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| Hate Crime? Or irresponsibility? |
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What a wasted day!
They did it to us again. After going through what we did after Christmas, the Glendale Newspress, showing its best side as a little town paper that's trying to make it big, came out with a "Hate Crime" story: http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/02/20/publicsafety/gnp-vandalism20.txt
It started Sunday - we noticed a child's drawing on the wall. It was a moon and a star. I received a call later in the afternoon from an officer at the Glendale Police Department. The graffiti-art had been reported as a hate crime to the department.
Monday morning, a reporter from the Glendale Newspress came by the church looking for the evidence. Horizon (Armenian TV) sent a camera man. The Diocese (one of the priests) called and asked "What happened? Did someone paint a Swastika on your church?" By midday, a non-story was taking form and shape.
And so... this morning, it didn't surprise me when the Daily News headlined, "Vandal spray-paints Turkish flag on Armenian church wall" http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8304985
Wow! A moon and a star had now been transformed into a Turkish hate crime against the Armenians! What is it about hatred and evil that makes good copy? I guess it sells newspapers. But maybe even deeper is the politics of hate... read the end of the story and you'll find that there are agendas that need to be pursued and hatred and prejudice will fuel the fires. I guess they find that being a martyr is a quicker way to get things done.
Has anyone ever really thought about what's being said? If there was a hate crime of this magnitude, my record toward, bullying, injustice and prejudice is clear. (If not in all the speeches and writings, at the very least its been documented over the last three years in the Glendale Newspress in the "In Theory" column.) Wouldn't I be the first one to call it for what it is? Does anyone really think that I would go to the Glendale Police Department? With all due respect to the department, wouldn't this kind of hatred be better reported to the FBI?
I sat in my office yesterday and told the reporter that this was not a hate crime. I saw the drawing on the wall - it was a childish drawing of a moon and a star. But here's a classic case of hatred fueling the fire, of how truth is distorted, of stories rising out of rumor. An hour ago, my parishioners started filing into church for the evening vespers - they're asking, "Where is the flag? Where did those #$@% Turks put that flag?" And so, cycles of prejudice and hatred continue. All because of irresponsibility in journalism and politics. All because a reporter decides to be suggestive and take liberties - transforming a moon into a "crescent" and a drawing into a "flag."
I know, its nothing new. We start wars, and kids die because of irresponsiblity in journalism and politics. But its hard, when we're trying so hard to correct these patterns.
As I spoke to the reporter yesterday, behind me was a picture of Jesus. Next to it is the 7x77 logo with the words, "I refuse to hate you any more." In His Shoes ministries and small church has been so instrumental in bringing peace and understanding in the community. Whether our monthly homeless feeds, or our outreach to Africa with goats and food, we're crossing over the cultural and ethnic boundaries. When, last year, my kids had collected almost $500,000 for world hunger, the Newspress couldn't find a reporter to send to cover the event. One of my colleagues commented, "You know, if these same kids were out gang-banging, you can be sure the press would cover that story." Its sad. And today, I had to put people on hold and avoid the real issues in our community - even for a day - just to deal with this non-story, non-issue.
We will continue to do what we need to - we will work for peace, we will reject hatred. We will pray. My inspiration is Our Lord Jesus, who looked down from the cross and offered forgiveness - why? Because the people didn't know what they were doing.You can't blame people because they don't know other metaphors for peace and love. So we will continue.
I will continue on this thread later on. For now (right now), there's a lunar eclipse taking place up in the heavens -- and as much as the moon is overtaken by shadow, it does not turn into a crescent, it is the moon...
Peace,
-vm
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/02/20/publicsafety/gnp-vandalism20.txt
Church graffiti deemed hateful Painting of a star and crescent at Armenian place of worship is being called a hate crime.
By Ryan Vaillancourt NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Police say vandals who spray-painted a crescent and star design on a wall at St. Peter Armenian Church on Sunday committed a hate crime by meaning to intimidate Armenians by invoking the Turkish flag.
Church congregants discovered what they described as a red crescent and star spray-painted on the wall outside the church, along Kenilworth Road. The graffiti has since been painted over.
Many Armenians harbor deep enmity for the modern Republic of Turkey for its refusal to recognize the genocide committed against Armenians between 1915 and 1918 by the former Ottoman Empire.
Depicting a Turkish flag on the side of an Armenian church would be similar to putting a swastika on a synagogue, Glendale Police Officer John Balian said.
“It’s the same significance,” he said. “This is obviously considered vandalism, but it’s also considered a hate crime if you can prove the perpetrator did it for hatred reasons.” Police have not identified any suspects and are not pursuing any leads, he said.
“That’s why it’s imperative to get community involvement in identifying the perpetrators,” he said. “Any time you vandalize a church or a synagogue, any type of church, we won’t tolerate it, and we’ll do everything we can to find the people.”
Anoush Dekmejian, a church trustee who believes the vandalism took place during a Sunday morning service, said she immediately recognized the crescent and star shapes as those on the Turkish flag.
“My impression, immediately, was that it was a hate crime,” said Dekmejian, who reported the incident to police at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
But St. Peter’s pastor, Father Vazken Movsesian, who is well-known for his advocacy on behalf of genocide recognition — not only of the Armenian Genocide but the ongoing genocidal conflict in Darfur — downplayed the incident, saying the graffiti was more reminiscent of a child’s depiction of a star and a moon.
