Reverse Racisim, is there such a thing?

[SigmaChiGuy]

I read this disturbing article this morning on the USA Today website. I know that racism lives in everyone's neighborhood, but this article truly is appalling.

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Man shoots three in NYC; hate crime alleged

NEW YORK (AP) — A heavily armed black man allegedly shot three people and tried to set fire to patrons at a trendy Manhattan wine bar before he was overpowered by two women and arrested — capping a bizarre outburst of violence that police said was racially motivated.

Steven Johnson, 34, was wounded by officers before being charged with attempted murder following what marked the latest in a series of violent crimes in downtown Manhattan.

He was carrying three loaded guns, 153 rounds of ammunition and a samurai sword when he approached four white people walking in the East Village on Sunday at about 2 a.m. and told them: "I have a problem with you," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Johnson shot one of the men, Jonah Brander, in the upper body, followed him as he ran to the door of the bar and shot him again, police said. Johnson then entered the bar and ordered up to 40 patrons to the kitchen, police said.

Shoji Iso, a 54-year-old Asian man who owns a store next to the bar, heard the shots and peeked in, and Johnson shot him in the wrist, police said.

He then allegedly forced a woman to start putting plastic handcuffs on the hostages while he sprayed the crowd with kerosene and fired occasional shots at police cars outside.

Witnesses told police that Johnson was "ranting about white people and vowed revenge for thousands of years of suffering." Johnson said that he was having "fun" and that "a real man chooses when he dies," Kelly said.

After Johnson pulled out a fireplace lighter, Annie Hubbard and Ann Margaret Gidley, both of Manhattan, tackled Johnson, and he shot Hubbard in the leg, police said.

Gidley, 23, told the Daily News that she knew she had to act.

"It was do something or die," she said. "I didn't think it was time to go yet."

Officers heard the shots and stormed the bar, grazing Johnson in the head with a bullet and taking him into custody 45 minutes after the ordeal began.

"Those two women did the right thing, a very important thing ... they were very brave," Kelly said.

The violence came just days after a burglar broke into two apartments in the Lower East Side on Wednesday and shot three people to death, including an 86-year-old man and his 88-year-old wife. In April, a man was shot in the face during a robbery attempt in Greenwich Village.

Police said Johnson, who has AIDS, apparently wanted to be shot by police or to die in a fire, and left a suicide note for his 10-year-old son at his apartment.

Johnson was charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He had not retained a lawyer; he was in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital Sunday evening and was unavailable for comment. There was no telephone listing for him at the address provided by police.

The three victims were also taken to Bellevue. Brander, 28, of Fort Lee, N.J., was in serious condition Sunday; Hubbard, 34, and Iso were stable.

Johnson had been despondent since his wife died in March, neighbors told investigators. He has an arrest record dating to 1985 that includes weapons violations, larceny and drug possession.

Police who searched his Brooklyn apartment said they found a note taped to a wall that said, "Tell the boys in blue I won't be easy."

[dzrose93]

When I read the section stating that 2 women tackled the gunman and brought him down, I was amazed. What courageous women!

[Honeykiss1974]

Can someone explain to me how this article is about REVERSE RACISM?

[Peaches-n-Cream]

This reminds me of Colin Ferguson shooting nineteen and killing six people on the Long Island Rail Road in 1993.

It seems to be more a case of mental instability (illness) than anything else.

[observant1]

Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
Date: 1936
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
- rac·ist /-sist also -shist/ noun or adjective



Main Entry: hate crime
Function: noun
Date: 1989
: any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)

What you have here is a hate crime. People are really stretching for examples to demonstrate reverse racism.

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
Can someone explain to me how this article is about REVERSE RACISM?

I don't know about reverse racism, but I think that incident qualifies for a hate crime.

Please excuse that above post if you read it, I only skimmed through the article and replied, on the first time.

[Honeykiss1974]

Originally posted by observant1
Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
Date: 1936
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
- rac·ist /-sist also -shist/ noun or adjective



Main Entry: hate crime
Function: noun
Date: 1989
: any of various crimes (as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)

What you have here is a hate crime. People are really stretching for examples to demonstrate reverse racism.

Thank you Observant1!

This story is indeed sad because it seems to me that Johnson just wanted to die, either via "suicide by police", by fire, or via the justice system (dealth penalty). Johnson was crazey. plain and simple. How can anyone in their right mind leave a suicide note for their 10 year old son to find! This man needed some help a long time ago.

[SigmaChiGuy]

You are right, it probably just should have been racism and not reverse racism. I guess if an incident is whites on blacks, blacks on whites, hispanic on asian or indian on pigmy....its all racism, and is wrong no matter what.

Originally posted by Honeykiss1974
Can someone explain to me how this article is about REVERSE RACISM?

[Dionysus]

What is pigmy?

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Pyg·my also Pig·my n. pl. Pyg·mies
1. Greek Mythology. A member of a race of dwarfs.
2. also pygmy A member of any of various peoples, especially of equatorial Africa and parts of southeast Asia, having an average height less than 5 feet (127 centimeters). Not in scientific use.

[Honeykiss1974]

Originally posted by SigmaChiGuy
You are right, it probably just should have been racism and not reverse racism. I guess if an incident is whites on blacks, blacks on whites, hispanic on asian or indian on pigmy....its all racism, and is wrong no matter what.

No, i don't think this article is about racism, but moreso a hate crime.

[SigmaChiCard]

whata do you think the HATE part of this HATE CRIME is motivated by if not race? He just actually hated those particular individuals whom he'd likely never even seen before? No, I'd venture to say that there is a quite a bit of racial motivation with him having gone up to a fellow and said.."I have a problem with you....boom"

And thank-you for rectifying your word choiuce SXGuy...because I agree....Reverse Racism does not exist...racism is backwards and forwards...and every direction at that.

[12dn94dst]

Originally posted by SigmaChiCard
whata do you think the HATE part of this HATE CRIME is motivated by if not race?

let's see...you can have hate crimes based on gender and/or sexual preference as well.

[PM_Mama00]

If this was a white man shooting at black men in a cafe or whatever it was, it would be racially motivated. I'm so sick of racial things bein different when the "black man" is the victim.

[SigmaChiCard]

what in any of that would lead you to believe that these individuals attacked was based on gender considering it was a man shooting mostly men, or regarding sexual preference? He approached a group of white people and tried to kill them.....I bet the HATE was motived by his disproval of their hairstyles, cause I can totally see where it would be race....and thank you PM mama...I would hope all reading would agree....there are different standards, and it's BS and I cannot understand how some people are blind to it