Question of the Day: An Interracial Dating Double Standard?
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 9:00AM 
CNN recently reported the story of Brian Milligan Jr., an 18-year-old white man who was beaten by a group of 10 to 15 black men, possibly because Milligan was dating a black woman, 18-year old Nicola Fletcher. The couple from Buffalo, NY said they'd been regularly harassed by men and boys in the neighborhood because of their relationship. Milligan had even been shot with paintball pellets two days before the incident. His father now wants the attack to be treated as a hate crime.
From CNN:
Armed with a chunk of concrete, several assailants beat Brian Milligan Jr. on the back of the head on August 18, leaving a 3-inch gash. They kicked him in the face, breaking his jaw.
Bloodied and bruised, the 18-year-old managed to walk five blocks to his grandmother's house before being rushed to the hospital.
Milligan's father believes several African-Americans beat his son, who is white, because he is dating an African-American woman. He wants police to treat the beating as a hate crime. He also has criticized what he calls a deafening silence from the community, police and the national media.
"If this was a black guy who was beaten by a group of white guys for dating a white girl, people would be up in arms," he said. "There's a double standard."
No arrests have been made. In the story it says he suffered blood on the brain and brain swelling from the incident. He also doesn't remember the beating. Community response to the attack has been muted and one local pastor spoke out about why.
"At first, it didn't affect me the way that it would have if I heard it was a black teen attacked," said the Rev. Darius Pridgen, who spent years fighting for civil rights for African-Americans.
"But after I saw his father on TV pleading with the community to find the assailants, I decided I had to go after the people who beat this kid."
Pridgen said he felt that the community has turned a collective blind eye to the beating. So he gave a fire-and-brimstone sermon at the True Baptist Church on a Sunday after the attack, appealing to his congregation to help find the culprits.
"He didn't deserve to be beaten this way," Pridgen recalled saying at the service. "If you believe this, put your hands together."
If it was a black teen, Pridgen said, "We would have been protesting with flags and everything else."
Rod Watson also addressed the issue in his column in the Buffalo News. Watson, who is black, pointed out that interracial marriages are nearly 10 times higher than they were in 1960, according to U.S. Census data, but still those couples have a tough time being accepted by society.
"If blacks in Buffalo in 2009 are acting like whites in Selma in 1959, this society has big problems, despite electing a president who is himself the product of an interracial union," Watson said.
When I read this story I was horrified, as I am, whenever senseless violence occurs. I was also very saddened that this was black people acting violently and behaving as if another black person were their property and beating a man for dating, re: having a potential sexual relationship with their "property." And that made me feel sick because as Watson points out, that is the same mentality white racists had and still have towards interracial dating. It wasn't OK to hang, beat, maime, mutilate and murder countless black males for allegedly being involved with a white woman. I don't see how black people could turn around and act out the same sick pathology knowing what we know about what was done to us. It's not like this one particular white man was oppressing black people. He was just dating one. What sense does this make? And unlike some of the residents of Buffalo I am just as offended about this as I would be if the roles were reversed. People should be allowed to love and be loved by whomever they choose without fear of nearly dying over it.
But what do you think? Should the men involved with Milligan's beating me charged with a hate crime? Is the community response slow because of a double standard? Is that double standard warranted? Is there every a scenario where it is OK to react in violence to a situation like this? Was anyone less horrified or unaffected because the victim was a white man and why?
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Reader Comments (54)
Yes it is a hate crime. And black women are not the property of the community.
I think we need a better understanding of the purpose of hate crime designation. Typically this is used in particular cases where otherwise the sentence might be light. In this particular case, which looks like clear-cut attempted murder to me, I don't think there's any chance of a light sentence. Prosecutors prefer to use the term hate crime sparingly because juries are crazy and it can backfire quite easily. A majority black jury might be reluctant to convict under these circumstances if the term hate crime is involved. Was it a hate crime? I have no doubt that it was. Is it politic to designate and prosecute it as such? It depends.
This makes me so angry, and I've heard/read things like this before (remember the military couple whom were murdered by the guy's COMRADES?) It just adds to the list of why men of other races who might be attracted to black women don't date us because there's too many "complications" that come along with it--maybe they're right.
Yes, it is a hate crime. If the girl had been beaten by white men/women, everyone and their grandmother plus Al Sharpton would have been protesting.
And I still wonder why interracial relationships are still seen as a taboo.
I'm sure some of those men who beat the boy have white or hispanic grilfriends, etc. And their genealogy might also reflect some interracial lines (though perhaps under different circumstances).
It is a hate crime.... disgusting attitude. If the leaders in that community do not say something about this, then this reflects badly on them and all.
PS: Did the boy die? The article begins with beaten to death but further down says he has no recollection of the beating...
If this isn't a hate crime, then I sincerely dont know what is. No one deserves to be brutalism over whom they date. We are supposed to EVOLVE as a people. Move forward, show tolerance, and patience, and this is how we treat each other (Im talking beyond black and white). This is ridiculous; and heart breaking.
It is a hate crime.
Intolerance is ugly and multi-directional.
I agree with donnadara: Black women are not the property of the Black community.
As a Black woman in a relationship with a man of another race and culture, this story sends chills down my spine.
yes, it isa hate crime. but I need a little clarification. did the young man die from the incident or is he still alive. I wasn't sure of his state after reading the article.
