This is the fourth, last part of a series.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
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Nikita Whitlock moved his family into their Moonachie home in about July 2016. On September 15, he was suspended from the NY Giants football team, where he was a fullback, for ten games after he was caught using performance-enhancing drugs. The ten-game suspension would cost him $204,705 in expected salary.
At some point during the family's Moonachie residence, two other people moved in -- Nikita's sister and a downstairs roommate (sex unknown). Perhaps these two roommates were taken in to help pay the rent. The only White person living in the household (Nikita's wife Ashley is Black) was the downstairs roommate (the graffiti in the roommate's bedroom said NIGGER LOVER).
Shortly before Thanksgiving 2016, the Whitlocks decided to move out of their Moonachie home. If they had a normal year-long lease, however, they would lose their security deposit, which normally is at least one month's rent. At the worst, they would have to continue to pay rent until a new renter moved in.
During the Thanksgiving weekend -- Thursday November 24 through Sunday November 27 -- Whitlock perceived that an attempted break-in had happened at his home. When he and his son returned home from seeing a movie, they saw that a side door had been damaged. Specifically, the door included a window that was cracked, and metal wiring embedded in the window glass was mangled.
Later Whitlock learned that some packages had been delivered at the home and then had disappeared during the movie outing. The packages were the only items that disappeared during this incident, and so the break-in seemed to be unsuccessful.
Since packages normally are not delivered on holidays and weekends, this attempted break-in happened probably on Friday or Saturday, November 25 or 26.
Whitlock indicated that only he and his son went to the movie. Therefore the circumstances indicate that the other four inhabitants -- Nikita's wife, baby, sister and downstairs roommate -- were gone from the home during the package delivery and the subsequent noisy attempted break-in.
The time of the attempted break-in could be determined as happening between 1) the package delivery and 2) the time when the movie ended. Since the son was only six years old, the movie probably was a matinee or early-evening (not late-night) showing. Therefore the attempted break-in happened in the afternoon or early evening. The public has not been informed whether the attempted break-in was reported to the police or whether the police investigated it.
A plausible explanation of the attempted break-in would be that an opportunistic, thieving passer-by noticed that some packages had been left at the house's front door. He deduced that nobody was home, and so he stole the packages. He then tried to open the front door, which turned out to be locked. Because the front door was visible from the street, he went around the building and tried to break through a side door. He tried to break the side door's window so that he could reach through and unlock the door. He failed and left.
Another plausible explanation would be that the culprit was not a passer-by, but rather a person who was targeting that particular house. He knew who lived in the house, and perhaps he also knew that some particular valuables were located inside the house. He watched for an opportunity when all its inhabitants had gone away, apparently leaving the house empty. He was not able to break in on that occasion, so he departed with only the delivered packages that were outside. He returned on December 6 and entered some other way.
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Then the actual break-in and vandalism happened on the evening of Tuesday, December 6, between 6:30 and 8:45, while the Whitlocks' were eating out. The sister and downstairs roommate must have been gone during that time too.
Although a rainstorm had been forecast and although rain had begun to fall by 6;30, Whitlock did not take along an umbrella for the outing. When they returned home at 8:45, rain was pouring down. Whitlock left his family in the car, and he and another, unidentified person went into the home to fetch an umbrella. When Whitlock opened the door, however, he saw a swastika drawn on an inside wall. Whitlock and the other person immediately walked back to the car, and he reported the break-in to the police. Then the police investigated the home for about four hours until they allowed him to enter the home.
After he entered the home, he was able to ascertain that some jewelry and a video game system were missing. This was described as only "a few items". Other valuables, such as a laptop computer, remained.
During the following hours, Whitlock hung bedsheets over the graffiti so that his son would not see the graffiti. However, a bedsheet was not hung over the NIGGER LOVER graffiti in the bedroom of the downstairs roommate -- presumably because the son never went into that room.
On Wednesday morning, Whitlock showed the vandalism to Andrew Wyrich, a reporter for the local Record newspaper. Wyrich filmed the graffiti. Later that day Wyrich wrote an article that mentioned the damaged side door's window, giving readers the impression that this particular damage was related to the break-in that happened on December 6. Wyrich did not report how the culprit entered the home.
Later on Wednesday, however, CBS2 News broadcast a video in which Whitlock showed that a small window had been completely cut or broken out. Whitlock explained that "we think they started here and then worked their way around to the other door". Presumably, the culprit entered through the broken window and then unlocked a door from the inside.
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ESPN reported that "a representative for Whitlock told ESPN's Josina Anderson that the player's previous residence was also burglarized", and other statements indicated that the family experienced two break-ins during a period of six months (not merely ten days). If indeed there were two actual break-ins at the beginning and end of a six-month period, then a hypothetical time-line for the year 2016 would be as follows:
* June = Actual break-in at the pre-Moonachie home
* July = Move into the Moonachie home, signing one-year lease
* September = Ten-game suspension = loss of $200,000 expected income
* October = Sister and downstairs roommate move in
* Right before Thanksgiving = Whitilocks decide to move out of Moonachie home
* Thanksgiving Weekend = Attempted break-in
* December 6 = Break-in and racist vandalism
* Late December = Whitlocks allowed to move out early with full security deposit
Most of that timeline is mere speculation based on sketchy statements. Only the attempted break-in during the Thanksgiving weekend and the actual break-in on December 6 are based on good information.
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During roughly the first half of 2016, Whitlock was using performance-enhancing drugs. He was caught and suspended during (it seems) the summer. He certainly stopped using the drugs, but perhaps he continued to keep a valuable supply of the drugs and intended to sell them. Perhaps an acquaintance knew about those drugs and broke into steal them. The acquaintance drew the graffiti so that Whitlock would not suspect the acquaintance.
Whitlock has told reporters that jewelry and video game systems disappeared from his home during the December break-in. The public has not been given any idea of the value of the missing items,. nor whether they were insured.
If an acquaintance broke in to steal the drugs, he might have taken the jewelry and game stuff to create a false impression that the culprit was a random burglar. Really, the acquaintance wanted only in the drugs, but he did not want to be suspected by Whitlock, and so he also took other stuff and wrote racist graffiti. By writing NIGGER LOVER in that downstairs bedroom, the acquaintance unintentionally revealed that he knew that this particular bedroom was inhabited by a White person.
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The racist vandalism happened on December 6, 2016. As I write this article on January 28, 2017, there have been no other such incidents. Before December 6, there was no other such incident. Such a racism vandalism has happened only in one home -- the home of Nikita Whitlock.
There is no racist Trump supporter going around and breaking into ethnic minorities' homes and writing racist graffiti on their inside walls -- in Moonachie or anywhere else.
=============================
Following are sources for particular details.
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http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/giants-nikita-whitlock-burglars-defaced-home-swastika-racist-message-120816
Whitlock suspended for ten games in September for using performance-enhancing drugs. The burglar entered through a window and stole jewelry and a video game system. The second break-in in the last six months.
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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/12/07/giants-player-home-vandalized/
Burglar entered through a small window. The Whitlocks decided before Thanksgiving to move out of their Moonachie home.
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http://abc7ny.com/sports/suspended-giants-fb-whitlock-burglars-left-swastika-kkk/1645342/
The Whitlock's previous home was burglarized. The ten-game suspension cost $204,705.
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http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2016/12/giants_players_neighbors_expected_drive-by_shootin.html
Sister and downstairs roommate (NIGGER LOVER). During Thanksgiving weekend, went to movie with son, side door's window cracked and packages taken. On December 6, only a few items were stolen. Family had decided before Thanksgiving to move out.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
The Vandalism of Nikita Whitlock's Home in Moonachie - Part 3
This is the third part of a series.
Part 1
Part 2
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Some people like to make racism accusations against other people, and they try to prove their accusations by concocting hoaxes. Graffiti is a frequently used hoax method. Here are some examples.
William Tucker, a 58-year-old Black man, spray-painted TRUMP RULES on homes, stores and automobiles. He was filmed by a surveillance camera, and then an anonymous tipster identified him to police.
Olander Cuthrell, a 41-year-old Black minister at a Virginia church, set his house and car on fire. He had painted a racial slur on his house.
Jesus Cabrera, a 19-year-old Hispanic, told police he was attacked by three white men because of his ethnicity. Later he admitted that he made up the story and that he had been stabbed by a rival graffiti crew while he was tagging a bridge overpass.
Curtis Sliwa, the 26-year-old (in 1980) founder of the Guardian Angels, reported the vandals had written the graffiti KKK and WHITE POWER on his group's headquarters. Later he admitted that he himself had done it in order to win sympathy for his group and to prevent its eviction from the building.
An unnamed Hispanic student at Elon University wrote BYE BYE LATINOS, HASTA LA VISTA on a classroom blackboard. He was identified from the campus security cameras.
Mirza Akram, a 37-year-old Pakistani immigrant, spray-pained anti-Muslim graffiti and a white cross on his own store and then set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Amjad Abunar, painted GO HOME on his own delicatessen and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Kassim Alhimidi, a 49-year-old Iraqi immigrant, beat his wife to death. Near her corpse, he wrote GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY, YOU TERRORIST.
