Terribly sad...

Witnesses: Man Cut the Throats of Two MAX Passengers Who Tried to Stop Anti-Muslim Bullying of Women on Northeast Portland Train

Political, community leaders condemn MAX killings, praise 'courageous bystanders'

Reactions poured from elected leaders and community members to Friday's slaying, praising the Good Samaritans who confronted Jeremy Joseph Christian as he spewed hate speech aboard a MAX commuter train, directed at two women, one wearing a hijab.

MAX stabbing victim graduated from Reed College

One of the victims in the attack was identified by his mother on her Facebook page as Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23. He and others interceded when the suspect was verbally attacking two young women on the train. Two people were killed, one injured in the stabbing. Here is a statement released by Namkai Meche's family:

Taliesin Myrddin lived a joyous and full life. His enthusiasm was infectious. We lost him in a senseless act that brought close to home the insidious rift of prejudice and intolerance that is too familiar, too common. He was resolute in his conduct (and) respect of all people. In his final act of bravery, he held true to what he believed is the way forward. He will live in our hearts forever as the just, brave, loving, hilarious and beautiful soul he was. We ask that in honor of his memory, we use this tragedy as an opportunity for reflection and change. We choose love. Safe journey Taliesin. We love you.

The other person killed was identified as Ricky Best, 53, a Portland city employee, 23-year army veteran, and father of four:

These Are The Victims Of The Portland Train Stabbing Attack

Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, was also stabbed, but is expected to survive.

These men are heroes.

I know there will always be those consumed by hatred for someone they define as 'other'. I firmly believe that love and brotherhood can win over such baser qualities, but it disturbs me that these sorts of things are on the rise. May these heroes rest in peace, and their families take some solace in their character, and my thoughts are with their families, the injured person, and those who experienced this horrible event.

Hate is the domain of no race, no gender, no nation. It kills the spirit, shrivels the heart, leaves us out of touch with our fellow humans and our interconnectedness, leading to monstrous spirits and deeds. Hatred killed so many in the terrorist attack on the Ariana Grande concert the other day in Manchester, on 9/11, in other terrorist attacks. But it also killed people worshipping in the church that Dylann Roof gunned down, and those victims of hundred of crimes where the body count might be smaller but is no less devastating to those left behind. It killed in Portland, consuming the perpetrator of these crimes and using him to spread fear and terror, claiming precious lives. But hatred does not live on its own in a vacuum. It must invade the human heart, and to do so, the person must let it in and nurture it. We can counter hatred with education, kindness, interaction, and love, but sometimes it must be countered directly, such as in Portland. I am just so sorry it meant death and that these good people had to lose their lives standing up to hate.

On a more serious note...

Threats, harassment, vandalism at mosques reach record high

Gunshots fired into a mosque in Connecticut. Armed men protesting the "Islamization of America" outside Islamic centers in Texas. Death threats called in to mosques in Florida, Maryland and Virginia.

Anecdotal evidence suggests 2015, a year bookended by murderous attacks carried out in the name of Islam, has been one of the most intensely anti-Muslim periods in American history. A new study shared with CNN puts statistical heft behind that suspicion.

Through December 8, American mosques and Islamic centers have been the victims of vandalism, harassment and anti-Muslim bigotry at least 63 times this year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations says in the study. That's the highest number since the Muslim civil rights group began keeping track in 2009 and a threefold increase over last year.

The previous high was 53 incidents in 2010, during the controversy over the "ground zero mosque" near the site of the 9/11 attack in New York. But many of those incidents concerned bias at zoning hearings for new mosques. This year's hostilities have a sharper edge.

There is a map as well. Kentucky has three incidents, one in what appears to be Louisville, one in Lexington, and I think the third is either Lexington as well, or somewhere very close.

Also...

The Growing List Of Anti-Islam Incidents Since Paris details specifics in various parts of the country.

In the wake of a horrifying story, some hope...

High School Students Wear Skirts to Honor "Agender" Teen, Sasha Fleischman, Burned on Bus

Students at a high school in Berkeley showed up wearing skirts to campus on Friday to honor an "agender" 18-year-old whose own skirt was set on fire during an AC Transit bus ride earlier this week in an attack that's now been charged as a hate crime.

