Storified by what?
Suspects doors were kicked in by SWAT officers at 4 am this morning, and they were dragged into the street before being cuffed and loaded into police vans. Five were shot dead in the process, along with three family members police said behaved in a threatening manner to officers.
Oh, Iâm sorry, theyâre white.
Suspects in a Center City gay-bashing case will meet police today, 6ABC reports, after Philadelphiaâs Twitter community helped police discover their identities.
Iâm sure this little unpleasantness can be resolved with a little chat and perhaps an apology.
The Storification God.
youâre killing me Rob
Guess who youâre being sacrificed to!
and they shot the dog - which never makes it through a SWATting unscathed.
Storification link seems to be broken (Iâm just seeing http:).
Also, canât get post to load here in bbs.
The Text-that-looks-a-link-but-actually-isnât God?
No, this one.
Heh, was tempted to throw that in.
Philly has, what, the third-biggest gay population in the US after SF and NY?
I mean, going around looking for people to commit hate crimes against is an offensively stupid thing to do no matter where you are, but thereâs something EXTRA-stupid about doing it in a community thatâs not going to stand for that shit.
Well, Vancouver has a thriving gay population as well, and there are plenty of assholes that gaybash anyways. Some of them get caught, many do not. And there is no shortage of people who are offensive towards gay people without going all the way to violence - no matter what the community is willing to âstand forâ.
The unique nature of this incident is that the assholes were caught via our social media panopticon. I have little doubt that some or all of them have been involved in similar incidents in the past without any meaningful repercussions, and fully expected to get away without consequences this time as well.
Note that the suspects lawyered up and called the PD to arrange surrender before the PD had conclusively identified them.
If the cops donât know who you are, and you have your lawyer call to say youâd like to surrender, you can generally avoid the SWAT team - no matter what color your skin might be.
But, hey, a little gratuitous racialism always livens things up a bit, right?
âŠby a group of 10-15 âclean-cut, well-dressedâ people in their twenties cowardsâŠ
Fixed.
I tend to agree that the remark on race is slightly OT (yet accurate and thought provoking), but your rejoinder in the second 'graph reeks of âA majestueuse Ă©galitĂ© des lois, qui interdit au riche comme au pauvre de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain.â
It isnât strictly race-linked; but âability to negotiate through your legal representative with the police department; and avoid being treated as a presumptive flight risk to be taken into custody as swiftly as possible, no less.â isâŠnot exactlyâŠan evenly distributed trait. Nor is it an inexpensive one.
Homophobia is not a racial issue. Working professionals, as the attackers supposedly are, have access to legal representation - likely through their employee benefits. The difference is that these are not poor people. Despite their education, they committed an atrocity of persecution of the victimsâ way of life. Itâs a good time to talk openly about homophobia. Save the race card for when it applies.
i hope they enjoy extended time
