Scott Roeder, James von Brunn, Shawna Forde—Who Are The Real Haters?
06/17/2009
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Isn't it curious that the biggest purveyors of hate messages are those who presume others are haters?

Three recent examples of this increasingly disturbing phenomenon occurred recently.  One was the killing on Wednesday, June 10th of a security guard at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC by an 88 year old white supremacist named James von Brunn, who is now charged with first degree murder as he remains in critical condition in a DC hospital.  He is a known Holocaust denier who created an anti-Semitic Web site called "The Holy Western Empire." He has repeatedly claimed The Diary of Anne Frank, a widely read book about a teenage girl's experiences under Nazi rule, was a hoax.  In short, he is a quintessence of hatred.

Then, on June 13th, three people in Arizona were arrested and charged with first degree murder.  The threesome, who included Shawna Forde, were alleged by Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima County, Ariz. to have dressed as law enforcement officers and forced their way into a home about 10 miles north of the Mexican border in rural Arivaca on May 30, wounding a woman and fatally shooting her husband and their 9-year-old daughter. Their motive was financial, Dupnik said.  "The husband who was murdered has a history of being involved in narcotics and there was an anticipation that there would be a considerable amount of cash at this location as well as the possibility of drugs," Dupnik said.

It is so sad also to have to mention again the shooting murder on May 31st of Dr. George Tiller, a Wichita, Kansas abortion provider in his church.

All three incidents were committed by persons of questionable mental and certainly moral condition, for widely disparate personal reasons–anti abortion (Tiller), hatred of Jews (von Brunn), and possible drug connections (Shawna Forde).

But in this latter case, one of the alleged murderers—Forde—was apparently concerned about the arrival of illegal immigrants. So who gets tagged for these events?   Anyone the mud throwers of hatred can find who have views which disagree with theirs.

Let's give these kooky knee jerk reactionaries less and less coverage.  Let's understand that the world has always had lovers and haters.  Most of us human apes don't go ape, but some always will. 

Much as I disagree with the principles of so-called right-to-life groups, it is clear that most believers in stopping abortion are not murderers, even though they spew out claims that fetus removals constitute murders.  

Haters like von Brunn are acting so far from mainstream thinking that even the man's son has publicly rued his father's actions. 

And as for Forde, whose motives are as yet unproved, although simple robbery may be at their heart, she is now being linked to the Minute Men organization and to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)  simply because at one point this dangerous felon CLAIMED (with no proof of any kind) that she was associated with them.

At this point in the news cycle, we can anticipate the air to fill with unfounded and totally erroneous suppositions about these connections that can only frustrate the dialogue our nation will continue to have on abortion choice, racial hatred—and real immigration reform.

Donald A. Collins [email him], is a freelance writer living in Washington DC and a former long time member of the board of FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. His views are his own.

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