Brutal beating of immigrant, charges against six boys bring alarms in Lynn

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: Boston Globe

Damian Merida was the seventh of 11 children born in a thatched-roof house with a dirt floor in Guatemala. He was just a boy when he left, following his brothers to the United States because their village had little food, no medicine, no work, and no future.

All of that he found here, in an immigrant enclave of Lynn. Everyone in his family knew how far they had come.

Then, in the middle of a warm summer day on July 22, the family’s vision of America was lost in a blur of bricks, rocks, bottles, and sticks.

As Merida slept under a shade tree in a Lynn park, a mob of children allegedly descended on the 30-year-old landscaper and savagely beat him. The vicious attack is provoking questions and inciting fear throughout this city and beyond, because police say he was targeted because of his ethnicity.

His alleged attackers are six boys age 11 to 14; most were on championship sports teams, and one is an immigrant himself, from West Africa, the Globe has confirmed.



Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/11/attack_on_immigrant_raises_concerns_in_lynn/

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The boys are facing multiple assault charges, including armed assault with intent to murder, and a civil rights violation because they allegedly targeted him as an immigrant.

[meegbear]

1. I've been following this in my local paper ...

during the summer in my (not so) fair city, there have been a series of attacks on homeless people. Also a report about a homeless couple set on fire (the person who did it was an adult in his twenties).

Arson used to be the big crime here.

[JonQ]

2. Hope they don't go easy on the kids

Yes they're young, but they're also budding psychopaths. This goes way beyond the usual roughhousing you expect from kids, you don't accidentally beat someone to death.

[drm604]

5. They didn't beat him to death.

They left him with permanent brain damage, which is nearly as bad.

[JonQ]

7. Correct

I misread, thank you for the clarification.

In many cases I think I would prefer death over permanent brain damage.

Especially since, I'm guessing, he doesn't have a lot of money laying around to get him by while he can't work.

[drm604]

9. I think I would prefer death

at least over serious brain damage.

[tomm2thumbs]

3. egad - this is horrible - when did they lose sight of immigrants being another person?

collectively send them all to Guatemala to serve their time - and make sure it is community service - no reason to let them kick back and read their sentence away

[mimitabby]

8. they learned this from their parents

[fascisthunter]

10. and their parents learned that hatred from their and from hate radio

and Fox news. Through in CNN's Lou Dobbs.

[IDFbunny]

11. What makes you think they were little white republicans?

A clue is that one was himself a W African immigrant and most of the rest were star athletes.

[fascisthunter]

12. did I say they were white?

my point is that parents teach hatred and so does right wing radio, hatred of immigrants.

[JonQ]

15. Not a lot of teens out there

listening to talk radio.

[fascisthunter]

16. no, but their parents are... try to follow

[fujiyama]

18. .

.

[JonQ]

20. Let me make sure I'm following your logic here

These kids, one of whom was from africa, beat an immigrant nearly to death because their parents listen to rightwing radio which reported and expounded on complaints about illegals being able to access government provided healthcare, and then they turned around and mentioned the affair to their kids which was apparently strongly worded enough to force them to go out and attack this guy? Because if there is one thing every 13 is violently passionate about, it's healthcare reform and the access of said healthcare by illegals.

Is that really your argument?

[pampango]

4. Anti-immigrant sentiment sure isn't helped when a congressman protests "legal status" as

the only thing worth getting worked up about in the HCR debate. He didn't get bent out of shape over how we cover the uninsured, how to we pay for reform, how do we regulate insurance companies. None of those or a million other really important things about health care reform.

No. The one thing that really agitated him was whether illegal immigrants might benefit from any changes. Kind of sends the message that those pesky immigrants are just out there plotting how to take stuff from us good ol' American citizens.

I realize that most repubs are just playing people for fools. They know that illegal immigrants are not the biggest obstacle to health care reform. They just fan the hysteria because it gives them a weapon to use to protect their interests. Unfortunately, attacks like this can result from anti-immigrant hysteria.

[dmr]

6. What doesn't help is the teaching of our nation's children that it is okay

to have a hate-filled mob mentality that the so called values crowd are expousing day in and day out - led by none other than their parents, grandparents, neighbors, teachers, preachers, political leaders, and 'news' media entertainers.

Back during the Clinton witch-hunts, these same people asked "what will we tell our children?"

Question to them: What are you teaching our children?

[AlphaCentauri]

13. Another attack on immigrants

10 year sentence for random, brutal attack

SEATTLE - Justin Phillips stood in front of a courtroom Friday and tried to explain what nobody could understand.

"I've been a violent drunk," said the 20-year-old. "I had no right to do the things I did. I used bad judgement. I know I will never be able to give this man back what I took from him."

It still was a sufficient explanation for Judge Michael J. Fox, who sentenced the young man to 10 years in prison for his random attack on a Sudanese immigrant.

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_091109WAB-dawit-alemu-attack-TP.16f017dd8.html

There are people and youths who take the violent message of the repugs seriosly

[HCE SuiGeneris]

14. The GOP message of hate, spurred on by corporate media (propaganda)

leaves me not surprised in the least. We are headed for a major showdown. I, for one, think it is long past time to rid this country of wanton racism and prejudice.

[robo50]

17. This is a very disturbing and horrendous crime. I am surprised how little

the TV media in the state is covering this incident.

I am also surprised any of the assailants are out of junenile jail.

[mbperrin]

19. They're out because they're "special" - star athletes.

From the article:

At least five of the six boys had won recognition in their community. Four were on Pop Warner football teams that were among the best in the state last year. In online photographs, one team is pictured being praised in a ceremony at City Hall. After the attack, the boys were allowed to play until the Merida family and others expressed outrage.

One of the boys is a soccer star from West Africa. He is pictured on the Internet with a medal around his neck. He is still playing in a private league, according to his coach, who said he believes the boy is innocent. The coach spoke on condition of anonymity.


We had a case in a little town near us last year where star football players trapped a deer and beat it to death with clubs and a spear. Guess who received counseling from one of their own moms, no other punishment, and who started this fall? Yep. Nothing like treating mini-me's like they're above everyone else and the proof is in the win-loss record. The old us against them is taught and reinforced, and for non-critical thinkers, naturally generalizes everywhere.

[MellowDem]

21. How do they know...

he was targeted because of his ethnicity? Just wondering.

And the other thing I always hate about these articles is how they talk about an immigrant coming from a country where "the village has no future". I mean, shit, there are a ton of places in the US that seem like that. The US isn't some magical place where opportunity abounds forever. And Guatemala won't always necessarily be a craphole to live in. Things can change, but this sort of world view pretty much squelches any chance of that.

[AlphaCentauri]

22. Oh boy! how many lives a man has to go through to see a real change

people is desperate to survive they only have 2 choices die in misery or live poor in another country.

Thousands in Guatemala face food shortages, UN says

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/09/13/guatemala-food.html