Death on the Fourth of July

All Long Beach libraries closed July 3rd and 4th. They are now all closed on Sunday's. Stocked up on books. "Death on the Fourth of July" seemed an apt title to read over the long weekend. The book by David A. Neiwert is subtitled "The Story of A Killing, A Trial, And Hate Crime In America". The killing has nothing to do with homelessness, but many homeless are victims of hate crimes or crimes committed simply due to bias against homeless people. Killings of homeless for sport by teens ~ usually drunk young men ~ often makes the news.

The death happened in a sleepy ocean resort town, Ocean Shores, which was the hometown of Kurt Cobain. I once checked out a book with Cobain's scribblings; quickly lost interest in it; boring. The "well-graffitied brige" that Cobain slept under when he was homeless is mentioned. The author says Cobain was "one of most influencial songwriters in rock history." Huh? Okay, I am old and not a huge rock fan ~ yet I think of Cobain as having a cult following, not a leader in writing of rock songs. I could be wrong. Think he had one song that I liked.

The dead guy, Chris Kinison, had been sort of homeless. He became sullen after his parents divorce, dropped out of High School, had a falling out with his mother and spent time sleeping on friend's couches, living "on the Beach", before leaving town. He was in town that 4th of July weekend to visit friends.

The prosecuting attorney, Jerry Fuller, is quoted by Neiwert as saying "You don't bring a knife to a fistfight," invoking "a basis law of combat." Seems to me Fuller was implying that Minh Hong agreed to a gentlemanly fight with Kinison, and as thus was obligated to obey some unspoken rules of conduct. This was not the case.

Hong, his twin brother and a friend drove to Ocean Shores for a holiday celebration. Some young ladies who drove in a separate car, met them at the hotel where the young men had reserved a room. After a day enjoying the beach and pool, one of the guys was hungry. The three guys drove to a Texaco station mini-mart, the only place to get a snack at that late hour, in seach of Ramaen Noodles. A fistfight was not on their agenda.

When the boys got out of the car, walking towards the store entrance, Kinison, who had a Confederate flag drapped over his shoulders, began taunting the boys with racial slurs and "go back to your own country". Kinison was much larger than the young men and joined in his taunts by a group of between 5 and 10 other young men. Kinison began rapping on the window of the store, waving his flag and making a slit throat motion with his hand. I guess he was inviting the tourists to a fistfight. One of them asked the clerk to call the police. The clerk refused to do so. Obvious the kids did not want to accept the challenge to fight.

Kinison's death may have been avoided if the clerk had remembered "The customer is always right." It was not his place to decide the boys did not need the police, his job was to comply with their request. Customers do not generally ask a clerk to call the cops unless they are badly frightened. The town has about 3,000 year-round residents. Logic; they are tourists, do not know their way 'round town, they want to speak to local cops, CALL for them.

The clerk must be well aware that local kids hung around in the parking lot, drinking late at night. The scene, as described, reminded me of the 7/11 on 4th Street, where a number of homeless hung around in front of the store. I hung out for a 1/2 hour or so once, under the overhang to stay out of the rain, chatting with a homeless guy. They were not harassing customers. Bothersome, yes, with their panhandling efforts. I spoke to Juan, the clerk about his handling of that nuisance. Some would go into the 7/11, usually drunk, sometimes belligerent, demanding free coffee or food "Ah, gimmie a break," kind of pleas.

It also reminds me of 1968 when I walked to a nearby Dairy Queen. I saw some people I knew, stopped to chat. Cop pulled in the parking lot and made all of us late teen-age kids leave. No loitering. I was rather angry at the time. We were doing nothing wrong, simply eating ice cream and talking to each other. The clerk then, knowing the parking lot was a hang out for rowdy, drinking kids, was remiss in not complying with the request for help from Hong's group.