He compared the symbols to stationery in his office that shows golden moons and shining stars in the margins.
“You’d be hard-pressed to say it was the Turkish flag,” Movsesian said. “Really, honestly, it seems sensationalized . . . . I really saw a kid’s drawing.”
Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian said he believed the vandalism was tied to racial tensions surrounding a controversial absentee ballot application ordinance.
“I really don’t think that it’s an isolated incident,” Najarian said.
“I think it’s directly related to the attention that the absentee application issue has garnered . . . . Bottom line is, it’s just sad that it has occurred.”
Police are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the Crime Stoppers line, which allows anonymous calls, at (818) 507-7867.
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8304985
Vandal spray-paints Turkish flag on Armenian church wall Article Last Updated: 02/19/2008 12:13:13 PM PST
GLENDALE - Glendale police are asking for the public's help to find whoever is responsible for spray-painting a Turkish flag on the wall of an Armenian church. The incident was reported at 1:30 p.m. Monday at St. Peter's Armenian Church, 632 W. Stocker St. Once there, police spotted a star and a crescent moon - symbols on the Turkish flag - painted in red on the west block wall of the church near a sidewalk. Turkey is the target of anger among many Armenians who are fighting to get that country to officially recognize the killings during World War I of as many as one-and-a-half million Armenians as a genocide. Anyone with information is asked to call the Glendale Police Department at 818-548-4840 or Crime Stoppers at 818-507-STOP. For more news and observations about crime in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, check out the Daily News' crime blog. |
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Cathy |
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February 20, 2008 at 7:37pm |
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| Wow ! |
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Susan |
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February 20, 2008 at 11:16pm |
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It does appear that hate seems to sell more papers, attract more TV news audiences & in general gets more attention then does random acts of kindness and basic acts of love. We have to always keep in focus, that good always overcomes evil & Love always overcomes hate. It sure makes it tough to convince others of this fact when those who have the responsibility & opportunity of reporting the news actually shape it rather then report it, especially when it comes to stories such as this one. |
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Suzie |
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February 21, 2008 at 10:15am |
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| To call a child’s scribble of a star and moon a hate-crime is preposterous! That’s pretty strong language for something that was not, to say the least. Hate-crimes are meant to intimidate. I’m an Armenian and a member of St. Peter. Was I intimidated by that drawing? Clearly not! One paper starts off by saying the painting invoked the Turkish flag, and next thing you see is another paper with headlines that assert it was a painting of a Turkish flag, so the ball gets rolling and everything becomes blown out of proportion. In essence a story that doesn’t exist has now conveniently been created. What’s really irritating me are all the ties and connections that others are making without any evidence or proof. Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian say’s it’s not an isolated incident and directly relates it to another issue high up on his agenda. Has Mr. Najarian ever been to St. Peter? Did he see the drawing? Where is he coming up with this stuff? I’m tired of putting my energy into things like this that WASTE out time. Just over a month ago we used up a week’s worth of resources trying to set things straight when the Glendale Newspress printed misleading and offensive information and missed the real story. We work so hard towards reaching out to the suffering, working for peace and understanding, and over and over again we get dragged into stuff like this. But you know what? I’m even more determined than ever to respond according to my Christian calling. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our example of love. Hatred is the easy route. I choose to “take up my cross” and follow Him. This choice takes guts, perseverance, strength, patience, and a lot of hard work. It’s not the way for the weak and feeble; those who hate. It is the way of the strong; those who love. And that’s the way I choose. |
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Vartan |
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February 21, 2008 at 10:45am |
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I remember laughing at the moon and star on Sunday when it was brought to my attention. I thought, "If anyone did this with bad intentions, God will take care of it in His own time."
Father Vazken's reflection was best when he wrote, "behind me was a picture of Jesus. Next to it is the 7x77 logo with the words, "I refuse to hate you any more."
And with that thought, let our community move along to do the work of the Lord. |
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Anush |
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February 21, 2008 at 1:40pm |
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| Remember the story of the Emperor's New Clothes? This "hate crime" story, and its irresponsible coverage, and the desire for everyone to get in on the action and report this as more than it is to further their hidden agendas, is just like the townspeople in that story. They looked at their foolish naked king and rather than tell the truth, they went right along with the swindler tailors....pretending to see a fine garment so as not to upset or not be part of the group, when in fact there was NOTHING there! It wasn't until the little boy cried, "The Emperor is naked!!!" that the entire town (and the king!) came to their senses and saw that in fact, there was nothing there! This town, and our community at large, and our people need to stop the madness of hatred. As Suzie said, we'll take up our cross of Christianity and keep telling the truth! Keep standing up for justice. We have too much to do to waste our energy and time on this! There are mouths to feed and people to clothe! |
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Are we the only Armenians in town who are sensitive to the lack of truth in journalism? This town is really sick... now the GNP has on of its columnist, Patrick Azadian, reporting on hate crimes and using us as example:
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2008/02/25/columns/gnp-margins23.txt
You really have to wonder about a town that's so ready to hate...
AND shame on all those people who really 'care' about hate-crimes AND believing this story, did not report it to higher authorities than Glendale Police! |
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It begs the question we've asked in religion:
"Why to the faithful have such a will to believe in something? And call it the name they choose, having chosen nothing..." - Ian Anderson
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| "This is obviously considered vandalism, but it’s also considered a hate crime if you can prove the perpetrator did it for hatred reasons." - is this even english? |
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