"It's just remarkable that somebody would think it would be a good idea to light them (sic) on fire while they're sleeping on a bus," said classmate Ian Gonzer, referring to Sasha Fleischman as "they," the preferable term for many "agender" people. "Not just Sasha. Any person, no matter what they're wearing. It's just not cool."

Gonzer and the rest of Fleischman's friends at Maybeck High School wanted to show support for their peer, who identifies as agender, and does not like to go by either "he" or "she." Other terms for this identification can be "nonbinary" gender or non-conforming gender. The students planned to send the photo to St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco, where two classmates said Fleischman is in "remarkably good spirits" after one of several anticipated surgeries to repair the teen's burned thighs that were set on fire Monday evening on an AC Transit bus. In addition, people hung rainbow flags along the Oakland bus route where Fleischman was burned as a tribute they called "Rainbows for Sasha."

Unbelievable, yet apparently true

Woman Accused of Hate-Crime Murder in Subway Push

The woman, Erica Menendez of the Bronx, will be charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime, according to a person in the Queens district attorney’s office. When Ms. Menendez was taken into custody by police early Saturday morning, she made comments implicating herself in the crime when questioned by detectives, according to Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the Police Department.

A law enforcement official said that Ms. Menendez had “told the cops it was an act against Muslims,” and cited the Sept. 11 attacks. The victim, Sunando Sen, was born in India and, according to a roommate, was raised Hindu.

Horrible

Teen arrested for assaulting woman on Thanksgiving day

A teenager accused of a beating a woman so severely, that she may require plastic surgery, has been released from jail on bond.

The family of Mallory Owens said 18-year-old Travis Hawkins, Jr. targeted her because of her sexual orientation and they want to see the charge for the Nov. 23 beating upgraded to attempted murder.

The incident occurred as Thanksgiving Day turned violent at Hawkins' home on Bourgeois Drive in Mobile. Mobile Police Department said officers responded to the home for a report of a person being assaulted.

When police arrived, they found Owens, 23, had been punched repeatedly in the face.

Owens's mother said her daughter was attacked because of her sexual orientation.

Woman beaten on Thanksgiving by girlfriend's brother will be released from the hospital today, family says

Family members say the woman who was severely beaten by her girlfriend's brother on Thanksgiving Day will be released from the hospital today.

Mallory Owens, 23, suffered multiple skull fractures and crushed bones after the Nov. 22 attack. Family members say she had metal plates put under her eyes because of her injuries. She also has internal and external injuries.

Owens says she was beat on Thanksgiving while at her girlfriend's family's house for dinner. Avery Godwin, Owens's sister, said Owens was blindsided just before she left the Mobile home of the Hawkins family.

So it does, indeed, look like a hate crime

Sikh temple shooting suspect Wade Michael Page was white supremacist

I didn't want to jump to that conclusion, but of course it was my first thought when I heard that a Sikh temple had been targeting for a mass shooting, innocent people going about their activities in preparation for worship and a meal, attacked for being different. Whether the shooter did this because he hated those he perceived as 'other' or if he mistakenly, like many, believed Sikhism to be some off-shoot of Islam (which it isn't at all), I don't know. As he is dead, we may never really know. On the other hand, he will not harm anyone else again. Sadly, though, there are plenty of people like him out there. Fortunately the greater number of people are tolerant and supportive or diversity.

Thinking of those killed or injured, their families and friends, and the Sikh community itself, in this time of sorrow.

UPDATE: On the subject of hate crimes, I saw this while looking at other news:

‘Suspicious’ fire leads to destruction of Joplin mosque

About a month after the Joplin Islamic Society’s roof was damaged in a suspected arson, the entire building burned down in a suspicious early morning fire on Monday, leaving little but charred remains.

People sometimes stay there during Ramadan, which is going on right now. To lose a house of worship during a holy month must be even more bitter, but at least no one was hurt.

I truly do no understand

how any person can do this to another human being. And I am so glad that I do not.

Savagely beaten, tied to a lamppost and burned alive: Horrific fate of hotel manager who was murdered 'for being gay'

Later reports corrected the being tied to a lamppost, but unfortunately the manner of death is correct. I cannot fathom the kind of person who would do this to someone. Fortunately there are decent people in the world who turned out in support for his funeral.

Thousand mourners attend funeral of Stuart Walker

That's from a town of only 9,000 people. They have a suspect in custody, thankfully.