Unnamed Albanian Muslims wrote anti-Muslim graffiti and swastikas on their own store and then set it on fire to collect insurance money.
Safia Z. Jilani, an Elmhurst College student, reported that she had been attacked in a campus bathroom because of her Muslim religion. A week before that attack, a swastika and DIE MUSLIMS, RID US OF YOUR FILTH had been pained on her school locker. Jilani confessed that she had concocted all the incidents.
Kareem Khoury, a 36-year-old Arab, admitted that he hired someone to paint graffiti on his Dairy Queen and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Dylan Bleier and Matt Alden, two Jewish students at Oberlin University, admitted that they spray-painted racist, anti-Jewish and anti-gay graffiti on their campus in order to promote leftist politics.
An unnamed Asian-American student at Oberlin University admitted that he was the person who had written DEATH TO CHINKS and DEAD CHINKS, GOOD CHINKS on a campus monument.
Sarah Marshak, a student journalist at George Washington University, admitted that she was the person who had drawn six swastikas on her dorm-room door. She confessed after a hidden camera filmed her drawing the final three swastikas.
An unnamed 17-year-old lesbian student at Tamalais High School admitted that she was the person who had written DIE FAG on a school wall and on her car in the school parking lot.
Nezar Maad, an Arab-American wrote NOT IN OUR TOWN and WE HATE ARABS on his print shop and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Donald Maynard, a Black firefighter-paramedic, admitted that he himself had displayed a noose and a threatening note in his fire station.
Andrew McClinton, a 45-year-old Black, admitted that he himself had written VOTE TRUMP on his Black church before setting it on fire.
Jenny and David Williams admitted that they themselves spray-painted NIGGER LOVERS on their garage door and set their truck and motorcycle on fire in order to collect insurance money.
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Many of the above examples are from a website called Fake Hate Crimes. Below are some other examples for which the links to the source articles are broken:
Ivory Lee Scott, a Black military policeman, was charged with writing racist graffiti on his base's dormitories.
Two unnamed Jewish teenagers were charged with painting swastikas and anti-Jewish graffiti on 51 apartments.
Charles A Lewis, a Black politician, admitted to paying someone to write racist graffiti on his own house.
Pedro House Jr, a Black student at Union County College, was caught painting anti-Semitic and racist slurs on a restroom wall on campus.
-----------
Many of the above hoaxes have one or both of the following two motives:
1) Collecting insurance money for property lost in fires and burglaries
2) Gaining sympathy from other people after personal humiliation.
-----------
This is the third of a four-part series of articles.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Part 1
Part 2
-------
Some people like to make racism accusations against other people, and they try to prove their accusations by concocting hoaxes. Graffiti is a frequently used hoax method. Here are some examples.
William Tucker, a 58-year-old Black man, spray-painted TRUMP RULES on homes, stores and automobiles. He was filmed by a surveillance camera, and then an anonymous tipster identified him to police.
Olander Cuthrell, a 41-year-old Black minister at a Virginia church, set his house and car on fire. He had painted a racial slur on his house.
Jesus Cabrera, a 19-year-old Hispanic, told police he was attacked by three white men because of his ethnicity. Later he admitted that he made up the story and that he had been stabbed by a rival graffiti crew while he was tagging a bridge overpass.
Curtis Sliwa, the 26-year-old (in 1980) founder of the Guardian Angels, reported the vandals had written the graffiti KKK and WHITE POWER on his group's headquarters. Later he admitted that he himself had done it in order to win sympathy for his group and to prevent its eviction from the building.
An unnamed Hispanic student at Elon University wrote BYE BYE LATINOS, HASTA LA VISTA on a classroom blackboard. He was identified from the campus security cameras.
Mirza Akram, a 37-year-old Pakistani immigrant, spray-pained anti-Muslim graffiti and a white cross on his own store and then set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Amjad Abunar, painted GO HOME on his own delicatessen and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Kassim Alhimidi, a 49-year-old Iraqi immigrant, beat his wife to death. Near her corpse, he wrote GO BACK TO YOUR COUNTRY, YOU TERRORIST.
Unnamed Albanian Muslims wrote anti-Muslim graffiti and swastikas on their own store and then set it on fire to collect insurance money.
Safia Z. Jilani, an Elmhurst College student, reported that she had been attacked in a campus bathroom because of her Muslim religion. A week before that attack, a swastika and DIE MUSLIMS, RID US OF YOUR FILTH had been pained on her school locker. Jilani confessed that she had concocted all the incidents.
Kareem Khoury, a 36-year-old Arab, admitted that he hired someone to paint graffiti on his Dairy Queen and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Dylan Bleier and Matt Alden, two Jewish students at Oberlin University, admitted that they spray-painted racist, anti-Jewish and anti-gay graffiti on their campus in order to promote leftist politics.
An unnamed Asian-American student at Oberlin University admitted that he was the person who had written DEATH TO CHINKS and DEAD CHINKS, GOOD CHINKS on a campus monument.
Sarah Marshak, a student journalist at George Washington University, admitted that she was the person who had drawn six swastikas on her dorm-room door. She confessed after a hidden camera filmed her drawing the final three swastikas.
An unnamed 17-year-old lesbian student at Tamalais High School admitted that she was the person who had written DIE FAG on a school wall and on her car in the school parking lot.
Nezar Maad, an Arab-American wrote NOT IN OUR TOWN and WE HATE ARABS on his print shop and set it on fire in order to collect insurance money.
Donald Maynard, a Black firefighter-paramedic, admitted that he himself had displayed a noose and a threatening note in his fire station.
Andrew McClinton, a 45-year-old Black, admitted that he himself had written VOTE TRUMP on his Black church before setting it on fire.
Jenny and David Williams admitted that they themselves spray-painted NIGGER LOVERS on their garage door and set their truck and motorcycle on fire in order to collect insurance money.
--------
Many of the above examples are from a website called Fake Hate Crimes. Below are some other examples for which the links to the source articles are broken:
Ivory Lee Scott, a Black military policeman, was charged with writing racist graffiti on his base's dormitories.
Two unnamed Jewish teenagers were charged with painting swastikas and anti-Jewish graffiti on 51 apartments.
Charles A Lewis, a Black politician, admitted to paying someone to write racist graffiti on his own house.
Pedro House Jr, a Black student at Union County College, was caught painting anti-Semitic and racist slurs on a restroom wall on campus.
-----------
Many of the above hoaxes have one or both of the following two motives:
1) Collecting insurance money for property lost in fires and burglaries
2) Gaining sympathy from other people after personal humiliation.
-----------
This is the third of a four-part series of articles.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4
Monday, January 23, 2017
The Vandalism of Nikita Whitlock's Home in Moonachie - Part 2
This article is the second part of a four-part series that began on a previous webpage.
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The vandalism of Nikita Whitlock's home took place on Tuesday, December 6, 2016. On Friday, December 9, he appeared on the MSNBC television show All In With Chris Hayes to recount the event.
Hayes was eager to point out that Whitlock's vandalized home is located in the "predominately White" town (at 3:10 in the video) of Moonachie, and Whitlock responded that his neighbors indeed were "not keen" about a young Black man such as himself living there. Whitlock remarked that, until he revealed that he played on the Giants football team, his neighbors feared that his presence might attract drive-by shootings.
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The 2010 census found Moonachie to be ethnically diverse.
In other words, the Moonachie population is roughly:
Although Moonachie's Black portion is relatively small, the town's population is ethnically diverse. I would guess that at least a third of the Moonachie population speaks English as a second language.
Hackensack, the Bergen County seat, is only about three miles from Moonachie and has a Black population of about 10,500 -- about a fourth of the Hackensack population. When Moonachie citizens do government and commercial business in nearby county-seat Hackensack, they deal commonly with lots of Blacks.
For Chris Hayes, however, it's enough to say that Moonachie is "predominantly White", a town characteristic that explains to his MSNBC viewers the racist vandalism of Whitlock's home. I'll bet that Hayes' own neighborhood is much more "predominantly White".
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In the 2016 Presidential election, Moonachie voted against Donald Trump.
Not only is Moonachie an ethnically diverse town that voted against Trump, Moonachie is also famous for loving NY Giants football players. Already in 1987, The Chicago Tribune wrote about the famous Moonachie-Giants relationship:
When Hayes remarked that Moonachie is "predominantly White", Whitlock responded that a nice White female neighbor welcomed his family with cookies. She asked Whitlock what he does for a living, and he explained that he plays on the Giants football team. She indicated that she would pass this reassuring news to her neighbors, who were concerned that he, as a young Black man, might attract "drive-by shootings".
Because of this gossipy neighbor, much of the neighborhood certainly knew that Whitlock played on the Giants football team and also that he was a married family man with two small children. Perhaps much of the neighborhood knew through this gossipy neighbor also that he had graduated from Wake Forest University.
