More Information Comes Out On Luis Ramirez Killing.

Derrick Donchak, 18, Brandon Piekarsky, 16, and Colin Walsh, 17, have been charged in the beating death of Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Ramirez died on Monday from injuries sustained during the attack.

Since last week, when three White teenagers in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania were charged in the beating death of Luis Ramirez, a Mexican migrant, more information has come out regarding the circumstances under which Ramirez was beaten to death. ABC News reports:

. . .

According to a police affidavit, the defendants and three 17-year-olds encountered Ramirez, 25, and a teenage girl in a park the night of July 12.

The youths goaded Ramirez and the girl, saying, “You should get out of this neighborhood” and “Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here,” documents said. After Ramirez and the girl began walking away, someone yelled an ethnic slur at him, court documents said. He responded, “What’s your problem?”

A fight ensued, during which police said Walsh punched Ramirez in the face. The victim fell and hit his head on the street, leaving him unconscious, after which Piekarsky kicked him in the head, police said.

All three suspects used ethnic slurs during the fight, which ended with Ramirez in convulsions and foaming at the mouth, authorities said. The attackers fled the scene; Ramirez underwent surgery but died July 14 of head injuries.

Piekarsky and Walsh were being held without bail, while Donchak was held on $75,000 bail.

Lawyers for Piekarsky and Walsh said their clients are not guilty and that there was no evidence to support the homicide charges. They also said they would try to have the case removed to juvenile court.

Luis Ramirez, a Mexican migrant, lies in a coma after being severely beaten by White teenagers in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. The photo was taken just hours before Ramirez died from injuries sustained during the beating.

Roger Laguna, Walsh’s lawyer, said the police affidavit “pretty much describes chaos, and what you have then after the fact is somebody trying to sort through that and attribute certain acts to certain individuals.”

He said that although slurs might have been used, the fight was not motivated by ethnicity.

“I think any time there’s a fight and any time you have one ethnic group fighting another, there’s going to be racial slurs,” he said. “I’ve seen that since I was a kid on a playground 20 years ago, but they never called it ethnic intimidation until very recently.”

Frederick Fanelli, Piekarsky’s lawyer, said he is “surprised and disappointed” that his client faces a homicide charge, attributing Ramirez’s death to a “street fight that ended tragically.”

. . .

“A street fight that ended tragically?” That might be the understatement of the century. I suppose we’re expected to believe that Luis Ramirez’s death was just the result of a misunderstanding. Right. At least charges have finally been brought against these guys. Now let’s see whether the legal system, having failed to protect Luis Ramirez, will succeed in dispensing justice to the people who killed him.

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Wesley Snipes, What the Hell Were You Thinking?!

Yesterday, actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion. It turns out the star of such films as Blade and White Men Can’t Jump failed to file income tax returns, which left the federal government none too happy. Back in February, Wesley Snipes was acquitted of the most serious charges he was facing but the misdemeanor charges stuck:

Mr. Snipes was found not guilty on two felony charges of fraud and conspiracy. He was also acquitted on three misdemeanor charges of failing to file tax returns or to pay taxes, but was convicted on three others. He faces up to three years in prison.”

While I’m appalled that another Black celebrity is headed for the slammer, I can’t help but wonder what the hell Wesley Snipes was thinking! I mean, it’s not like he just decided to not pay his federal income tax because he was broke. His 22-year acting career alone has netted him $103 million. Now, I know this doesn’t make Wesley the richest man in Hollywood—not by a stretch—but it does put him firmly in the not-too-broke-to-pay-taxes camp.

Over the course of the ”research” that went into this post—which basically entailed watching the Blade trilogy—I discovered that Wesley Snipes was not just a best-selling actor, he was also a “tax evader.” Tax evader? Isn’t that what crazy White people who don’t want to pay taxes call themselves? Apparently Wesley Snipes actually had people who advised him to not pay his federal income tax. Now I don’t know what planet Wesley Snipes lives on but on planet Reality, a Black man doesn’t have to do much to get locked up by the government. In fact, they’re practically locking up Black men just to keep the prisons full. So here comes Wesley Snipes who—even by Black people’s standards—is pretty f*cking Black and what does he do?! He decides he’s not going to pay his federal taxes. What, he didn’t expect the feds to get upset and come after their money?

Don’t get me wrong, I think there’s some validity to the tax evaders’ arguments. I for one wish more of my tax dollars went towards providing a world-class education for American kids. Or perhaps affordable and accessible healthcare. Do I get any of these things? No, but I do get plenty of bombs and dead Iraqis—all of whom have relatives and friends who will not forget who killed them, but that’s a conversation for another post. Either way, that’s not exactly what I would call a fair trade but what can I do? I’m just one man. On the whole, though, I appreciate the courage of these crazy White people who tell the government “You can’t use my tax money to do stuff I disapprove of.”

