One thing conservatives have mastered is how to exploit the deaths of innocents at the hands of immigrants to play into their hate mongering. They have their own news channel, Fox News, to play news of the death endlessly, they send their activists to console and stir up anger among the grieving family. All the while probably gleeful that these sick chain of events came to pass in order to push their fascist agenda. This was evident with the murder of Robert Krentz, an Arizona rancher who was well respected and an all around good guy. Conservatives used this issue to ram through SB 1070 and make all Latinos in Arizona second class citizens. To be honest, people like Tancredo and the Arizona state legislature and Barbara Coe are happy that Robert Krentz was murdered because it gave them the platform to spread their hate.
Now for the crime conservatives don’t want you to know about, because there is about to be more hate crimes like this now that SB 1070 has passed. Who here has heard of the names Raul & Brisenia Flores? Brisenia Flores as a nine year old little girl and Raul was her father. They were brutally murdered by the Minutemen in 2009, despite the fact that they were legally here inthe United States, their only crime was being Mexican. You can read the story’s HEREÂ and HERE. Unlike the murder of Krentz, this was covered briefly by some media outlets and the story was allowed to die.
There was a sense of faux outrage by the Minutemen, who once again used it to cast blame on Latino immigrants for the incident. Afterward there was silence. No move by the Arizona State Legislature or anyone else to rein in the vigilante Minutemen. Much like the Atlanta Olympic Bombing which was carried out by a conservative Christian terrorist looking to make a point on the abortion issue, many Republicans and Conservatives would rather forget about the murder of Raul Flores and his little daughter Brisenia.
What has me worries is if this is a shadow of things to come. This is not the first time. In the 1970’s two White ranchers were acquitted by an all White jury of torturing Mexican immigrants. Once again, a crime conservatives don’t want you to remember. Because they know what SB 1070 has unleashed and the potential consequences. The worry is, how many innocent Latinos are going to be tortured or murdered because of this. I know the thought of this is making Barbara Coe’s day right now.
I ask you all to remember Raul and Brisenia Flores and keep in mind they may be the first victims of the Arizona ethnic cleansing but will likely not be the last.
Claudio, I understand your passion, but this comment,”To be honest, people like Tancredo and the Arizona state legislature and Barbara Coe are happy that Robert Krentz was murdered because it gave them the platform to spread their hate.” is way, way out of line. As rabid as Coe and her close associates may be, to paint them as “happy” that rancher Krentz was killed is over the top and inappropriate. I was in Arizona on a vacation trip that weekend and I can tell you from first-hand experience that there were many, many very angry folks over there when Krentz was murdered. There is no doubt in my mind that his death was a pivotal issue in the passage of S.B.1070.
Geoff,
I do believe many Arizonans were outraged at the murder of Krantz. But I caution you on putting people like Tancredo and Coe in the same group as rational human beings. They are despicable hateful people who truly have a hate for ALL Latino regardless of immigration status and use the fact that some Latinos have come to this country illegally as a means to express their hate. Have you listened to Tancredo’s Tea Bagger speech or read any of the Barbara Coe e-mails Gustavo Arellano posts for the world to see. So yes I do believe there was a part of them glad to see these chain of events happen because they now have an opportunity to spread their message of hate to a larger and angrier audience. Our old friend Martin Millard is no different from them. So yes I stand by my statement and make no apologies.
At the same time, I thought you would be more outraged at the crime against Brisenia Flores. Not a peep about how the hateful message of Tancredo, Mansoor, Millard and Coe led to the death of this little girl. What do you say about that?
At least get the story right… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Raul_and_Brisenia_Flores. Only tie to minute men was being expelled from the organization well before committing the horrible crime.
Hey Duane, CNN says they were Minutemen at the time of the murders. A web page that any bozo can edit says they weren’t. Guess who is more believeable. CNN or Wikipedia? You decide!
Hi Claudio… I agree that Duane and Geoff are missing the points, and are arguing minutia instead of dealing with them. The Flores murderer was a member of the Minutemen, and a too typical example of the type of people that are drawn to an organization built on hate as expressed through nationalism and xenophobia.
Tancredo and Coe both need professional help, and shouldn’t be allowed to mingle with polite company, let alone given press coverage, until they receive it.