Still, Hayes was eager to insinuate to his MSNBC viewers that Whitlock's "predominantly White" Moonachie neighbors were reflexively hostile to the strange presence of a Black family. It's no wonder -- MSNBC viewers were supposed to understand -- that Moonachie's "predominantly White" environment would produce local racist vandals inspired by Trump's rhetoric.
It's remarkable that Moonachie's Trump-inspired vandals have not vandalized a Hispanic home in a town where about a quarter of the population is Hispanic. According to the US census, the Hispanic portion of Moonachie's population grew from 13% in 2000 to 24% in 2010, whereas the Black portion has remained under 2%. Somehow Trump has failed to inspire any vandalism of homes among the town's rapidly growing Hispanic population.
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The Whitlock family ate out on the evening of Tuesday, December 6, 2016, and their home was empty from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Most of their neighbors were likely to be home, however. It was a school night, and the television schedule featured the semi-final of the popular singing competition The Voice. It was a risky time for a racist Trump supporter to break into the Whitlock home without being seen or heard.
The Whitlock home's residents included Nikita's sister and a downstairs roommate (at 2:15 of the Hayes video) -- either of whom might become a problem for the racist Trump-supporting vandal.
Between 6:30 and 8:45 there was a heavy rainstorm. The weather station at nearby Teterboro Airport recorded the rainfall's development.
* The rain began to fall during the period from 4:51 to 5:51 p.m., when 0.01 inches was recorded.
* The next rain measurement was recorded from 5:51 to 6:41, when an additional 0.03 inches was recorded.
* During the final six hours of December 6, the rainfall totaled .62 inches.
The local media had forecast the heavy rainstorm all day. However, when Nikita Whitlock departed with his family at 6:30, when the rain had begun to fall, he did not take along an umbrella. When he and his family returned home at 8:45, the rain was pouring down.
During this rainstorm, the racist Trump supporter broke in, vandalized the home and exited.
Whitlock indicated to Hayes (at 1:00 in the video) that he left his family in his car and went into his home to get an umbrella. As he opened the door, however, he immediately saw the graffiti. Therefore he did not enter his home. Instead he returned to his car, phoned the police, and took his family to another location. The police came to the home and collected evidence for about four hours. After the four-hour investigation (about 1 a.m.?), Whitlock was allowed to enter the home and see all the vandalism for himself.
In the Hayes interview, Whitlock gave the impression that he alone left his car at 8:45 during the rainstorm to get an umbrella. However, in his earlier interview with The Record reporter Andrew Wyrich, Whitlock indicated that he was not alone at the door.
When the police were collecting evidence in the home, did they find indications that the racist Trump supporter had entered the home from an outside rainstorm?
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This is the second part of a series of articles.
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4
--------
The vandalism of Nikita Whitlock's home took place on Tuesday, December 6, 2016. On Friday, December 9, he appeared on the MSNBC television show All In With Chris Hayes to recount the event.
Hayes was eager to point out that Whitlock's vandalized home is located in the "predominately White" town (at 3:10 in the video) of Moonachie, and Whitlock responded that his neighbors indeed were "not keen" about a young Black man such as himself living there. Whitlock remarked that, until he revealed that he played on the Giants football team, his neighbors feared that his presence might attract drive-by shootings.
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The 2010 census found Moonachie to be ethnically diverse.
* Total area = 1.7 square mile
* Total population = 2,708
* Whites = 2,141 (79%) -- but 366 of these Whites self-identify as Hispanic
* Asian (Filipinos, Koreans, Indians, etc.) = 305 (11%)
* Black or African-Americans = 51 (2%)
* Other = 275 = 10% -- mostly non-White HispanicsMoonachie's 660 Hispanics (White and non-White) comprise about 24% of the population. The biggest groups come from Ecuador (123), Colombia (117), the Dominican Republic (96), Puerto Rico (85) and Cuba (54). Racially, Moonachie's 294 non-White Hispanics self-identify as mulatto, mestizo, amerindian or mixed-race.
In other words, the Moonachie population is roughly:
* 66% non-Hispanic Whites (disproportionately Italians and Sicilians)
* 14% Hispanic Whites
* 11% Asians (Filipinos, Koreans, Indians, etc.)
* 10% Hispanic Mulattoes, Mestizos, Amerindians, mixed-race
* 2% Blacks (some of whom are Dominicans, Cubans, etc.)Since I live only about one mile from Moonachie, I know that the area's non-Hispanic Whites are disproportionately Italian and Sicilian and that many still speak those languages among themselves.
Although Moonachie's Black portion is relatively small, the town's population is ethnically diverse. I would guess that at least a third of the Moonachie population speaks English as a second language.
Hackensack, the Bergen County seat, is only about three miles from Moonachie and has a Black population of about 10,500 -- about a fourth of the Hackensack population. When Moonachie citizens do government and commercial business in nearby county-seat Hackensack, they deal commonly with lots of Blacks.
For Chris Hayes, however, it's enough to say that Moonachie is "predominantly White", a town characteristic that explains to his MSNBC viewers the racist vandalism of Whitlock's home. I'll bet that Hayes' own neighborhood is much more "predominantly White".
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In the 2016 Presidential election, Moonachie voted against Donald Trump.
Registered Voters = 1,664
Voted = 1,161 (70% turnout)
Voted for Clinton = 572 (49%)
Voted for Trump = 545 (47%)
Voted for Others = 44 (4%)
Voted Against Trump = 616 (53%)----------
Not only is Moonachie an ethnically diverse town that voted against Trump, Moonachie is also famous for loving NY Giants football players. Already in 1987, The Chicago Tribune wrote about the famous Moonachie-Giants relationship:
.... Upset that the Giants now [in 1987] play in New Jersey instead of New York, [New York Mayor Ed] Koch recently announced that even if the team won the Super Bowl, the city would not sponsor a traditional ticker tape parade down Broadway.
Calling the Giants a "foreign team," the often flip Koch said, "I would probably go to a ticker tape parade in Moonachie. But if they want a ticker tape parade in New York City, they will have to play in New York City."
To add insult to injury, Koch mispronounced the name of this small industrial town of 3,000, calling it "mah-NOO-chee," instead of ""moo-NAH-key."
Koch`s comments riled many in New Jersey and Moonachie in particular. A sign outside a local lobster restaurant says, "Go Jersey Giants; Boo Koch." And a banner at Sunday`s Giants-Redskins game read: "Mayor Koch: Love Thy Neighbor."
The Giants don`t even play in Moonachie. Their stadium is in East Rutherford, N.J., a mile-and-one-half to the south. Moonachie is identified with the Giants only because a local restaurant, Manny`s, is a popular hangout for Giant players, coaches and fans. ....
As for the parade, Koch finally changed his mind last week after American Express offered to pay $700,000 to foot the bill for a Manhattan parade.
But it was too late. The Giants announced Sunday that "the only logical place for a Giants celebration is here at Giants Stadium in the New Jersey sports complex." ...In 2015, the NFL Network broadcast a documentary, titled Jersey Guys, about Moonachie's famous love for the Giants. The NFL documentary was reviewed by NorthJersey.com.
... The program ... opens with a shot of the Meadowlands phragmites and narrator Jon Bon Jovi intoning, “When you think of the Giants, you think of New York. But the heart and soul of the Big Blue’s universe is a town you’ve never heard of. It’s here in Jersey, just down the road from the stadium. It’s got a funny name — and a chip on its shoulder.”
That would be Moonachie, which actually is a couple of miles from East Rutherford — the home of Giants Stadium and now MetLife Stadium. But two former aides to former New York Mayor Ed Koch — who famously suggested the Giants settle for a Super Bowl parade in “Minotchie” rather than the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan — suggested that Koch repeatedly referenced Moonachie because Koch got a big laugh no matter how he pronounced it.
Phil Miuccio, Tony Cospito and Ken Reihl were volunteer firemen in Moonachie when they got a taste of notoriety from various TV crews for showing up with their truck at the Jan. 1987 Super Bowl celebration at Giants Stadium. The firemen grew wistful when they got a chance to see the footage earlier this year – with Miuccio shown muttering softly, “Lotta time….” as he watched.
In the program, Miuccio recalled how Koch had “fanned the flames” in the 1980s by referring to the Giants as a “foreign team” and complaining that the team had taken the “NY” logo off their helmets. But the wisecracks about the town name were more personal, Miuccio suggested.
“There’s no way you throw down the gauntlet at somebody from New Jersey and expect us to go quietly into that good night,” Miuccio said. “No, we’re gonna pick it up and smack you in the face with it — and we did.”
At the Super Bowl celebration, Miuccio demonstrated how the truck could raise its ladder and drop confetti down on the Giants players as they rode by should a parade be held in Moonachie.
“As you can see, this will be just as effective as any ticker tape parade that New York City or any other city throughout the United States could give,” Miuccio said sincerely.
