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Hate Crime

Summary:

Thoughts on a recent hate crime in Iowa. 

Work Text:

 (C)August, 2011

It is a hate crime so nasty and vile it cost a young man his life.

Last weekend, in the city of Waterloo, an 18 year old black man named Marcellus Andrews was called out of his home by a group of people, who then beat him to death by stomping him and kicking him in the head…a very brutal way to die. The reasons are not yet quite clear as to why the mob picked a fight with him, but one thing is certain, it is wearing the dastardly shroud of a hate crime…

Not because he was black.

Not because he lived in the slum area of Waterloo.

Not because of any gang affiliation.

But because he was gay.

The Waterloo Police Department is not investigating Andrews’ death as a hate crime, but I think when a mob of people call a young man out of his house and beat him to death, while using the slurs of ‘faggot’ and ‘homo’, that’s a hate crime. There have been no arrests yet in his case, and police are not saying what the motive was as to why this young man was so viciously murdered, but the fact is, he died a very tragic and senseless death. Some have said it may have been gang-related, but by all accounts, Marcellus Andrews had no gang affiliations, and he was a law-abiding citizen, a step-team captain of a local drum and dance corps., and he had classes lined up to start this fall semester at Hawkeye Community College. He was a well-liked, bright young man with a bright future ahead of him, and now…

Now it’s gone, and his family and friends are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and ask, “Why? Why did this happen to such a beautiful young man?”

Because some people chose to hate.

And how sad is that, that we still live in such a narrowminded society that we cannot realize that we are what God creates us, that we have no say in what He has in store for us, that we don’t choose who we get to love in life, it chooses us. So what if Marcellus Andrews was gay? Did that make him any less of a human being than someone who is straight? Did he not have the same feelings and emotions and capacity to love that the rest of us have? Was his life any less precious or sacred than that of someone who was straight? Did his liking boys instead of girls present such a danger to the community that he had to be killed for it?

NO.

I realize that fear and hatemongering has been around since Christ’s days on earth, but one would think that as enlightened as society supposedly is by now, we would learn to accept people for who they are and move on. Just because someone is different than societal ‘norms’ doesn’t mean they’re any less of a human than the rest of us are, that they should not have the same rights to life, liberty and happiness that everyone else is entitled to. My motto has always been live and let live, that everyone has the right to live the kind of life they want, and as long as it’s not harming anyone else in any way, we should all just tend to our own business.

Perhaps some of the blame, at least indirectly, can be laid at the foot of Iowa’s own hatemongerer, Bob Vander Plaats. Denied his bid for governorship in 2010, Vander Plaats allowed himself to be brainwashed by the extreme right-wing ideals of a special interest group calling themselves The Family Leader, and has become their party spokesman, promoting ‘Christian family values’ that he claims is what all Americans want. However, if you read past the pretty language and the seductive lure of ‘returning America to the good old days’, you’ll see that the good ol’ days is good only if you’re white, male, Christian, straight, Republican, and rich. The Family Leader wants to take away the rights of women, minorities, and homosexuals, and basically return us to the time when the United States was still only 13 colonies.

But, that is not my point here, my point is that this young man, Marcellus Andrews, died a very brutal, very tragic, very unnecessary death, just because of his sexual orientation. And why are we not outraged at this? Why are we not demanding answers of the police department and asking why no one is in jail for this heinous crime, that it is not being investigated as a hate crime? Have we become that apathetic of a society that a violent and vicious death of a promising young man doesn’t spark SOME sort of anger?

The sad answer is yes.But for every one person who is apathetic to this case, who thinks that Andrews’ got what he deserved because he was gay, there is one person who DOES care, that IS outraged at this whole incident, whose heart IS broken by the brutality of this case, that thinks this young man did not deserve to die AT ALL.

And I am one of them.

BY GOD, I AM ONE OF THEM.

And hopefully, justice WILL be done in this case…but I’m not holding my breath on it. Let us not let this poor man’s death be in vain, let us not look the other way and pretend that hate crimes like this don’t exist every day, everywhere, that someone is not being targeted by bullies and hatemongers because of their race, religion, gender, age, or sexual orientation. Let us not let this case slip by unnoticed, let us raise our voices in outcry at the loss of an innocent life, and let us ALL respect the rights of our fellow human beings. If someone lives a life you do not agree with, do not hate them or tear them down, let them go their way while you go yours. It’s called PEACE, people, and there’s already so little of it in this world, why not be thankful for our freedoms and let people live their lives as they wish while we go on with ours. It’s so easy to do, and it will cost you NOTHING.

 Marcellus Andrews, God bless your soul and may you rest in peace.

AMEN.

CODA TO THIS STORY:  A couple of months after Andrews' death, Paris Anding, 20, was arrested and charged with second degree murder for his involvement in Andrews' death.  He admitted to being the one who struck Andrews on the head with a baseball bat, but claimed he did it only to protect his aunt during a fight between two groups and that Andrews just got in the way.  During the trial, proceedings had to be halted when the prosecution was showing graphic autopsy photos of how badly Andrews' brain had swelled inside his skull, because Anding started getting sick to his stomach at the grisly sight.  A Black Hawk County jury found Anding guilty of a lesser charge, voluntary manslaughter, on April 20, 2012, and a judge sentenced Anding to no more than ten years in prison and restitution of $150,000.