What's Going On?

[cohibasmoker]

Is it me? Folks are getting murdered in Schools, Church's, Shopping Malls etc. so it's not all that surprising that we can't even go to a baseball game without looking over our shoulder.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dodgers-fan-slain-following-Giants-game-4845399.php

Jim

[godwulf]

The group that fought with Denver and the others on the streets South of Market didn't go to the game...

The fact that a Baseball game had just ended ninety minutes before the killing had nothing whatsoever to do with the killing, and the killer(s) weren't even at the game; nor, for that matter, was the victim, at the time of the attack. A lot of people wear their team's jersey everywhere they go, not just to the ballgame.

The only connection between this story and Baseball is the fact that the guy's team gear made him a target...which is sad and irrational, but we're talking about a street gang, here, not the local college debate squad.

[gingi79]

Fan is short for Fanatic. While I actively cheer the failure of the teams that play my beloved Canucks/Dolphins/Braves/Canes, the fans of those teams should enjoy a mild ribbing if a team I like beats them, not actual malice or physical pain.

Isn't it ironic that someone who collects game worn material think someone else is taking these sports too seriously?

[coxfan]

A general point: gang members rarely have constructive leisure habits such as participating in or going to sports events. That's why there are many kids' programs in deprived areas, aimed at teaching kids baseball, chess, and many other constructive outlets for the competitive tendencies all humans have.


In addition, therapists gave long known that constructive leisure habits can combat problems like depresion, etc. I think it was Jim Leyland who said years ago that baseball serves a social purpose by giving people of diverse backgrounds something they can enjoy together.

[Mark17]

I'm not trying to be cynical with this... this is a serious thought for me. I've never understood the concept of "Hate Crimes." It doesn't seem to make sense to differentiate the reason why someone murders another. But if the concept of a "hate crime" is that victims are targeted because of some prejudice on the part of the attacker (for instance, he doesn't like blacks or gays) then would this qualify as a hate crime?

It only matters because I think the penalties are tougher when the prosecutor can make that charge stick.

Anyway, the whole think is just senseless and stupid, not much different from the dozens of other pointless murders that happen every day.

-Mark

[godwulf]

There are decent arguments on both sides of the "hate crime" debate, but to answer your question, no, fans of a particular sports team are not a "protected class".

There are many parallels and precedents in the realm of law for someone having years tacked on to their potential sentence because of what was in their mind at the time of the crime's commission, or for a particular status that the victim had. Enhanced sentences, for example, for attacks on law enforcement officers, witnesses, certain political office-holders, etc. Motivation can and does sometimes enter into the way a crime is punished, and has for a long time - long before anyone ever used the term "hate crimes".