Former Mayor Fred Dressel remains disappointed that the Giants never did hold a parade in Moonachie. But he said he enjoyed the program without reservations — especially because his 20-year-old granddaughter got to see what he looked like in an interview before she was born.
“[The producers] were respectful; they didn’t make fun of our small town,” said Dressel, who has several cameos in the show while current Mayor Dennis Vaccaro also gets a brief comment in the show. “It was some contrast to see people like myself and even the young guys — I call them young guys — and how different we look 30 years later.”
A number of businesses appear momentarily on screen at various portions of the show, including Ressa’s Meadowlands Cleaners and Manny’s restaurant in Moonachie; the Meadowlands Diner in Carlstadt; and two favorites of former coach Bill Parcells — Elmer’s country store in Upper Saddle River and Bischoff’s ice cream parlor in Teaneck. A “We Love Secaucus” sign from The Rose Bowl also has a cameo.
The Moonachie firehouse also is the site of a surprise ending to the program that left one of the firemen joking, “I can die now.”---------
When Hayes remarked that Moonachie is "predominantly White", Whitlock responded that a nice White female neighbor welcomed his family with cookies. She asked Whitlock what he does for a living, and he explained that he plays on the Giants football team. She indicated that she would pass this reassuring news to her neighbors, who were concerned that he, as a young Black man, might attract "drive-by shootings".
Because of this gossipy neighbor, much of the neighborhood certainly knew that Whitlock played on the Giants football team and also that he was a married family man with two small children. Perhaps much of the neighborhood knew through this gossipy neighbor also that he had graduated from Wake Forest University.
Still, Hayes was eager to insinuate to his MSNBC viewers that Whitlock's "predominantly White" Moonachie neighbors were reflexively hostile to the strange presence of a Black family. It's no wonder -- MSNBC viewers were supposed to understand -- that Moonachie's "predominantly White" environment would produce local racist vandals inspired by Trump's rhetoric.
It's remarkable that Moonachie's Trump-inspired vandals have not vandalized a Hispanic home in a town where about a quarter of the population is Hispanic. According to the US census, the Hispanic portion of Moonachie's population grew from 13% in 2000 to 24% in 2010, whereas the Black portion has remained under 2%. Somehow Trump has failed to inspire any vandalism of homes among the town's rapidly growing Hispanic population.
---------
The Whitlock family ate out on the evening of Tuesday, December 6, 2016, and their home was empty from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Most of their neighbors were likely to be home, however. It was a school night, and the television schedule featured the semi-final of the popular singing competition The Voice. It was a risky time for a racist Trump supporter to break into the Whitlock home without being seen or heard.
The Whitlock home's residents included Nikita's sister and a downstairs roommate (at 2:15 of the Hayes video) -- either of whom might become a problem for the racist Trump-supporting vandal.
Between 6:30 and 8:45 there was a heavy rainstorm. The weather station at nearby Teterboro Airport recorded the rainfall's development.
* The rain began to fall during the period from 4:51 to 5:51 p.m., when 0.01 inches was recorded.
* The next rain measurement was recorded from 5:51 to 6:41, when an additional 0.03 inches was recorded.
* During the final six hours of December 6, the rainfall totaled .62 inches.
The local media had forecast the heavy rainstorm all day. However, when Nikita Whitlock departed with his family at 6:30, when the rain had begun to fall, he did not take along an umbrella. When he and his family returned home at 8:45, the rain was pouring down.
During this rainstorm, the racist Trump supporter broke in, vandalized the home and exited.
Whitlock indicated to Hayes (at 1:00 in the video) that he left his family in his car and went into his home to get an umbrella. As he opened the door, however, he immediately saw the graffiti. Therefore he did not enter his home. Instead he returned to his car, phoned the police, and took his family to another location. The police came to the home and collected evidence for about four hours. After the four-hour investigation (about 1 a.m.?), Whitlock was allowed to enter the home and see all the vandalism for himself.
In the Hayes interview, Whitlock gave the impression that he alone left his car at 8:45 during the rainstorm to get an umbrella. However, in his earlier interview with The Record reporter Andrew Wyrich, Whitlock indicated that he was not alone at the door.
I opened the door, turned on the light and saw the swastika. Immediately we walked out and called the police.Why didn't Whitlock take along an umbrella at 6:30 as the predicted rainstorm was beginning? Who was the other person who accompanied him to the door during the downpour at 8:45?
When the police were collecting evidence in the home, did they find indications that the racist Trump supporter had entered the home from an outside rainstorm?
--------
This is the second part of a series of articles.
Part 1
Part 3
Part 4
Sunday, January 15, 2017
The Vandalism of Nikita Whitlock's Home in Moonachie -- Part 1
On December 6, 2016 -- one month after the US Presidential election, the home of professional football player Nikita Whitlock in Moonachie, New Jersey, was vandalized. Various graffiti -- including the word TRUMP -- was drawn on the home's walls.
The local newspaper, The Record, which covers Bergen County, NJ, reported the incident initially on Thursday, November 8, in two articles -- in the Local News and in the Sports sections.
The Local News article, written by staff writer Andrew Wyrich and titled Racist graffiti at Giants player's home investigated as hate crime, included the following passages:
Wyrich's article in the Record's Local News section caused the following comments expressing healthy skepticism.
and
On the next day, ProFootballTalk commenters continued to express healthy skepticism against rush-to-judgment reporting.
Oblivious to the certainty that the vandalism in Whitlock's home would so commonly be perceived to be a hoax, The Record immediately published an editorial, titled Racially charged acts have no place in civilized society, insinuating that the incident was caused by Trump's presidential campaign. The editorial's key passages (emphasis added):
On the following day, The Record published in its Opinion section a column written by staff writer Christina Joseph and titled Racism: It happened in Moonachie; it’s happening elsewhere. The key passages (emphasis added):
Actually, however, a break-in where an actual vandal (not a hoaxster) writes racism graffiti on the interior walls happens to practically no one.
-----
This is the first of a series of four articles
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
 |
| The word TRUMP written on a wall of Nikita Whitlock's home in Moonachie, NJ |
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| The words GO BACK TO AFRICA written on a wall of Nikita Whitlock's home |
 |
| The word KKK written on a wall of Nikita Whitlock's home |
 |
| A swastika written on a wall of Nikita Whitlock's home |
 |
| The words F***ING N****R written on a wall in Nikita Whitlock's home |
The Local News article, written by staff writer Andrew Wyrich and titled Racist graffiti at Giants player's home investigated as hate crime, included the following passages:
.... Whitlock returned home with his family on Tuesday night and found "KKK," three swastikas and other racist language scrawled onto the walls of home. The largest word, "Trump," was also written in marker on the wall leading up his staircase.
His immediate thought upon entering his home was to make sure he kept his family safe, he told The Record early Thursday morning, but in the hours after the incident he reflected on what was now littered throughout his home.
“Of course there are the common feelings you have of being violated, feelings of hatred, feelings of ‘Why us?’ which, it’s apparent why us,” he said in the living room of his home. “I don’t think we felt ‘targeted’ at first … then as you see it and how specific some of the things are on the walls, and then we actually had an attempted break-in three weeks prior … it just felt like somebody was definitely trying to get us.”
Moonachie Police confirmed on Wednesday night that they are investigating the Tuesday night break-in and vandalism — which happened between 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. — and racially charged graffiti that were left in Whitlock’s home. Sgt. Richard Behrens said on Thursday that police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and are canvassing the area for any neighbors who may have seen something on Tuesday night or have security cameras with footage the police could review. ....
On Thursday, Whitlock had covered up the scrawls with large bedsheets in an effort to shield his son from the words of hate. The home’s side door had a large crack in its window and the metal wiring on it was mangled. ....
Whitlock said he posted a photo of some of the more offensive slurs on his Instagram page because it was “something that needed to be out there.” After discussing it with his family, Whitlock said they decided that people needed to know that racist attacks like the one he experienced “can happen to anyone.”
“I’m one of the last people you think this would happen to,” he said. “I’m in a nice area, I make good money, I keep to myself, and I’m not flashy. … Instead of coming close to home they came inside. I have a lot of peers and a lot of family and people in my circle who don’t believe these kinds of things can happen to them or to me or to us. Everybody thinks ‘Oh, wow, that was close to home’ because it was in your town or it was in the city next to you. We’re not the only ones affected by this.”
When Whitlock called his mother and grandmother, they cried at the news, he said. “Everybody is hurt by this,” he said. “For them as well as us, it is inside their house, too.”
The fact that “Trump” was written in large letters along the wall leading to the second floor of his home bothered Whitlock, he said. The name was covered on Thursday in a large white bedsheet.
“It’s pretty simple: They broke in, they vandalized, they shared their opinion — they could have shared it on Facebook, but they decided to share it in this fashion,” he said. “I think the one thing that does disturb me more is the fact that people are using Trump’s name. To me, it’s like, OK, you believe Trump believes certain things. But he wasn’t here. This was a personal decision, not a Trump decision. So next time write your name on the wall.”
