Five Santa Cruz(California) churches target of 'hate crime'

[RedEarth]

SANTA CRUZ — Vandals struck five Santa Cruz churches, a Christian bookstore and the historic Santa Cruz Mission Adobe on Saturday night in what police are calling a hate crime.

The vandals used a stencil to leave specially crafted messages and images about a half-foot across. One depicted a cross with an equal sign followed by a swastika. Church leaders said another stated "Abort Christ," a message one minister called "stunning and distressing."

The targeted churches included Holy Cross, Messiah Lutheran, High Street Community, First Congregational and Calvary Episcopalian. Also struck was the Agnus Dei Christian bookstore on Cedar Street and the Santa Cruz Mission Adobe park, which is near Holy Cross.

The Rev. Mark Stetz of Holy Cross said the messages seemed so general that it is not clear what the person or people were upset about. He said the church reaches out to all members of the community and tries to promote social justice.

"There is nothing constructive about what they did," he said. "It's just damaging and destructive, and the resources needed to repair those things could have been used to help people in other ways."

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/February/07/local/stories/04local.htm

[sasha031]

1. the MSM will blame liberals and gays

[BR_Parkway]

4. Yeah, this is getting spookier and spookier - are they trying to

demonize us further to make our arguements null when we speak out against war with Iran or Shrub's criminal wiretaps?

[MindPilot]

8. Yes, but it will probably turn out to be nice white boys.

Young men from good, stable, affluent, conservative homes. Wannabe Hitler youth.

[anotherdrew]

35. I guarantee you it's white punks on dope what did it, but I blame society.

LOL
Typical graffiti but targeting the churches has elevated this to a "hate crime" I suppose... NOT. Hate Crimes charges are for Violence against HUMANS not property.

[Critters2]

18. For attacking

a Congregational (does anyone know if it's UCC?) and Episcopal Church? That would be liberals and gays attacking themselves. Which the MSM might find plausible, I guess, but...:shrug:

On edit: I just checked, and First Congregational of Santa Cruz is United Church of Christ, and is "open and affirming", the UCC's name for self-identified gay-friendly churches. So, don't know anything about the others, but at least one of these is a liberal church.

[psychopomp]

29. lol you have never been to SC

I probably know the type of person who did this and I can tell you that you are likely not far off the mark. Not that I condone such an act nor would I paint all SC radicals with such a broad brush...

[fooj]

2. Kind of hard to do that in Santa Cruz County.

I grew up here. it may have been the skinheads, IMO. Unfortunately, we've got them here, too.

Peace.

[Dhalgren]

7. I don't think that the "Skinheads" would put up signs that said

the cross = the swastika. I think it is being done to make it easier to promote "Christian persecution". Liberals are trying to destroy our churches - that sort of thing...

[fooj]

10. I agree. I told my hubby that same thing last evening.

Just wanted to mention that UNFORTUNATELY, we've got some skinheads around these parts lately. There was a time when you'd never, ever see one in Santa Cru Co.

Peace.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. Hey, fooj. I grew up in Sta. Cruz. Bayview elementary, Mission hill

Jr. High, Sta Cruz High, and Cabrillo.

Worked as a teen in the Cowell/Stevenson dish room at UCSC.


What up?

[fooj]

19. La Selva, here.

Howdy neighbor!

[John Q. Citizen]

21. Ah, the jungle. Howdy former neighbor! I'm in the great inland North

now, but still love to go back and visit my friends and family.

I miss the ocean, but not the traffic.

[katty]

34. yeah, hard in SCruz..maybe skins..they more than detest libs

[BOSSHOG]

3. Alabama now California

I'm skeptical. Zealots have been unable to make the "we are being persecuted" nonsense stick. Are they now making up evidence?

[fooj]

6. That's exactly what I told my hubby last night.

We live here in Santa Cruz County...

Although we've had a "skinhead" emergence in the last few years, this doesn't really make a whole lot of sense around these parts.

peace.

[laheina]

5. The mission is a historic building.

It has value beyond any religious significance that may belong to it. It can even be seen as a monument to the cruelty to the Native Americans on the part of the padres.

So this just seems wrong to me.

[MindPilot]

13. Yep those are historical buildings--a piece of what makes

California California. There has been an enormous amount of time and energy put into their upkeep. As the article states cleaning those walls is not a job for the local contractor; that's archaeological restoration.

[zanne]

9. Who would do this?

What kind of group would equate Christianity with Naziism? (I don't know if that's spelled right, but you know what I mean.) I can't think of one type of group that has this philosophy.

[fooj]

11. The dialysis clinic has been BOMBED twice in the last month, too.

Very, very strange.

Peace.

[kineneb]

40. why on earth- the dialysis clinic?

Dialysis keeps people with kidney failure alive. That is all. Ask me: Hubby is on dialysis, and I am grateful that it is available. So why attack the clinic? Those who did are vermin of the lowest order; they would attack the sickest and weakest amoungst us.

[fooj]

43. Yes. My thoughts, exactly.

Peace.

[Dhalgren]

12. I agree. That why it "feels" like a set-up job to me...

[demosincebirth]

16. What do you mean by "setup job?"

[Dhalgren]

20. I just mean that there is no group current today who would

target Christian churches in a generalized way. Some stupid punks might break-in, rob, and vandalize some churches, but it would be obvious to everyone what it was. This kind of 'cross=swastika' and "abort" something or other spray painted on walls, just feels like someone wanting evidence of Christians being persecuted. Random churches in Alabama then random churches in Southern Cal.? I don't know, it just seems trumped-up to me.