What happened while the boys were in the store is a police cruiser made a run through the grocery store parking lot across the street. Someone warned Kinison to "cool it" and he stopped his taunting through the store windows, moving around to the side of the building with his gang. Hong, his brother and friend, were relieved and headed to the car. Kinison accosted them, shouting more racial slurs, spitting on them. The young men got to their car and decided to leave the parking lot the way they arrived, onto the main drag, rather than an unfamilar side street.
As they neared the Texaco station pumps, Kinison jumped in front of the car, throwing his Confederate flag on the hood. Hong claims they heard a thump at the back of the car and they were hemmed in, decided to get out and run. Witnesses say no one was behind them. As soon as the brother jumped out of the passenger seat, Kinison started punching him, knocking him to the ground, his eyeglasses went flying. Hong rushed over to help his brother. One of Kinison's friends was beating up the friend.

Hong was also hit by Kinison as he tried to help his brother who Kinison was kicking. Like his brother, his glasses went flying and he was acting in blind rage. Outsized and outnumbered, Hong had shoplifted a couple of paring knives inside the store, preparing for his defense if need be. He began rapidly stabbing at Kinison. He says he was not aware that the knife penatrated. There were a lot of stab wounds and the serious ones are what killed Kenison.

Okay, if I were Hong, I would not shoplift. Like the young men, I am small. Women are told to hold car keys straight with an index finger to stab an attacker in the eye. Or to use a pen. Walking late at night I often had a pen at the ready for any potential attacks. I also routinely kept my car or house key at the ready when heading home. I worked odd hours, doing grocery store re-sets. Parking an issue in Long Beach. Often had to drive 'round and 'round during wee hours of the morning finding a parking space. Silly in retrospect of my homeless days. I would spot groups of people at 2 - 3 AM hanging out by Bixby Park and was leery walking the four or five blocks home. Alone at that hour. The chances, I thought, of me actually being able to stab an attacker in the eye were slim and none. But I was prepared.

A friend from Universal Care told me to carry a sock filled with a roll of quarters around with me. Long ago a woman who used a hat pin on an assailant was found guilty of using a "concealed weapon". My friend said if one used the sock to smack the attacker, one could say the quarters were for the laundromat, as to why she had a sock full of quarters. No concealed weapon, ya see.
I have zero sympathy for Kinison. His mother was quite upset as any mom would be when a child is stabbed to death. She, and others, cried loudly that Kinison was not a racist, just used racial slurs to start fights. What does that have to do with anything? Why was he picking fights? Especially with tourists. Sorry, but only a hardcore bigot would carry around a Confederate flag. That flag is an anti-American symbol. We are called the United States of America. The flag is a reminder and desire for the Divided States of America.

The southern states did not think African slaves were human beings. They were property and things. Anyone who admires the flag or symbol from those days and those states is a bigot. (I do not know if I am writing an article or a blog post here, sigh, but yet more to say about this book.)
Fuller asked the jury why Hong's group did not leave by the back door when they felt threatened. I have been in many mini-marts. I do not recall ever seeing a back door to escape from. I have also taken several trips across the country, stopping at mini-marts or other rest stop areas for food or to use a bathroom. The larger places usually do have back doors, some have several entrances. Yet they all lead to the same parking lot. Hong's group had to get to where their car was parked. Unreasonable to expect a tourist to know of the existance of a back door or alternate route to their vehicle.

Small tourist town, that "rolls up the sidewalks at night", I suppose the cops tolerate groups of kids hanging in the parking lots, getting drunk. Yet when the cop cruised the parking lot across the street, might not he have cruised the Texaco lot as well? Did he not see the shaved and buzz cut heads and the Confederate flag? When confronted by the group, Hong's first thought was: Skinheads. Skinhead association: violent and hateful people. Ignorant also. Hong's actions were motivated out of fear for his life and the lives of his brother and friend. He said he did not want to end up like "that guy in Texas."

That guy being James Byrd who was tied to the back of a pickup truck after being beat up, dragged around town until death and his body fell apart, the head and arm being found a mile from the torso. Kinison's mother and the prosecuter can cry all they want about Hong being unfair, but as I see it, Kinison got what he gave. Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time. The time was his death for the crime of wanting to beat up guys much smaller than himself.