Not So Innocent Brown Brothers

[Pahoran]

Gina Colvin, Ph.D. (in journalism, that is) has a blog on Patheos. She styles her blog "Kiwimormon," as if her views were typical of Latter-day Saints in New Zealand.

I've tried to point out to her that they are not. However, like most (heh heh) "liberals," her tolerance for dissent is far less than what she demands of the Church.

Therefore, given that I am no longer able to post comments on her blog, I will comment here.

Please refer to this article: Kiwimormon

Dr Colvin seems to think that Mr Angilau was shot for no other reason than being brown in charge of a pen. I have a number of questions about that; perhaps Dr Colvin might know the answers.

• Was Mr Angilau the only "Brown Brother" in the courtroom on that day, or were there others?
• If there were others, is it possible that some of them might likewise have had pens?
• If they did, is there any distinguising factor between Mr Angilau and the other brown (and white) pen-holders in the courtroom who were not shot?
• Is it within the realms of possiblity that Mr Angilau was shot, not for his skin colour and/or his possession of a pen, but the fact that he was trying to attack a witness in a courtroom?

Some readers may be puzzled by the way Dr Colvin and her quoted source use the word "injustice." As a New Zealander, I believe I can explain it.

When a certain group of people are entitled! to preferential treatment, it is unjust to expect them to submit to the rule of law, as long as those laws apply equally to everyone.

Only laws that recognise -- and privilege -- their uniquely entitled! status are or could possibly be just.

See how that works?

Make no mistake: this event was a tragedy. I am not ridiculing Mr Angilau or his family; I am ridiculing the slipshod thinkers and polemical opportunists who are trying to make this into a racist shooting.

What a pity the shooter was a US marshal! If only he'd been a Utah police officer, Dr Colvin would have had an opportunity to make it even more about Utah (and thus, get that much closer to her real target, the Church of Jesus Christ.)

But we wonder: what if the marshal had failed to act to stop the attack? What if Mr Angilau, a large, strong man with a history of violence, had managed to seriously injure Mr Vaiola Tenifa, the man he was trying to attack, while the marshals dithered about how to restrain him? Wouldn't that, in Dr Colvin's book, simply have made Mr Tenifa the victim of white racism? Wouldn't it prove that they didn't care enough about a "Brown Brother" to do anything decisive to protect him?

 

Given the circumstances, is there anything the marshals could have done that Dr Colvin would not have interpreted through her Brown Supremacist lens?

The fact Dr Colvin cannot see is that Mr Angilau was not shot for being an innocent brown guy who just happened to pick up a pen. He was shot because he was a gang member trying to intimidate a witness in a criminal trial.

Regards,
Pahoran

 

This isn't related to religion.

[Tacenda]

Pahoran, I was in the same courtroom the Friday before this happened with Mr. Angulai. I was called for jury duty, but out of 65 people I wasn't picked.

That was a short jury duty for the jurors, but probably one they'll have nightmares from. I haven't read the blog, just followed the story in the news, since I sat in the courtroom with Mr. Angulai for several hours, while they interviewed each potential juror, it has been of great interest.

I don't feel he deserved to get killed, maybe a bullet to the shoulder or hand. The other night I watched something on tv where it showed this man that had just been dumped by his girlfriend, put a chair in the road and sat down with a gun in his hand threatening to shoot himself, waving the gun around. His demand was for the cops or swat team to bring the girl to him or he'll shoot himself. They all surrounded him, waiting & watching, while this guy could potentially shoot at them. They decided to find a marksman who was the best in his field, who proceeded to shoot the gun right out of this guy's hand.

Amazing the length they took not to shoot this guy and compare it to Mr. Angulai. I understand that one is a gangster who robbed 7-11 stores and hit a poor woman, but not sure it warrants him being shot at several times, especially when all he had was a pen.

Oh, but I don't blame the federal marshall to react, but shooting more than once, makes me wonder if he was at some of the scenes with this guy before, or has had to deal with gangs in the past.