TORRANCE TRIBUNE February 19, 2015 Page 5 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion By Cristian Vasquez Last week a Chapel Hill man executed three students of the Muslim faith in North Carolina. Let’s not kid ourselves: this was a hate crime. As soon as news about the horrendous crime made its way to our media outlets, the debate was ignited about the nature of the crime: was it really about a parking dispute among neighbors? Or does this break down to a hate crime by an intolerant individual? I’ll start by saying that any murder is fueled by hate and anger. Any person soulless enough to kill someone when their life or the life of a loved one isn’t in danger, is acting out of hate and/or rage. In addition, as much as we may try to get along with our neighbors and be accommodating to everyone within the vicinity of our homes, disputes and disagreements will surface on occasion. That does not mean that we shoot and kill our neighbors to find a much-desired resolution. Now, in this case the man responsible for the murders took the time to shot all three victims in the head. Three people shot in their home, in the head is an execution. Such an action can only be fueled by unreasonable anger and blind hate. This 46-year-old man killed three people! He killed three-college students execution style. This wasn’t a spurof the-moment crime; it was not an isolated incident that somehow got out of hand and ended in tragedy. This is a cold, calculated act where three people, all of the Muslim faith have lost their lives in one of the most cowardly of ways and I am supposed to accept Men are from Mars: Women, Not so Much Execution Near Chapel Hill Is Nothing Less Than A Hate Crime it’s because of a parking dispute? Malarkey! Lies! This is a nauseating case of denial. I can’t help but think that if the roles were reversed the rhetoric would be very different. What I am about to say is speculation but given the history of our media, it’s a safe assumption. Had this execution involved a gunman with a Muslim background and three victims of a non-Islamic faith, every news outlet on television and radio would label this an act of terror. If the aggressor’s name was Deah Shaddy Barakat and one of the victims was identified as Craig Stephen Hicks, this would be an act of terror for FoxNews, CNN and MSNBC. Yet, the reality is that the victims are Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan Abu-Salha, 19, while the aggressor’s surname is Hicks. As a result the national media and a segment of our society is deciding to sugarcoat this incident and not call it an act of terror, or a hate crime. They are minimizing the tragedy to a dispute regarding parking. It’s heartbreaking and frustrating to think that there is a good possibility that this savage, who killed three people and destroyed an unknown amount of lives, will not be charged with a hate crime. It is unfortunate that there are media outlets with anchors that foam at the mouth demanding accountability from our leaders, the downtrodden and average criminals but who refuse to hold this murderous beast to the same standards. I refuse to let anger and frustrations drain me of energy. Instead, my prayers and love go out to the victims and their families. • By Gerry Chong If you thought it strange that Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, be grateful, because they’re at least in the same solar system. By contrast the political Left and the Right are not within hailing distance of each other’s galaxies. A few weeks ago, while sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for my wife to emerge from her exam, I picked up a magazine entitled YES!. It’s a magazine of the Left and espoused all the usual propaganda, among which was the belief that the U.S. is so wealthy it can and should support all Americans, regardless of their skill level, degree of effort, or any other differentiating characteristics of their being. I am assuming that same level of generosity would apply to any immigrant capable of crossing the Rio Grande. Think about it, a universal wage without reference to effort, skill, or contribution to society. That astounding magazine got me to thinking about the differences between Left and Right. It would seem to me that the Right is composed of naïve boobs who believe a government should act in a country’s overall best interest following both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Right then, takes a global and encompassing view of governance. The Left, however, has a different approach. Using its access to both government and private databases, the Left slices and dices the population into different groups, emphasizing their differences. This process called “data mining” gives Liberals the ability to separate issues by race, age, sex, wealth, education, and immigration status, forming different coalitions based a commonality of their best interest. The best interest of the country seldom enters into the process. For example, raising the minimum wage helps those at the bottom of the social scale, but it will cause the compensation of everyone higher up the salary scale to escalate also. That would cause employers to raise their prices and bring about inflation. When the cost increases have run their course, everyone will be in the same relative position, but we will be worse off internationally. Catering to one segment of the public hurts the rest of the country. A corollary to this approach to governance is the understanding that the groups that are not directly affected are content to let others get their share of the spoils system. For example, a Gay person my not pay particular attention to the raising of the minimum wage; and a minimum wage earner may not be concerned about a Gay person’s civil rights. Each takes what he wants from the system, allowing others to exploit the system to accomplish its own ends. In a statement of unusual bluntness, Barack Obama told Hillary that she would have to form her own coalitions, since he had no intention of sharing his with her. This, then, is the legacy of the Left, a system in which one takes what he wants at the expense of the whole. How sad is that? • STARS & STRIPES A M E R I C A N M A D E C L O T H I N G S T O R E COME CHECK US OUT! 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