He didn't die. Thank God
It was because of this story that my boyfriend's parents were concerned about our relationship and his safety. We've been together for six months and never had any trouble until last week when his parents found out what happened in Buffalo, an hour away from where we live. We discussed it a lot because I was so frustrated by the behaviour of the boys who did this.
What could I possibly tell his parents that would make them feel better? How is it that we're in 2009 and interracial relationships are still a curiosity to many people? And why hasn't that community stepped forward to show their support to the boy's family and the police in helping to catch the youths who did this? Clearly there's some double standard at work.
I oppose the idea of hate crime penalties altogether. I think a white man that beats a white man's face in with a brick has the same hate and evil inside of him that he would while beating a black man's face in with a brick.
However, legally speaking this case meets every element of a hate crime. Simply, the crime was motivated by race. A black man mugging a white man isn't a hate crime - the motivation is theft and race is a secondary issue. In the case at hand, the white man was beaten because of race, ergo it meets the requirements of a hate crime.
Am I surprised? Not in the least. We still have so much hate. White, black, red, brown, yellow Americans still hating each other is bad for our country.
White guy - the black kid did not steal your spot at Harvard, you weren't getting in to Harvard anyway.
Black guy - that white guy's great grandfather didn't own yours, his family was still in Slovakia then.
Everyone - that Mexican didn't steal your job, you have never dug a ditch in your life.
Many people maintain their power by promoting ideas that fuel racism and fear mongering - stop listening to those idiots and build the society we have been talking about for a few hundred years.
Hate crime? Sure.
But there should be some mention of the swiftness with which this story hit the national spotlight. And why.
"A majority black jury might be reluctant to convict under these circumstances if the term hate crime is involved."
and why would that be?
yes, if the intentions of his beating had anything to d with him being white then it IS a hate crime.
i notice that no one (except yolanda) covered the white marine officer and his black wife who was killed by his 4 black subordinates.
Hate crime..uh..this was a pure act of voilence regardless of race. Doesn't matter whether it was hate or not..they need to go to jail...PERIOD
The post reads like Milligan has died but he hasn't.
@ Faith, et al
Sorry about the confusion folks. This is why editors are a beautiful thing. Fixed it.
Yes, it is a hate crime.
I need a break from the news.
It's also sexual insecurity which drives people to hate and commit crimes such as this. It's just as bad when black people demonstrate an inferority complex. Treat this as a hate crime.
hate crime!
it frustrates me so, the mentality many Black men have towards Black women (I guess white men are the same regarding white women, hell maybe men of all races). It's okay for a man to date outside of their race, but when a woman does it, she supposedly has identity issues or something. Any woman of any ethnicity is good enough for them, but for women the only man that would be befitting of them has to be of her own ethnic background. Get over yourselves.
A crime is a crime- the perpetrators need to be punished under our laws. That's why Lady Justice wears a blindfold.
I'm wondering if this is as simple as some suggest; that these Black men were exerting ownership of the Black woman in the inter-racial relationship. I wonder what other more complex dynamics might have been at play? Was this more about a feeling of weakness and inadequacy? A lot of the violence by White men toward Black men had to do with feeling like they were losing control.
Did feelings of weakness lead them to do this? A lot of the violence perpetrated by White men against Black men was done by poor White men who felt weak. Could this be that? Isn't the basis for racial animus based in weakness and insecurity?
Anyway I'm wondering if looking for the deeper reasons will help to stop things like this from happening in the future. Also I'm not making excuses for these Black men any more than I would make excuses for White men doing this. I would just like to have a deeper understanding of the root causes of violence like this.
the attackers need to be found and punished to the full extent of the law, this is just sick and terrifying
@ SWIV:
"A majority black jury might be reluctant to convict under these circumstances if the term hate crime is involved." -- And why would that be?
***
Because you'll effectively ask possibly ten to twelve African American's if one rugged beat down is the equal to being dragged from a truck until your limbs separate from your torso (Jasper, TX). And while we can both be as high and mighty about it as we'd like, you know damn well it wouldn't take more than ten minutes for a jury with that potential composition to emphatically reject the comparison.
Yes it's terrible what happened. But can we please not act as if black men go around beating up white dudes who date outside their race every day? Save hate crime legislation for the causes and conditions for which it was passed. . .
... and this guy ain't why.
so because one crime resulted in death, and the other didn't, that makes it LESS of a hate crime? that's pretty piss poor logic right there. and the people who would use said logic don't belong on a jury because that ruling would show their inherent bias, prejudice and bigoted viewpoints.
no one said this happens ALL the time. but when it does happen, and the reasoning behind it is based on the victim's race, it's a hate crime.
Why are we assuming the father is right about who attacked his son and why? How many times have you heard white guys complaining about reverse racism because they didn't get a job they were not really qualified for or because a black person was mean to while shopping? The only evidence the father has that this was a hate crime against his son for his dating choice is the picture of his son and a black girl. He doesn't even know who the assailants are. For all he knows he got attacked by white people for dating a black girl. Or maybe it has nothing at all to do with who he's dating at all.
Yes, it is a crime that this kid was attacked. But, I've seen no evidence that this is a hate crime or that it has to do with his relationship at all.
Who knows, maybe the attackers were white. Regardless of their color, the attackers must be brought to justice for this despicable crime.