Whitlock's teammate Victor Cruz said he was troubled by the effect Trump has had on some of his supporters.
"That’s our problem, that you’re worried about what someone of influence may be talking about and his opinion rather than attacking the actual issue at hand, and that’s innocent minorities dying on a daily basis, dying on a weekly basis, or going through things with their family, vandalism," Cruz said. "[This is] in the tri-state area. This is right here in our home. This is our back yard and these things are happening.” ....
Brian McCarthy, the vice president of communications for the NFL, called the incident "abhorrent and disappointing" and offered Whitlock and his family a "home security assessment." Pat Hanlon, the senior vice president of communications for the Giants, declined to comment, but added that the team and NFL have offered security assistance to Whitlock and his family.One passage might indicate that some people who knew Whitlock were skeptical about his story:
I have a lot of peers and a lot of family and people in my circle who don’t believe these kinds of things can happen to them or to me or to us.
Such a home vandalism happens to practically nobody. The graffiti in Nikita Whitlock's home is weird and mysterious.
Another passage might indicate that the Giants team's administration would decline to comment on Whitlock's story until it was allowed to inspect Whitlock's home.
Another passage might indicate that the Giants team's administration would decline to comment on Whitlock's story until it was allowed to inspect Whitlock's home.
Pat Hanlon, the senior vice president of communications for the Giants, declined to comment, but added that the team and NFL have offered security assistance to Whitlock and his family.Wyrich viewed the home on Thursday morning and seemed to think that the Tuesday break-in involved damage to the side door's window:
On Thursday ... the home’s side door had a large crack in its window and the metal wiring on it was mangled.
However, this cracked window and mangled wiring was essentially irrelevant to the break-in that occurred on December 6. After all, the window was merely cracked and the wiring was merely mangled. Obviously, the vandal did not break in through that window. Later, in another interview, Whitlock himself told another journalist that this window had been damaged during the attempted break-in that occurred "three weeks prior".
Later on interview on Thursday, December 8, Whitlock showed CBS2 News that a small window had been cut or broken out. Whitlock explained the the CBS2 reporter that "we think they started here and then worked their way around to the other door". Presumably, the culprit entered through the broken window and then unlocked a door from the inside.
-----
Since someone had attempted to break into the Whitlock home three weeks prior -- and had cracked door's window and mangled that window's metal wiring during that attempt -- Whitlock must have made sure that all his home's doors were locked when he and his family left at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6.
After the break-in, the side door itself was not damaged (although its window was cracked, etc.). When Whitlock entered his home at 8:45 p.m., he did not notice any new damage to the door that he entered. The first indication of a break-in that he saw was the graffiti on an inside wall.
Since all the doors must have been locked when he departed at 6:30, and since no new damage to doors was apparent, the break-in must have occurred through a window.
When Wyrich viewed the home with Whitlock on Thursday morning, it seems that they still did not understand how the culprit had entered the house. They saw only the cracked window on the side door, but Whitlock knew that this damage had happened during the attempted break-in during the Thanksgiving holiday.
When Whitlock entered the home at 8:45 on Tuesday evening and saw the graffiti, he immediately called the police and left with his family. The police investigated the house for about four hours -- until about 1 a.m. -- before they allowed Whitlock to enter. If so, then Wednesday is when Whitlock ascertained that the only missing items were some jewelry and a video game system. Other valuables, such as a laptop computer, remained.
It seems to me that the first reporter to appear, on Thursday morning, was Wyrich from the local Record newspaper, probably tipped off by the Moonachie police. At that time, Thursday morning, Whitlock still did not know (or pretended to not know) how the culprit had entered the home. Whitlock showed Wyrich the door window that had been cracked during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Later on Thursday, however, a CBS2 reporter appeared. By then, Whitlock had learned (or pretended to have learned) that a small window had been cut or broken out. Now Whitlock told this reporter his idea that the culprit had entered through this broken window and then had unlocked the side door from the inside.
-----
Wyrich learned about the break-in early enough that he was able to question Giants spokesman Hanlon during Wednesday. Wyrich was not able to obtain a police confirmation, however, until "Wednesday night". Perhaps the police investigators resumed examining the house during the day of Wednesday and finished on Wednesday night. When Wyrich viewed the home shortly after Thursday morning, Whitlock already had been inside the home long enough to cover the graffiti with bed sheets ("to shield his son from the words of hate").
-----
The Record's on-line article includes a video of Whitlock showing the graffiti to Wyrich (on Thursday morning). At the video's 0:16 moment Whitlock points to the words NIGGER LOVER on a wall. This graffiti is not covered with a bedsheet (because Whitlock's son never entered this room), and Whitlock remarked in another interview that these words were written in the bedroom of "a roommate who lives downstairs". The large window indicates that this roommate's bedroom is not in a basement, but rather on the first floor.
In addition to Nikita Whitlock's married family -- Nikita, his wife Ashley and two children -- the house's occupants included Nikita's sister and his downstairs roommate. It seems that Nikita's married family lived mainly on the house's second story, above his "roommate who lives downstairs". Perhaps there is a basement with windows or an outside door.
The idea of the words NIGGER LOVER is that the vandal was a White who knew and resented that downstairs roommate was a White who chose to live in a Black household. (Ashley Whitlock is Black.)
-----
Wyrich wrote that ...
If I were a police investigator on this case, I would suspect the White, downstairs roommate whom the vandal apparently denounced as a NIGGER LOVER. The downstairs roommate knew that all the Whitlocks would be gone during that evening, knew how to enter the house normally and unusually, probably knew where the Whitlocks' valuables were located inside the house, and would be able to justify the discovery of his (her?) fingerprints inside the house. The NIGGER LOVER graffiti might have been the downstairs roommate's own attempt to divert police suspicions from himself (herself?).
On the other hand, we can suppose a plausible reason for a real, outside vandal to hate "nigger lovers". Nikita Whitlock appears to be an admirable family man, but let's suppose (I do not believe this) that some angry White man (also a Trump supporter) thinks that Whitlock has conducted an affair with the angry White man's White woman. In such a situation, the angry White man might break into Whitlock's home and write the threatening graffiti in order to scare Whitlock into moving away. In such a situation, the angry White man might have an understandable reason for hating "nigger lovers". (Perhaps the angry White man's woman is even Whitaker's downstairs roommate.)
In that case, however, the angry White man did not have to break into the house in order to write threatening graffiti on the house's inside walls. The angry White man could have simply written the graffiti on the house's outside walls. During a dark night -- say, at 3 a.m. -- the angry White man could have used a can of spray paint to spray all the same graffiti on the outside walls in just one, unobserved minute. That would have been much less risky than breaking into the home to write graffiti on the inside walls.
-----
As I remarked above, The Record on Thursday, December 8, 2016, reported the Whitlock Tuesday break-in in two articles -- in its Local News section and in its Sports section. The prominent and illustrated article on the Sports section's front page was written by sports columnist Tara Sullivan and was titled Cruz links Giants teammate's break-in to Trump election. This long article -- 15 paragraphs -- reported the opinion of the Giants' wide receiver Victor Cruz, who lives in Paterson, NJ, which is about 11 miles from Moonachie. Perhaps the Whitlock family stayed in Cruz's home during Wednesday while police investigators studied the Whitlock's Moonachie home.
The theme of Sullivan's 15-paragraph article in The Record was that Cruz suspected that the burglary was motivated by Trump. Here is an excerpt from article's first paragraphs (emphasis added):
Thus The Record gratuitously insulted the sensibilities of its readers who voted for Trump and who happened to read its Sport section on December 8. Readers of Sullivan's article responded to the on-line article with health skepticism against the rush to judgment.Later on interview on Thursday, December 8, Whitlock showed CBS2 News that a small window had been cut or broken out. Whitlock explained the the CBS2 reporter that "we think they started here and then worked their way around to the other door". Presumably, the culprit entered through the broken window and then unlocked a door from the inside.
-----
Since someone had attempted to break into the Whitlock home three weeks prior -- and had cracked door's window and mangled that window's metal wiring during that attempt -- Whitlock must have made sure that all his home's doors were locked when he and his family left at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6.
After the break-in, the side door itself was not damaged (although its window was cracked, etc.). When Whitlock entered his home at 8:45 p.m., he did not notice any new damage to the door that he entered. The first indication of a break-in that he saw was the graffiti on an inside wall.
Since all the doors must have been locked when he departed at 6:30, and since no new damage to doors was apparent, the break-in must have occurred through a window.
When Wyrich viewed the home with Whitlock on Thursday morning, it seems that they still did not understand how the culprit had entered the house. They saw only the cracked window on the side door, but Whitlock knew that this damage had happened during the attempted break-in during the Thanksgiving holiday.
When Whitlock entered the home at 8:45 on Tuesday evening and saw the graffiti, he immediately called the police and left with his family. The police investigated the house for about four hours -- until about 1 a.m. -- before they allowed Whitlock to enter. If so, then Wednesday is when Whitlock ascertained that the only missing items were some jewelry and a video game system. Other valuables, such as a laptop computer, remained.