There are, however, a couple of fundamental differences between the average tax evader and Wesley Snipes. First off, the average tax evader is not rich and does not owe the feds 2.7 million dollars. With that kind of dough in the balance, the government’s not going to go easy on you. Second, the average tax evader is White and everyone knows it’s a lot harder for White people to wind up in prison. Consider this. Most of the White people in prison are there for murder, rape, running meth labs, or some other pretty serious offense.* Most of the Black people in prison, however, are there for having a joint or crossing when the sign read “Don’t Cross.” Just last month, two White strippers—nicknamed the “Barbie Bandits“—were arrested in Atlanta for their role in a bank heist that netted them almost $11,000. One was sentenced to ten years’ probation while the other got only two years behind bars. Their two accomplices, both Black men, got five- and ten-year sentences respectively. All four were found in possession of illegal drugs, but the two male accomplices were on probation for prior run-ins with the law.

So really, was anyone surprised by the verdict in the Barbie Bandit case? I mean, locking up White people for bank robbery—let’s not forget drug possession—is so un-American. Black guys who break the law, however, belong only behind bars. For a long time. Remember the sentencing disparity for possession of powder cocaine versus crack? As the result of a 1988 law, possession of five grams of crack cocaine would net you a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. But the same law said you needed 500 grams—almost a pound—of powder coke to get the same five-year sentence. So, if crack is more prevalent in the Black community and powder cocaine is more commonly used by affluent White people . . . do the math.

With all this racism and unequal treatment of Black men at the hands of the justice system, I have to ask again: What the hell was Wesley Snipes thinking? Not much, apparently. It turns out he’s a bit of a nutter. According to a February New York Times article, Wesley Snipes—after he was indicted—”sent the government a series of rambling letters describing his tax theories and warning that ‘pursuit of such a high-profile target will open the door to your increased collateral risk.’” Huh!? Sounds like someone’s starred in one too many action movies. It also turns out that Wesley Snipes and his two co-defendants—both of whom got stiffer sentences—were affiliated with Guiding Light of God Ministries, which prosecutors described as an illegal tax-evasion scheme.

Sadly, it looks like Wesley Snipes is just another in a long line of Black celebrities who’ve been charged with serious crimes. And he’s in there with some heavy hitters: Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, James Brown, Mike Tyson, OJ, Marion Jones, I could go on and on. It almost seems like as soon as a Black person becomes famous, a “prison countdown” is started and it’s only a matter of time before you’re facing some serious time in the big house.

There might, however, be a silver lining in all of this. As demonstrated by OJ, wealth trumps skin color so even if Wesley Snipes does end up behind bars, it’ll be at a cushy minimum-security prison.

*I made this up.

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“Dog” the Bounty Hunter Gets His Show Back, Proving it’s OK to be a Racist.

Man, reading the celebrity gossip blogs really pays off sometimes because once in a while, they actually turn up something important. Thanks to my favorite gossip blog, I learned that the cable network A&E announced today that it will resume airing the hit reality show ”Dog the Bounty Hunter,” which was taken off the air a few months back after the show’s star, Duane “Dog” Chapman, was exposed as a racist.

Dog’s racism came to light after his son, Tucker, published a recording of his dad repeatedly using the word “nigger” in reference to Tucker’s Black girlfriend. The recording cost Dog his show after A&E started losing advertisers, who probably didn’t want to be associated with such a racist. At the time anyway.

Fortunately for Dog, his period of penance seems to be over and A&E has decided he has done enough apologizing. Apparently, appearing on a bunch of radio and TV programs and expressing remorse for using a racial slur is enough to convince some people that one is not in fact a racist. Who knew.

Here’s the network’s take on their decision to resurrect Dog’s show:

Over the last few months, Duane ‘Dog’ Chapman has taken and continues to take the appropriate steps in reaching out to several African American organizations in an effort to make amends for his private comments to his son which were released publicly. Since the premise of ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ is about second chances, we have decided to give him one.”

I love America, home of the second chance, where there are no racists, only people who throw “nigger” around like their lives depend on it. If I had my way, Dog would never be allowed anywhere near a TV camera again. But I’m just a lowly blogger. And I don’t own A&E, which clearly seems to think that being a racist is OK, as long as you spend enough time apologizing not for your racist attitude, but for your choice of words. After all, there’s no such thing as a racist, right? Dog’s not really a racist, is he? He’s just a regular guy who was caught on tape casually using a word that demeans, denigrates, and dehumanizes an entire population. How silly of me to have confused him with a racist!!!

Now, I’m as big a believer in second chances as A&E: I just happen to believe that there should be consequences for holding racist attitudes, which lie at the heart of so many of the divisions and social inequalities that plague our society today. It took Dog a lifetime to become the racist that he is, and I’m pretty sure that spending a few months “reaching out to several African American organizations” is not going to make him less of a racist. But what do I know. I’m not the star of a hit reality show.

Luckily for Dog, his show was popular and I’m sure plenty of people—who have less of a problem with racism than I do—will be happy to start watching it again. But I’m sure few will be happier than A&E executives, whose decision to put “Dog the Bounty Hunter” back on the air probably has little to do with second chances and everything to do with money. Clearly, they think the loss of advertising dollars was too great a price to pay for taking a courageous and principled stance against racism.

Gotta love America.

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