Thanks to Joe.My.God for the links. RIP Stuart Walker. May you find peace, and your murderer find justice.

Sad what people do in the name of hate

Via Joe.My.God.:

Barn Fire Kills Eight Horses in Ohio. Anti-gay words were found spray-painted to the side of the barn. That anyone could kill innocent animals in the name of hate is not really surprising, I guess, but it is terribly sick and sad.

Seven adult horses and one foal died as a result of an arson fire at 874 West Richards Road in McConnelsville just after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Owner Brent Whitehouse said he woke to discover the barn engulfed in flames and immediately called 911, but it was too late. "I couldn't get the door open I could still hear the horses kicking and I tried as hard as I could to get them out and I just couldn't get them out in time," he said. Those who know Brent believe this was a hate crime, explicit words relating to his sexuality were spray painted in large white letters on the side of the barn before the fire was started. "They obviously don't know him very well, because he's a sweet-hearted person and how he lives his lifestyle is nobody's business but his own," said friend Bobbie Nelson.

Awful

Cops: NYC cabbie is asked if he's Muslim, stabbed: Violence comes amid tensions over plans for a mosque near ground zero

A college student who did volunteer work in Afghanistan was charged Wednesday with using a folding tool to slash the neck and face of a New York City taxi driver after the driver said he is Muslim.

A criminal complaint alleged that Michael Enright uttered an Arabic greeting and told the victim, "Consider this a checkpoint," before the brutal bias attack occurred Tuesday night inside the yellow cab on Manhattan's East Side. Police say Enright was drunk at the time.

I hope the driver recovers fully. The defence attorney argued that his client was an honours student who lived with his parents, and did not believe bail should have been denied. I do. I don't care who you are or what your background, if you go slashing people up with Leatherman tools because you don't like their religion, you don't belong on the street (drunk or sober) with the rest of us, thank you very much.

Yes, elections do have consequences, yay!

Today President Obama signed legislation that for the first time includes sexual orientation and gender identity (as well as gender and disability) as targeting factors to define a hate crime. Appropriately, it is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay young man tortured and killed eleven years ago this month, as well as James Byrd, Jr., the black man who in that same year was dragged alive behind a truck in Jasper, Texas by three white men, until his limbs and head were severed. Here's a clip from The Rachel Maddow show:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

All I can say is, it's about time. Here's what the President said (he is much more eloquent than I):

You understood that we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits -- not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear. You understand that the rights afforded every citizen under our Constitution mean nothing if we do not protect those rights -- both from unjust laws and violent acts. And you understand how necessary this law continues to be.

In the most recent year for which we have data, the FBI reported roughly 7,600 hate crimes in this country. Over the past 10 years, there were more than 12,000 reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation alone. And we will never know how many incidents were never reported at all.

And that's why, through this law, we will strengthen the protections against crimes based on the color of your skin, the faith in your heart, or the place of your birth. We will finally add federal protections against crimes based on gender, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. (Applause.) And prosecutors will have new tools to work with states in order to prosecute to the fullest those who would perpetrate such crimes. Because no one in America should ever be afraid to walk down the street holding the hands of the person they love. No one in America should be forced to look over their shoulder because of who they are or because they live with a disability.

At root, this isn't just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another -- whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus. It's hard for any of us to imagine the mind-set of someone who would kidnap a young man and beat him to within an inch of his life, tie him to a fence, and leave him for dead. It's hard for any of us to imagine the twisted mentality of those who'd offer a neighbor a ride home, attack him, chain him to the back of a truck, and drag him for miles until he finally died.

But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity -- the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share.

Amen.

Reason #582 for me to dislike George Bush

He's considering vetoing a law that would expand the definition of 'hate crime' to include not only those based on race, religion, colour, national origin, but expand it to include those targeting sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. A House bill recently passed budgets $10 million over the next two years to supplement local authorities in the prosecution of hate crimes. It will also allow federal officials to participate in investigations (I'm assuming to keep down local cover-ups or disinterest that may hender resolution of a case). The Senate is expected to pass a similar bill shortly.

Not surprisingly, religious right groups are opposing the bill and crying foul, saying that it violates free speech (read, 'hate speech').

House passes expanded hate crime bill