would be appalled at this kind of thing. I cannot imagine that he fought so hard to free all Americans of African lineage, to have these girls turn around and behave in such a way, it is only stepping backwards. Their families should be holding them accountable, as well their own local ethnic community.

However, this is also a prime example of how our media has been silent on these issues, unless it is a white on minority crime, making it seem most of the time, that the only "hate crimes" committed are by white criminals. However, here at ALIPAC, we have all seen the media also ignore the racially motivated attacks recently by people of Latino descent (children of illegals?) against blacks, whites and Asians.

Honestly speaking, our media has a real problem, and as well our society does too.

We need to stop allowing ourselves to get torn apart, we need to stand together and fight the invasion that is our real enemy, it is not each other.

Elizabeth-

I agree with you, and I agree with the author of the letter to the editor. If this were four white girls attacking an african american girl, it would be national news. It would be on every station. Jesse and Al would be giving speeches, the black panthers would be involved. This country is so PC now, and so worried about offending this group or that group, that we can't call it what it is. A racial attack against whites. It is such a double standard and absolutely sickening.

This won't be called a hate crime. This has happened before, and when it went to trial, everyone bent over backwards to make sure it wasn't called a hate crime.

So, when a group of 4 beat up on a white girl, and specifically state they wanted to beat up a white girl......guess what? IT'S STILL NOT A HATE CRIME!

Hummmm.....

I believe that whites are targeted based on race on a regular basis for robbery, rape, and assault by minority assailants but the system acts as if that is not an issue.

If a robber is a minority and he severely beats a white person and takes their wallet, the assumption is that robbery was the lone motivation and that racism played no role.

The false philosophy that is prevalent today is that only whites can be racist and that minorities cannot be racist because they do not have enough power to wield.

W

I felt this was relevant to us as it points out the inequities we are facing in our fight against illegal immigration.

To us it is about our laws and the injustices Americans are facing due to the illegal aliens, yet when we try to fight it, bring attention to it, automatically we are labeled racists, yet these girls intentionally targeted this girl due to her race. Where are those same civil rights groups, the anarchists and such, who regularly hound us, to stand up for this girl and her civil rights?

This specifically points out the problems that we face in this country, and in order to make things better, we need to start saying it like it is, stop being so PC, and start making some sense when it comes to these things. If it is a hate crime, it is a hate crime, no matter the race. If a group definitely has racial leanings, then they need to be put out of business, no matter their race.