It seems to me that the first reporter to appear, on Thursday morning, was Wyrich from the local Record newspaper, probably tipped off by the Moonachie police. At that time, Thursday morning, Whitlock still did not know (or pretended to not know) how the culprit had entered the home. Whitlock showed Wyrich the door window that had been cracked during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Later on Thursday, however, a CBS2 reporter appeared. By then, Whitlock had learned (or pretended to have learned) that a small window had been cut or broken out. Now Whitlock told this reporter his idea that the culprit had entered through this broken window and then had unlocked the side door from the inside.
-----
Wyrich learned about the break-in early enough that he was able to question Giants spokesman Hanlon during Wednesday. Wyrich was not able to obtain a police confirmation, however, until "Wednesday night". Perhaps the police investigators resumed examining the house during the day of Wednesday and finished on Wednesday night. When Wyrich viewed the home shortly after Thursday morning, Whitlock already had been inside the home long enough to cover the graffiti with bed sheets ("to shield his son from the words of hate").
-----
The Record's on-line article includes a video of Whitlock showing the graffiti to Wyrich (on Thursday morning). At the video's 0:16 moment Whitlock points to the words NIGGER LOVER on a wall. This graffiti is not covered with a bedsheet (because Whitlock's son never entered this room), and Whitlock remarked in another interview that these words were written in the bedroom of "a roommate who lives downstairs". The large window indicates that this roommate's bedroom is not in a basement, but rather on the first floor.
In addition to Nikita Whitlock's married family -- Nikita, his wife Ashley and two children -- the house's occupants included Nikita's sister and his downstairs roommate. It seems that Nikita's married family lived mainly on the house's second story, above his "roommate who lives downstairs". Perhaps there is a basement with windows or an outside door.
The idea of the words NIGGER LOVER is that the vandal was a White who knew and resented that downstairs roommate was a White who chose to live in a Black household. (Ashley Whitlock is Black.)
-----
Wyrich wrote that ...
Sgt. Richard Behrens said on Thursday that police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and are canvassing the area for any neighbors who may have seen something on Tuesday night or have security cameras with footage the police could review.Wyrich failed to write that the police certainly were investigating the incident also as a possible hoax. Everyone knows that many such threatening graffiti incidents turn out to be hoaxes perpetrated by the very people who reported them to the authorities. Police investigators know that burglars normally do not write racist graffiti on their victims' walls. Sensible burglars try to leave no indications that a burglary took place. If I myself had been the journalist interviewing Sgt. Behrens, I would have asked him ...
Aside from the racist graffiti, what other indications have police investigators found that the break-in was staged?-----
If I were a police investigator on this case, I would suspect the White, downstairs roommate whom the vandal apparently denounced as a NIGGER LOVER. The downstairs roommate knew that all the Whitlocks would be gone during that evening, knew how to enter the house normally and unusually, probably knew where the Whitlocks' valuables were located inside the house, and would be able to justify the discovery of his (her?) fingerprints inside the house. The NIGGER LOVER graffiti might have been the downstairs roommate's own attempt to divert police suspicions from himself (herself?).
On the other hand, we can suppose a plausible reason for a real, outside vandal to hate "nigger lovers". Nikita Whitlock appears to be an admirable family man, but let's suppose (I do not believe this) that some angry White man (also a Trump supporter) thinks that Whitlock has conducted an affair with the angry White man's White woman. In such a situation, the angry White man might break into Whitlock's home and write the threatening graffiti in order to scare Whitlock into moving away. In such a situation, the angry White man might have an understandable reason for hating "nigger lovers". (Perhaps the angry White man's woman is even Whitaker's downstairs roommate.)
In that case, however, the angry White man did not have to break into the house in order to write threatening graffiti on the house's inside walls. The angry White man could have simply written the graffiti on the house's outside walls. During a dark night -- say, at 3 a.m. -- the angry White man could have used a can of spray paint to spray all the same graffiti on the outside walls in just one, unobserved minute. That would have been much less risky than breaking into the home to write graffiti on the inside walls.
-----
As I remarked above, The Record on Thursday, December 8, 2016, reported the Whitlock Tuesday break-in in two articles -- in its Local News section and in its Sports section. The prominent and illustrated article on the Sports section's front page was written by sports columnist Tara Sullivan and was titled Cruz links Giants teammate's break-in to Trump election. This long article -- 15 paragraphs -- reported the opinion of the Giants' wide receiver Victor Cruz, who lives in Paterson, NJ, which is about 11 miles from Moonachie. Perhaps the Whitlock family stayed in Cruz's home during Wednesday while police investigators studied the Whitlock's Moonachie home.
The theme of Sullivan's 15-paragraph article in The Record was that Cruz suspected that the burglary was motivated by Trump. Here is an excerpt from article's first paragraphs (emphasis added):
.... the vandalism, including racist graffiti, and burglary of Whitlock’s Moonachie home sent shock waves through the Giants’ locker room Thursday, with teammates expressing concern, support and anger over what happened.
No one was more vehement than veteran wide receiver Victor Cruz, the Paterson native who did not hold back about why he believes the perpetrator or perpetrators felt emboldened to do what they did, tying the mind-set directly to the election of Donald Trump as our next president.
“If you listen to anything that [Trump] says, if you listen to the comments that’s he’s made about women, or the comments he’s made about minorities or the comments he’s made about people that he feels are somewhat of lesser value, they haven’t been positive,” Cruz said after the Giants practiced Thursday.
“They [Trump's comments] haven’t been for us, haven’t been for minorities. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ve heard anything he’s said that benefits us or that helps us. When you have someone that embodies those mind-sets and those opinions and someone else supports those opinions you can’t think of anything positive about that. You can’t think of anything that person that follows Donald Trump that they’re going to do something positive. And for someone to vandalize someone’s house and write Trump’s name or whatever they wrote on the walls is just proving that exact fact, that people that may follow him aren’t necessarily the most positive people in our communities.”[unquote]
Jim Antista, Owner at The Cruiseman
Oh, come on! It's Trump's fault?? What a jerk [Cruz].and
Daniel Fischer, Midland Park, New Jersey
Horrible story. This criminal is a sick person (persons), not a Trump supporter. I really liked Cruz until today. What an idiot. Trump never said any of the things Cruz, and the left said and are saying. When did he say anything about black people??? Show me. You can't.and
Bud Florkoski, Three Rivers Community College
Another dumb football player [Cruz] opening his stupid mouth and utter nonsense......and
John Decidrius
Another "fake news" story pushing debunked "Trump's racist" narrative. The editor and writer should be canned for framing Cruz's moronic statements as factual.and
Paul Tarsney, Merchandise Ops Specialist at Petco
It will be hilarious when they arrest the guy that robbed the place, and they prove this is a hoax. ....and
Mary Layton, Crawford County High School Roberta, GA
we have never had graffiti until trump was elected..no crimes either...as my memory serves me Obama is and was the president when police shootings started...We had a man murdered sitting in his car at his home in a black neighborhood....It had to be trump's fault...get a life folks...-----
Wyrich's article in the Record's Local News section caused the following comments expressing healthy skepticism.
John Decidrius
This article smells like "fake news". With news reporting "racist" "sexist" etc., ad nauseum, and numerous follow ups showing the "victims" did the act for attention, doubts abound. Especially given the tired MSM narrative trying to tie Trump to racism.and
Robert Bailey, University of Iowa
I am sure that the police will do a thorough investigation. If bogus, he [Whitlock] will probably be charged. If the story is true, will you offer him [Trump] an apology?and
Bob Kelley, University of Virginia
An unfortunate number of post-election incidents of this nature have turned out to be hoaxes. Indeed, I'm having trouble thinking of one where we know the perp (or perps) and it turned out to be true. I'm sure some have been, but the fakes make it hard to know what's what.and
Barbara Biers
what would you say if "Hillary" [instead of "Trump"] was written on the wall?and
Ken Netzel, University of Illinois at Chicago
Until someone is apprehended there is no way to know which political party the people who did this belong to, or even if they do associate with a party. It would not surprise me to find out that it is a goofball right-winger, but it would also not surprise me to find out that it was a left-winger trying to make it look like a Trump supporter did it. Both parties have their share of morons.and
Mark Leonard
Don't know who did it or who they actually supported. Do a follow up story, post the mugshots when they are caught, who they voted for, if they did, which I doubt you'll do.and
Mike Finnedt
I would tend to believe the racial scrawlings were done on purpose to throw the scent off - I can see a liberal wanting to believe this bs ... Come on really... If it was a racist or trump supporter, why make it obvious ... People are really gullible...and
Jeffrey Kenneth, Elon University
It's very curious that Nikita Whitlock.. who has been cut from 2 different teams (CIN, DAL) practice squads.. who literally has 0 offensive statistics as a Giant, is currently suspended 10 games for PEDs [performance enhancing drugs] and will likely be cut by the Giants in the off-season.. all of a sudden is the victim of a 'hate crime'.. Seems awfully convenient. And I'm a life long Giants fan.Of course, other people beyond readers of the The Record perceived that this incident was probably an anti-Trump hoax. Already on December 8, the blogsite ProFootballTalk included the following skeptical comments:
joedirte says:
There’s something shady about this, something just doesn’t add up here.and
matt14gg says:
Yeah, let’s break in, steal some stuff and then leave some racial epithets and oh yeah…let’s scrawl “KKK” for good measure. Makes total sense.
