Creep of the Week - June 13, 1998

Three Racist Pigs in Jasper, Texas
"We Ain't Got No Race Problem in Jasper - We Love Our Black People To Pieces!"

• You're a washed up black football player peeping through your estranged white wife's window watching her give some white guy a blow job on the couch, and you want revenge.
• You're a Green Beret reject, outraged by the federal government's behavior at Waco, and you want revenge.
• You're a loser high school student, ostracized by your classmates and berated by your mother for years, and you want revenge.
• You're a Southern Baptist husband married to a wife who hasn't been sufficiently subservient, and you want revenge.

This week in Jasper, Texas, three white guys picked up black man, James Byrd Jr., in their truck, drove him to an isolated area, beat him senseless, hooked him up to the back of their truck with a chain, and dragged him for about three miles. When they were done, only James's torso was still chained to the truck. His head, neck and arm were scattered along the road. The sheriffs department used red spray paint to mark the spots in the road where James lost certain of his "parts" - His keys, his dentures, his head, etc. They're still not sure whether they can tell where he lost his dignity, faith in humanity or will to live.

Why did they kill James? What do you mean why? He was black. BLACK! What more evidence do you need? The three good old boys, Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King and Shawn Allen Berry, have among them white supremacist tattoos, racial incidents in prison and ties to the to the Aryan Nation and Klu Klux Klan. King, the ringleader, seems to have developed a bad attitude after a lifetime of taunts about him being the illegitimate son of Martin Luther King. And he wanted revenge.

But don't think there is any racial strife in Jasper. Listen to County Sheriff Billy Rowles: "We have an isolated incident. Guys who are not our kind of people did some stupid stuff. We have no Aryan Nation or KKK in Jasper County.'' That last statements drew hoots from blacks who were at the news conference and the awarding of "The Head Planted Firmly Up His Ass" trophy to Billy. Of course, it's better to have your head there than lying on the side of the road two miles from the rest of your body.

I've never quite understood racism. I wonder what blind people think about it. Racist pigs aren't born, they're made somehow. Parents? Here's what King's father Ronald (not Martin Luther) said: "It hurts me deeply to know that a boy I raised and considered to be the most loved boy I knew could find it in himself to take a life ... I want to say I'm sorry.'' No hatred there. Berry's mother blamed alcohol. I don't think a few beers makes you hate the color of someone's skin. The federal government hasn't tried to explain racism, but classifies that type of activity as "hate crimes" which can be federal offenses leading to the death penalty. It seems it's a lot better to kill your wife because she was in-subserviently providing blow jobs to other guys on your couch.

The investigators are now trying to get one of the trio to spill his guts so they can fry the other two. From guys of this caliber, expect a statement like, "Yeah, Sheriff, we was just funnin' with James. He was a personal friend of mine. I didn't mind the fact that he was one of them there colored type. Long as they stay away from our women, I got no problem with 'em. But 'bout the time his head fell off, I told those guys, 'Hey, the joke's gone far enough, this is getting serious!' "

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