[psychopomp]

30. I don't think so

I lived in SC for a number of years and I am not surprised this happened. We had some colorful, great people in that area but some were pretty off the wall. Oh, and um SC is in Northern California.

[Dhalgren]

46. Thanks for the geography lesson!

:hi: I was talking more about Alabama. With Roy Moore running for gov., I could see how a little persecution might get the people out to vote, eh?

[demosincebirth]

32. So these churches in Santa Cruz and in the South are doing it to

themselves? Yeah, right! A couple christian hating punks can do that. It doesn't have to be an organized group. Geez.

[Dhalgren]

45. I didn't say they "were doing it to themselves" - you said that.

I said that it felt, to me, more like someone wanting to make it appear that "Christians" were being persecuted. Now, in these Alabama churches, most of them appear to be black (though not all) and a lot of people are beginning to think about that aspect. However, more and more "Christians" interviewed on tee vee down here are saying things like, "These people want to stop us from worshiping" and "These arsonists may think that they can stamp out our faith, but..." and "These attacks on Christians"... This is just a very dangerous situation for folks in Alabama, because once the backlash starts, it will be hard to stop. Remember Judge Moore? He might benefit from a feeling of "Christian" persecution, no?

[havocmom]

17. Who would benefit from outbreaks of civil violence

requiring a serious law enforcement response and suspension of normal activities (civil rights)? Answer that and one may unravel the mystery of who would be doing things to incite such outbreaks of civil violence.

Who needs legitimate cover for domestic surveillance ... who benefits ?

[devilgrrl]

33. Rightards looking to stir up some shit and blaming someone else...

that's who would do such a thing.

[Finder]

15. Protest warrior pukes, no doubt.

As others stated, a demonization tactic.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

22. anyone getting suspicious about this?

with the run up of the war drums against Iran,
would it not be Rovian to do an anthrax attack on "the American way of life" by attacking religions?
Doesn't that play into the hands of an uber-government to protect our churches?
Isn't that a perfect way to sneak in even more authoritarian control over our lives?

It stinks. 5 churches in Alabama, another 5 in california.
This stinks of Karl Rove and neocon operatives.

[slackmaster]

23. I suspect copycat activity by bored teenagers

The simplest explanation is usually the best explanation.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

24. I would hope so, but it doesn't seem like that.

one, two, three churches, yeah as a copycat. but 5 or 6? no. This is an organized effort to sway the emotions of the public. It is a scam job by a larger organization.

[nemo137]

26. I'm with you. I know alot of guys who talk shit and do dumb shit cause

there's nothing else to do. I had a few acquaintances who vandalized some gravestones a few years back, not out of any cause, but just because they were bored and drunk. I'm willing to bet "abort christ!" sounds real good to some hammered, jobless 19 year olds.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

27. Hey, the army's hiring, I heard.

Wait. No, never mind.

[mainer]

36. Agnostics and atheists don't do this sort of thing.

They have better things to do with their time.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

37. Pre Cise Ly. That is why I suspect Rove

and his merry band of criminal operatives.

[mitchum]

25. Psyops

[psychopomp]

31. Doubt it

[NuttyFluffers]

41. i agree. liberal churches in SC? and so much in USA so recently?

the timing for all of this is far too convenient. screams of psyops. it alienates 'the libruls' and riles up 'the base'. same thing about all this craziness about cartoons, etc. (like why didn't they publish the jesus cartoons before the mohammed ones? 'cause it'll rile and alienate 'the base' of RWers -- and won't rile up the right targets). someone's benefitting and thinks everyone will react out of base gut instinct.

my school when i was young was the victim of stuff like this before, but usually the stuff is swastikas and pentagrams. mindless, incoherent rage, typical hoodlum stupidity. but there's a definite angle being sought here, far too intelligent to be pulled off by random hooliganry. also, they were often kids from the schools that are next to the churches (y'know, disgruntled youth venting on their school, pretty common). but archaeological heritage, the historic mission there? who'd go out of their way to bother with that? they are generally left alone, even by vandals; so few people, besides tourists, are going to see it that it won't have the same community impact they are going for (we have a few californian missions where i live, too. most people don't mess with them because it's pretty pointless).

[DarbyUSMC]

28. Cartoon protesters would be my guess.

If the hijackers lived among us easily, so too could any extremist element. Burning churches would be an attack on what they'd think would be the heart of the 'Christian' community. With no understanding that the real church is the people inside the building, not the building itself, they are wasting their time. I am not privy to statistics but for every notorious congregation, like the ones showing up at funerals with their runny noses protesting like jerks, there are thousands of regular everyday people out there who attend these churches as part of their quiet non-attention getting lives. We don't hear about them because they are our neighbors who say hello but don't intrude on our privacy. They might show up with a casserole if there is a death in the family. They might be the people who helped my son when he fell off of his bike. They don't do things to be thanked or noticed. These folks don't deserve to have their buildings burned down.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

38. They're targeting liberal churches?

I wonder if it's freeper types who think that anyone who's not a fundy is "deluded by Satan."

[AntiFascist]

39. Sounds like some covert operation, if you ask me n/t

[PBass]

42. What strikes me as weird

is the multiple churches that were targeted, and the use of stencils to make the grafitti. I don't know why using stencils strike me as odd, but it does.

[AntiFascist]

44. All I know is...

certain "squads" opposed liberation theology. Also, look into the background of Cardinal Ratzinger.