Bogus.and
Lemmy Aksyadis says:
It’s an indescribable feeling knowing your home has been entered and vandalized. It’s also sad that we must be forced to wonder if this is a real case of vandalism or another Lunenburg Knights situation where an entire town was declared racist only to find out that the mother lied and faked racist graffiti and spray painted KKK on her own house. The details are scarily familiar.
But please, let’s wait until there’s been an investigation before proclaiming this to be the action of Trump supporters. After all, this is almost 2017. I’d like to think we’ve grown past our witch hunt phase.and
jssebastian2014 says:
How, as an NFLer, do you [Whitlock] not have at least a top tier security system? Especially after a first incident [three weeks prior]?and
kneedragr says:
Call me cynical, but this can be explained a lot of ways other than white racist criminals. I mean why would someone deliberately leave behind evidence pointing to themselves?and
patfic5 says:
BS.and
ripwarrior says:
Most of these stories turn out to be bogus. Let’s the the law play out. Sick if someone really did do that.and
sewalters79 says:
Well the media will make a big deal about this…let’s get to the facts first…it could have been that black guy in NJ recently spray painting KKK and Swastika’s on cars.and
exinsidetrader says:
90%+ of these incidents turn out to be hoaxes done for personal or political motivations. Let's wait and see.and
silvernblacksabbath says:
BS!! Who does that??? Don’t believe this crap! The top of the pyramid wants chaos and a race war…and
steeelfann0155 says:
They just arrested an African American down south that was painting swastikas, racial remarks negative toward African Americans. The truths are getting foggy man.and
unbiasednfltruth says:
I’m suspicious of thisand
outlaw53 says:
This is a terrible incident, no matter the circumstances…but it certainly does warrant further investigation. I’ve heard plenty of references to the “KKK” over this election cycle, but I’m yet to actually see anyone with the KKK out in front of these proclamations. In fact, in at least two incidents, the KKK scribblings were done by young African Americans trying to convince folks that an attack was racially motivated, when it was in fact staged. I’d like to see more facts come out before I’m convinced about the source implications.and
cboys4life2014 says:
Didn’t a African American man in Philly just get arrested for being caught spray painting swastikas and kkk symbols on private property? Just saying sometimes this stuff turns out to be somebody trying to create racism where there is none. Which in itself is racist.and
weepingjebus says:
Most of these tend to be fake. Give it a few days before burning stuff down.and
mogogo1 says:
Wish it went into more detail about why they were planning to move BEFORE the first burglary. They had run-ins with people? Bad neighborhood? The article words it like there was a relation to the eventual break-ins, not that they just happened to be thinking of moving somewhere else.and
JSpicoli says:
Too bad in todays world we can’t be sure if this is real or fakeand
jonwill57 says:
.... Tawana Brawley made up an incredible story. People lie all the time. Since I don’t know what happen, I won’t assume that I do.and
usa98j30t4 says:
I will hold my remarks until the people are found…….and
junkmtb says:
Doesn't make sense to me either, 2 strikes within weeks of each other? Any other homes targeted in the area of just his and why?? Too many holes in this story.and
devindenv says:
So, if this turns out to be not so true, would this be the “Fake News” all mediots keep babbling about?and
onwill57 says:
If he did it or was involved with doing it, he should become “former Giants player”. After all, PED [performance-enhancing drugs]suspension means no game checks for 10 weeks. Insurance fraud anyone? I said I wasn’t going to speculate…and
honalulublue says:
Is there any evidence as to the race of the perpetrators? Sure, it can happen… More likely a disenfranchised democrat (of any race) would do this than someone who voted for a law and order candidate.and
Fred says:
Who implicates themselves in any way in a robbery? What are the chances of a robbery happening twice in less than 2 weeks to a low paid player who isn’t getting paid because of a PED suspension?and
guitarmaninks says:
More fake b/s from the left
and
rcali says:
Stayed tuned for this one, seems fishy.and
kenberthiaume says:
Seems a little strange. Breaking into a home and stealing is risky enough, but to stick around and spray paint stuff, etc.? A lot of these cases turn out to be hoaxes, an amazing number of them.
The perpetrators know it fits perfectly into the narrative that the media has established and is likely to be accepted uncritically.and
exhelodrvr says:
The majority of the time with these incidents, the perpetrators are actually members of the group that the graffiti targets. Wait and see.and
nyfootballgiants says:
Where I hope this isn’t the case, there does seem something fishy here.
The alleged burglars took gaming systems but left several laptops and other electronics untouched. Yet, they stayed to vandalize the apartment?
Guess we will find out more as time goes on. In either case, its not a good thing….and
nhpats says:
Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have made a living off of keeping racism front and center. Maybe one of those guys broke into his house….and
five6site says:
Going to interesting how this pans out after they find out it’s all bullsh** ....and
stevejjones says:
Fishy. As an expert criminologist (I watched Gone Baby) I know criminals leave false clues to try and throw investigators off. I think there’s a good chance that he was robbed by someone who is hoping to have police chase the wrong particular profile.and
wdcskins says:
Twice suspended [Whitlock], so he sure could use some sympathy in NFL front offices.
No game checks, so that insurance for those two burglaries…boy, that’s really gonna help out.and
Gosh, that’s a special type of burglar. See, burglars don’t tend to like to linger – you don’t last very long as a burglar doing that. It must’ve been very important to this racist burglar fella to make known his feelings on race, while he was stealing stuff. Take some time out to do some tagging. Makes sense.
silvernblacksabbath says:
So they steal a gaming system…. Hmmmm
I call BS on this story…and
tformation says:
.... I see this as I’ve seen this play out as a hoax in previous cases. Sure hate crimes and racism exist in America. But before I start complaining about how racist America is, let’s just wait a few weeks to get to the truth about this one.
This one fits the hoax pattern perfectly… liberal city/state… details are fishy… and the guy who is target might be having some money issues thanks to his recent suspension…and
uab9253 says:
It doesn’t pass the smell test. It’s a hoax or a deliberate attempt to throw off the scent from the real perps. Nobody is dumb enough to do this. Reminds me of when the Manson family wrote things in blood at murder scenes to make it look like the work of Black Panthers and ignite a race war. This is an old trick. I call BS.-----
On the next day, ProFootballTalk commenters continued to express healthy skepticism against rush-to-judgment reporting.
Scott says:
Most of these vandalism stories end up being hoaxes. The ones who are pulling these hoaxes off and the ones who actually do these types of vile things are equally bad.and
dusthtyrhothdes says:
I think you may need to wait until the facts come out to blame Trump, because recently it has been the anti-Trump crowd that has been doing these disgusting thingsand
jackflak55 says:
Okay, let me make sure I understand. Some racist burglars and other racists write that they support Trump. Therefore, Trump is racist, and by extension, everyone who voted for him is also racist and stupid.
You idiot media people continue to pump this meme, still not realizing that the misapplication ofand
manofaiki says:
You know what’s also real?
A literal cottage industry of fake hate crimes.
Which this will likely turn out to be.and
weepingjebus says:
Still feels faked. Every one of these so far has been either a hoax or actually inflicted by Trump haters. Surely there is a camera or some sort of actual proof of who did it.and
douchebigelow says:
I wonder if PFT [ProFootballTalk] will do a follow up article when this is debunked like the rest if the fake “hate crimes” that were proven to be false.and
bishopslappytruelove says:
Smells like a fake story.and
tinkletinkleonyourstar says:
what a joke. a lib prob did this just to get headlines trying to associate trump with this crap. trump and KKK?? really? are people that stupid? Trump wants a stable, secure, safe, America. Even if it means addressing some tough issues that are “racist”. He’s got 10x the balls than what is in there now.and
Bonerz'NPudz says:
Fake. It’s all fake.and
corchamp says:
There’s something off about thisand
rodgerstonelson says:
LOL, they do know that most of these are a hoax. Placed by others to create this type of reaction.
Kind of like in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” Make Jefferson think his car was destroyed by the other team.and
baldbuc says:
Racism or someone who wants the police to think the burglars are white rednecks or neo nazis.and
margoadams says:
Who else thinks this was done by a Hillary supporter? Typical leftist MO.and
joedirte says:
Now I know this is a set up.and
romosmicrodongs says:
It’s blatantly fake, like all the other “hate crimes” after the election that have been proven to be hoaxes. “hurr durr trump kkk nazis” I’m sure. No one has ever lied about being a victim for attentionand
thompgk says:
I am skepticaland
freedomofspeechyesway says:
This is a horrible crime and I hope they find the culprits.
