Nothing Like A Tragedy to Further Your Views
I'm sure most of you have heard about the shooting Sunday in Northern Wisconsin in a dispute over a treestand. Chai Vang, a Hmong immigrant, was in a treestand on private property. When the owner and a party of hunters confronted him, he shot them.
Now, Vang says that the men made racial slurs towards him and one of them fired on him first. Based on that testimony, I can already see how this story is going to be played up by the media. It'll be about how some racists, redneck Wisconsin hunters had it coming to them.
You don't believe me? Check out the latest AP article.
Some Hmong leaders questioned whether racial differences may have figured in the shootings.There have been previous clashes between Southeast Asian and white hunters in the region. Locals in the Birchwood area, about 120 miles northeast of the Twin Cities, have complained that the Hmong do not understand the concept of private property and hunt wherever they see fit.
If you read the whole article, however, you find something very interesting that the author, Robert Imrie, buried at the end:
Minneapolis police said they arrested Chai Vang on Christmas Eve 2001 after he waved a gun and threatened to kill his wife. No charge was filed because she didn't cooperate with authorities, spokesman Ron Reier said. St. Paul police said there had been two domestic violence calls to his home in the past year, but both were resolved without incident.
So really, this guy is a hothead and, based on these past incidents, it's not surprising he did this. It's not because he's Hmong, it's because he's a wacko. Unfortunately, wackos come in all races and creeds. Even if someone called him a name or fired a shot (keep in mind that there was 1 gun among the 8 hunters who confronted Vang), this man was, according to the local Deputy "chasing after them and killing them, he hunted them down." That's not how a normal person acts.
The fact that Vang's prior behavior is buried at the end means that many papers who pick up this story, like, for example, Madison's Capital Times, won't include that very important information. It's almost as if the media wants to portray this as some racially motivated incident (probably perpetrated by Bush voters) rather than as a horrible crime committed by a deeply disturbed individual. In fact, that same Capital Times already has a story about Hmongs worried about a backlash against them. I'm so shocked (okay, not so much).
And it doesn't stop there. Gun control advocates are also hopping all over this story. What's wrong with people these days? 5 men and 1 woman died Sunday. Their families will have a spot missing at the dinner table tomorrow. But, in the meantime, some people are implying that they're racists while others want to use their deaths to pass laws they'd probably abhor.
The whole truth will come out about this incident sooner or later. Why can't we wait until then to write the script about what it all means?
Posted by kris at November 23, 2004 04:35 PM
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Comments
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
Do you honestly think anyone is claiming justification for this? I think it speaks in favor of an assault rifle ban, but really, you must think liberals are so stupid. Guess what, we're not as stupid as you like to think. Only an idiot would read that article and make the connection you seem to suggest. A bolt-action would have made this far less tragic. But you want semi-autos? Looks like you got what you wanted. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
Well, I don't think anyone has claimed this is justified, although there are a few over at the DU that think it is funny. This man had been in U.S. a while and understood private property, and in any event knew the tree stand wasn't his. In this case I have to disagree with bolt-action comment though. Only one of the people was armed, and he started shooting at them when they were about 40 yards away, which means he took the time to aim. Several of the people were shot multiple times, and I suspect in the end we will find out they were shot point blank after they were wounded. In other words, he didn't "spray" bullets around as the cap times article implies. Also, he apparently pursued several of the people through the woods, which means he took his time. A bolt or lever action would have accomplished much the same. In any event, you can get off aimed shots with a bolt or lever action pretty quick. |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
I agree with my Gun Toting Big Bro.. having personal experience with semi-autos, lever action, and bolt action rifles, it's all pretty much a horse a piece.. once you become familiar with each style, the reloading mechanism is completely negligible.. in the WI incident, the shooter had apparently gotten off 20 rounds.. it doesn't matter if it's bolt action or semi auto.. he stopped and reloaded.. several times.. which will become an issue in court, no doubt.. along with the fact that there was only 1 gun found among the 8 'shooters'.. this guy is clearly a wacko looking for trouble and yes, the media is playing the 'poor uninformed immigrant' vs the gun-toting WI rednecks.. I live in WI, have relatives within 20 miles of the incident, and have seen many news reports on the incident.. the local news portrays it very unbiased.. the national stories have thrown in words like "assault rifle" and "racial slurs" many times.. I know hundreds of people who own deer hunting rifles.. I've never heard of ANYBODY saying they own an assault rifle.. it's just not thought of around here.. guns are for sporting purposes.. they're hardly even thought of as methods of self-defense.. most hunters I know lock their guns up for 50 weeks of the year.. but now the media is going to use this one incident, as tragic as it is, to call for a ban on these horrible assault weapons.. the ones that have been used for a hundred years without incident.. because of some psycho from St. Paul, who drove 2 hours to pick a fight |
| # March 7th, 2005 6:48 PM Converted_Comment | |
Good post; the liberal media is trying to use this incident for two things: (a) Advocate Gun Control However, I do not think either will likely come out of this incident. Hopefully, that guy will get the death penalty, though. |
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