Essay 169

Seems like race-related killings are on the rise worldwide. In South Africa, a White farmer received a lifetime prison sentence for murdering a Black ex-employee. The worker was assaulted with machetes before being hurled alive into a lion enclosure, where the beasts devoured him. The Black man had actually been fired a few months earlier for running a personal errand during work time. The farmer and an associate attacked the ex-worker when he sought to retrieve some personal items. In Afghanistan, an American security contractor was accused of killing his Afghan interpreter. The circumstances remain fuzzy, with one camp claiming the American shot the interpreter over a personal grievance during a party. Supporters of the security contractor said the Afghan was responsible — while offering no further explanation. The case grew increasingly controversial when the American allegedly left Afghanistan, and the interpreter’s grieving relatives threatened to set themselves ablaze unless justice was served. Indonesian officials hoped to get information from the public about the suicide bombers in Bali — by publishing photos of the assassins’ severed heads. Of course, the grisly mug shots are available for viewing on the World Wide Web. In the U.S., tension is rising in Ohio after police shot and killed an unarmed Black man. Although the cop and Black man had engaged in a physical brawl before the shooting, community leaders are calling for a complete investigation, as Cleveland police have now shot three Blacks in the past month. Hispanic immigrants are being targeted in Georgia, with five killed and at least six wounded in similar robberies over the past weekend. Plus, a California Border Patrol agent fatally shot a suspected illegal immigrant smuggler during a scuffle. Hard to tell how large of a role race played in these incidents. But in the end, it all looks ugly.