Mexican Restaurant torched in California

[KingFlorez]

I believe this is what the anti-immigration debate is stirring up

Mexican Restaurant Torched In East County
Arson Believed To Be Hate Crime

POSTED: 6:56 am PDT April 11, 2006
UPDATED: 7:12 am PDT April 11, 2006

JAMUL, Calif. -- An arson fire that damaged a Mexican restaurant in an unincorporated part of East County appears to be a hate crime, sheriff's investigators said.

Images: Arson May Be Hate Crime

The fire started shortly before midnight Monday at Mariachi's Bar and Grill at 12868 Campo Road, NBC 7/39 reported. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, but it caused about $10,000 damage to the exterior of the building.

Investigators said the arsonist sprayed anti-Mexican profanities on the building in red paint before starting the fire. The person then broke a window, poured gasoline inside the restaurant and set the building on fire.
Click here to find out more!

The restaurant is located in a strip mall. Investigators asked anyone with information about the fire to contact the sheriff's department.

[goclark]

1. Amazing :(

[benburch]

2. And you just KNOW the perps had to be Freeptards. nt

[Liberty Belle]

3. That's my area! Oh no...

Anti-immigration marches here had 100,000 people last weekend, including a large contingency from Jamul.

[dsewell]

11. Anti-immigration marches?

Are you talking about 100,000 people showing up to protest immigrants? Or (as I hope), do you mean 100,000 people protesting the anti-immigration legislation?

[Liberty Belle]

21. I misspoke; I meant the immigration marches protesting

the Sensenbrenner bill.

[Liberty Belle]

4. Link, please?

[Liberty Belle]

5. dupe - mods, please delete

[KingFlorez]

7. Here

Sorry, I forgot to include it

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/8616702/detail.html

[CoffeeCat]

6. I'm not surprised...

...if you listen to rightwingradio these days, they are spewing complete venom
regarding immigrants, in particular, people from Mexico.

They aren't just angry about the immigration issue, they are totally eviscerating
Mexicans. There is a serious mumps outbreak in Iowa, and it has been asserted that
illegals (who don't vaccinate their children) started all of this. I've also heard Hispanics
are being blamed for causing the US flag to be banned in some schools. There's stuff
like this all over hate radio--and it can't be ignored.

I've said before on DU that this really scares me. I see a certain group of people
being totally dehumanized and I'm hearing a lot of hate. It's one thing to stand
on one side of a policy issue--but it's another to push hatred of people.

Right-wing media is doing this in concert. They're all singing from the same song book.
That's troubling. They're whipping into a frenzy--their redneck base, and they're manufacturing
outrage.

We need to pay attention to this. This cannot go unchecked.

[The Backlash Cometh]

8. This is something that is just plain stupid.

Why would someone target a Mexican restaurant? What's that going to accomplish but a backlash? It's just plain stupid. I bet when they investigate it, they'll find someone who has a personal grudge against the owners of the restaurant. May even be over the immigration issue, but it's personal.

[Taverner]

9. No doubt inspired by Annorexic Coulter's rant on O'Leilly`

Where she said if Immigration wanted to catch illegals, they could have locked up all the protestors....

[demosincebirth]

18. Really? Of the twenty people I know that marched in Oakland,

nineteen are born citizens and one is naturalized.

[Taverner]

19. Exactly

But to the Coulters of the world, any latino is an illegal.

She's a danger to Democracy and America.

[KingFlorez]

10. This reminds me of the south during segregation

This is the sort of behavior that went on back then. Let's hope it doesn't get worst.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. Something similar happened in Texas in 1990

During Gulf War I. An Iraqi, who was, ironically, a political refugee from Saddam Hussein, owned a restaurant in Arlington TX, and had his window smashed, a bomb threat, and racist statments sprayed around, as I recall. I was ashamed to be an American at that point.

The idiot who did this to the Mexican restaurant is of the same ilk; no concern about the other buisnesses in the mall, no clue as to whether or not the owners were here legally, just an urge to spew hate and to destroy things.

Hope they catch whoever did this. Wouldn't it be interesting if the idiot uses the "Rush told me to do it" defense? If they did say they did it because of a rw radio commentator, could that commentator be prosecuted?

[xultar]

13. Alrighty they shouldn't be fuckin with my TexMex and Mex food

they shouldn't be settin' shit blaze.

[Olney Blue]

23. I had the same thought.

:blush: It's my favorite food. :)


I hope they catch these criminals, and that there are no copy-cat fires.

[0007]

14. I hope this isn't the prelude of something big......lot Watts

[zbdent]

15. You know, I haven't heard of any Taco Bells being attacked

but, then again, that ain't Mexican food . . .

'sides, the ones in California backed Ahnold . . . so the Taco Bells must represent the "good Mexicans" for the righties . . . at least in Calif. . . . .

[stepnw1f]

16. Why Don't These Cowards WHo Torched the Place

get mad and torch the White House for making the situation worse, and outsourcing our jobs. Fucking stupid assholes just need an excuse to express more bigotry.

[Cleita]

17. You will be seeing more of this if law enforcement

doesn't send the vigilante Minutemen packing. Their presence is stirring up the pot.

[Marie26]

20. It was only a matter of time. nt

[RagingInMiami]

22. I guarantee who ever did that is going to get caught

Idiots like that always brag about their deed.

[Gregorian]

24. One arson; One president.

One bad person does so much damage.