Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
August 22, 2013
The depravity of American society continues sinking to a
new low with what is being labeled a “thrill kill” perpetrated by three teenage
males in Oklahoma on Friday, August 16 against an Australian national in the US
attending school and playing collegiate baseball.
Chancey Allen Luna, 16, James Francis Edwards Jr., 15,
and Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, all of Duncan, OK, are responsible for the
murder of Christopher Lane, 22, of Melbourne and rightfully will be tried as
adults as per Oklahoma law. These miscreant murderers deserve nothing less than
the death penalty for randomly selecting Lane and shooting him in the back
while he was on a training run. They claimed they were “bored” and murdered
Lane “for the fun of it.”
A deeper look into the potential motive behind this
unconscionable crime links these three murderers to gang activities and a
future gang initiation. Apparently there was a list of future victims to be
slaughtered. The motive matters not. An innocent life was taken and no
explanation will return Christopher Lane to his family, friends, and teammates.
Lane had been visiting his girlfriend in Duncan when he
was murdered. He was attending East Central University in Ada, OK on a baseball
scholarship – he was a catcher, and had planned to marry Sarah Harper, his
girlfriend and a collegiate golfer attending Oklahoma Christian University.
Senseless waste – of four lives – Lane, the murder victim, as well as the three responsible for the slaying, Edwards, Jones, and Luna who could have chosen an alternative path other than murder at random for the sake of curing one’s boredom. It matters not that the three sociopaths are teenagers. They committed an adult crime with no regard for human life – in fact one of these thugs, Edwards, was laughing and dancing while being arrested.
This depravity stems from a lack of parental involvement
in their lives. Currently, Edwards, whose mother is in jail, has had prior
brushes with the law. Did these vicious thugs even attend high school?
Apparently there was an abundance of violence-themed video games in their
lives, not that that is an excuse. There is a dearth of time consuming
activities in these three boys’ lives – no jobs, no community activities, no
religious-based activities. They have no moral compass. One of the defendants
showed up to a court hearing with his pregnant girlfriend – another example of
the spiraling down of society.
Additionally, Edwards boasted of the crime and had
Tweeted “90% of white ppl are nasty. #HATETHEM” begging the question as to
whether the murder of Lane should be considered a hate crime. All crime is a
form of hatred and thus singling out certain crimes as worse than others
degrades those not labeled as such.
Yet, as this horrific slaughter was committed by two
black males and one white male, there is a racial component, once again. Where
are the outraged voices of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Barack Obama? Does
everyone hear the crickets chirping? Of course, because this crime does not fit
the political agenda of these race hustlers. Just as the deafening silence
following the life-threatening beating of a white child on a school bus in
Florida by three of his black schoolmates because the white child informed to
authorities that the black children were pushing drugs.
Although, to be fair, Jackson did comment on the Lane murder, but only by adding severe insult to
injury. “Praying for the family of Chris Lane. This senseless violence is
frowned upon and the justice system must prevail,” texted Jackson. Frowned upon? This is not a debate about
whether or not it is okay to snitch a grape at the supermarket. This is not a
question of whether or not one should wear white after Labor Day. This is the
taking of a human life, you pinhead.
Jackson later expounded upon his weak-kneed text, but
still nothing from Sharpton, who, if the races were reversed, would have
organized a march and protest before the victim’s body was cold.
As for Obama, if he can say the Cambridge police “acted
stupidly” before having all the facts and information; if he can say if he had
a son he would look like Trayvon Martin, why hasn’t he spoken out against this
heinous crime?
In fact, Fox News White House correspondent Ed Henry
asked on Wednesday of White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest why Obama
has remained silent five days after the perpetration of such a crime. Earnest
said there was a lack of familiarity with the case, as if that prevented
Obama’s Cambridge police remarks.
Proving the hypocrisy of the Obama administration,
Earnest continued that he “wouldn’t want to get ahead of the legal process,”
which Obama clearly did in both the Cambridge and Martin cases. Although Obama
should not opine on local cases, once he traverses that road, he needs to
maintain a level of consistency and speak out on the complete spectrum of
noteworthy issues.
Obama is pretty quick to speak out on the civil war in
Syria that has now reached a new level of its own depravity with the killing of
its own children via chemical weapons. Yet Obama remains woefully ignorant and
silent regarding pressing matters at home.
And before the liberals start their usual handwringing
over the need for additional gun control and laws that duplicate those already
on the books, remember, gun control only works to control law abiding gun
owners, and criminals will invariably find ways to procure firearms.
The bottom line is a lack of a moral invective coming
from Obama, his spokespersons, and the usual suspects where race is always a
factor leading them to the microphone. For while Trayvon Martin is this
generation’s Emmett Till to an erroneous Oprah Winfrey, the wanton thrill
killing slaughter of an innocent college baseball player is merely “frowned
upon” by one of the supposed leaders of the black community.
There is little doubt this country is on a collision
course with oblivion. America is burning while Obama, the race hustlers, and
all those who think more government is the answer fiddle. The United States as
given to the American people is on borrowed time and only an epic turnaround, a
backbone, moral values, and a relationship with G-d can be its salvation.
Sanford D. Horn is
a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.
As a postscript, and certainly not to diminish its
significance as it is a developing story, but World War II veteran Delbert
Belton, 88, was beaten to death by two black teen males still at large. The
beating occurred Wednesday, August 21 as Belton was about to enter the Eagles
Lodge in Spokane. He died the following morning. Belton, who was wounded in the
Battle of Okinawa in 1945, served in the US Army. He later worked for Kaiser
Aluminum for more than 30 years.
This story is two days old as of this writing and nary a
word has been uttered by Jackson or Sharpton, which is no surprise. While
Obama’s silence is also to be expected, as Commander in Chief he should decry
the murder of a veteran as the unmitigated outrage that it is.
This growing pandemic slaughter of innocents at the hands
of the underclass thug-society must be stopped before the advent of another,
perhaps bloodier, civil war.