Virtually the exact same thing happened at my old college library, stuff like this written on the walls. Video footage showed that 3 black students wrote “kkk” and the N word repeatedly. They were expelled, as anyone should be who does this.
I’ll be interested in the follow-up here.and
xballhawkx says:
The more that comes out about this story the more it sounds like a setup. The only people that associate Trump with racism have been his liberal detractors not his supporters. Every single story that comes out with the uses of Trump as a racial tag have been hoaxes. More information will be needed but the race baiter are already on the move.and
ch0rn says:
Nobody would write Trump on it except Liberal turds planting false flags. Let’s use some common sense here.and
edenprairieballer says:
.... Be wary of these “racist graffiti” claims, a lot of them are hoaxes done to make Trump supporters look bad, or people do it to themselves to play the victim.and
lsuzilla says:
And yet no mention of those stories of supposed racism that turn out to be fake. Stick to football. If I wanted to read about social justice warrior issues I would go somewhere else.and
bigdog2372 says:
Many of these “racial graffiti” attacks have ended up being false flag events. So, let’s maybe let the facts come out before we start bashing a segment of society.and
dkeucd says:
Hoaxand
dickshotdogs says:
What a bunch of BS. We just got rid of a racist [Obama?].and
redclaw1314 says:
We do not know the race of the people that broke into the home. Let’s wait til we have all of the facts. Also should the behavior of one individual,whatever their race may be, indicate the beliefs of millions of people?and
schmokes says:
Yeah, sure, it’s Trump’s fault. Of course the most racist group in America right now is Black Lives Matter, but just go ahead and ignore that Victor [Cruz].and
cafetero1075 says:
I am spanish and this is a isolated incident by trolls. I bet they were Puerto Rican that broke inand
stickyicky97 says:
This is ridiculous. The people who robbed his house could have easily been black and just painted the graffiti to throw off people. There have already been a ton of incidents like these that have been proven to be fake and done by minorities. But yes racism is alive and well on both sides.and
abninf says:
I bet 50 million dollars a Hillary supporter did it.and
nitzie says:
It’s a hoax.and
key2heat says:
BSand
JSpicoli says:
Because there are no such things as false flags.and
razzzmajazzz says:
It must be real. Just add the word “Trump” to anything you want to make look racist for instant credibility.and
snowdood163 says:
Victor Cruz is an idiot.and
eaglesw00t says:
.... And why would people go into someones house and write KKK and Trump? I would honestly believe that some left leaning nutjob went into his house and painted that…none of the people rioting and pillaging have been Trump supporters.and
ryanw822 says:
going to be funny when the culprits are found and it turns out that they aren’t nazis or Trump supporters.and
f4phantom9277 says:
It is not out of the realm of possibility that a black person could have done this….let the investigation occur and then we will possibly find out the truth to the matter.and
chicksdigthelongballs says:
I guarantee this turns out to be a hoax. More fake racism. The media and the Giants are so dumb for buying this BS.and
matt14gg says:
Bogus story…followed up by uneducated people like Victor Cruz commenting (he basically blamed Obama tho he obviously doesn’t know it).
Deep down in your nefarious little hearts all you deplorable race baiters know this story is bogus.and
metalman5150 says:
The culprit in what was initially believed to be a pro-Trump, anti-black act of vandalism in South Philadelphia earlier this month turns out to be a 58-year-old black man.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, William Tucker faces four charges related to the case. Police say that on Nov. 9, the day after Trump was elected, Tucker sprayed “Trump Rules” and “Black Bitch” on a white SUV owned by his 62-year-old neighbor, a black woman.and
jiverpoolred04 says:
Hoaxand
rollotomasi14 says:
Reminds me of how Manson supporters wrote graffiti in blood on the walls to try and place blame on the Black Panthers to try and start a race war. Liberals are the ones doing this trying to focus blame on Trump and his supportersand
jacunn2000 says:
Why would a white burglar go into the house of a black man and write this? He has just narrowed down the suspects to a white person… This was done on purpose by someone of color. I guarantee it.and
str82dvd says:
Oh this is going to be so funny when we see the actual perps. Total hoax – by someone who got their ideas of white people from American History X.and
thermalito says:
This story stinks to high heaven and has HOAX written all over it.and
PFT loves the Steelers says:
I found this semi-believable until it came out that “Trump” was also written in the graffiti. Now my BS detector is at high alert. This guy only had a game system and like $50 worth of stuff taken? And he’s a rich football played? Something seems very off. Liberals and anti-Trump folks stand to benefit from this by keeping the racial division going. For whatever reason, Obama, Hillary and all libs absolutely love to push the racial division…but isn’t that the opposite of what they supposedly want???and
rcoh says:
Give me a break! Everyone is going to have there own thoughts on this. Fine. But this raciest crap is getting old! There will always be prejudices of all kinds. Most sensible people will see this for what it is. The media and the left and right will always be at odds on just about everything out there! It’s not going to change no matter what anyone says! I also think that people in the lime light try to push there own agenda and really try to stir things up. Sometimes it’s good other times it’s not. Everyone needs to step back and just take a breath! If it’s that bad out there then try to make a change. The majority of people out there are good and understanding. All you need is few trouble makers and the whole world goes nuts!and
marshawnsdred says:
Discovered to be a hoax in 3… 2… 1….and
klutch14u says:
A week from now WikiLeaks will release emails from inside the DNC showing they paid people to do this. I guarantee of the couple of instances of people disguised as supporting Trump but saying racist things are nothing more than paid actors by the opposite party. Win at all costs, isn’t that the liberal motto? How’s that working out for ya?and
briang123 says:
The guy got a 10-game PED [performance-enhancing drugs] suspension and lost a lot of paychecks. I guarantee you the police and his insurance company aren’t accepting this blindly.and
Lemmy Aksyadis says:
2 years ago in Lunenburg Mass the white mother of a mixed race student spray painted her own house to create the illusion that the football team, and the entire town was racist.
Once the FBI came on board the evidence proved that it was an inside job.
Prior to this revelation, there were cries about KKK being entrenched in Mass etc. Every vile accusation you could imagine made it to the front page.
That someone would fake this is beyond despicable. That some would not learn from this and wait for evidence before making accusations is both despicable and demoralizing. It shows that race relations are nowhere near where they should be and that there are those who would manipulate situations to create this type of division.
The spray painting mother story was dropped like a hot potato when the truth came out. One id forced to wonder why. Perpetrators of this type of false flag should be severely punished. There are enough real problems without race baiters creating false ones.and
ramsfandango says:
Hillary herself has recently called ‘fake news’ an epidemic.This story has all the earmarks of a staged event to fit the CNN-far left narrative.
Plus, Cruz is no longer a relevant player on the Giants. He is whining to the media about little or no playing time, and starving for attention.and
mnvikes1961 says:
I’d bet on this being another false flag.and
RE LEE says:
Catch the culprit. KKK and Trump on the wall? What if it is a set up just like some of the racist incident reported that are made up? A Muslim woman reported that she was harassed, called name etc. It turned out she lied. Black kids in the bus reporting whites were harrasing them and it turned out it was false.
Look at the Clinton supporters who were hired to provoke Trump’s supporters to violence. I say catch the culprits, find their motives, and charge them with hate crime no matter who they are.and
mcl2177 says:
99% this is a hoaxand
sheik says:
I always find crimes like this where the perps intentionally leave evidence or try to leave behind a “suggestion” of who to look for as probably not what it appears to be.
If they catch these perps it will probably be revealed the Trump, racist stuff was done as an attempt to send the authorities looking in the opposite direction.
If its actually legit it would be funny if thats what ultimately led to their arrest.and
varangia says:
The hoaxes are rampant because most of the time, the police inexplicably don’t charge these liberal activists, even when they admit to doing it. They’re causing damage to society and need to punished with prison sentences.and
chris6523 says:
So, when they arrested this dude for breaking into the house, they discovered he had a background that included affiliation with white supremacist groups, right? What? You say no one has been arrested and no one has any idea if this is just a ruse? Got it.and
liverpoolred04 says:
Hoaxand
seancon008 says:
.... Hoaxes are happening from all sides….here in Philly we had several “hoax” racist reports. Black dude spray painting KKK, TRUMP on homes and cars, White lawyer spray painting cars with TRUMP KKK etc, Villanova “attack” that had 4 white guys with Trump hats attack a black student (who admitted it was false after hearing of the penalty for false reporting), Delaware- Girl reports being attacked by white guys with red Trump hats while they pointed a gun at her and robbed her in the WAWA parking lot (She admitted she lied when the video in the store and parking lot showed NOTHING HAPPENED)….so before you go calling others racists over a report that has no actual suspects or visual evidence to corroborate your racist hidden side….wait for the evidence to back you up ...and
thetruthcampaign says:
The only cases of violence and vandalism are the liberals who are crying because he won.and
All these fake cases of fake racism and hate and white supremacy crap are coming from liberals who didn’t get their way. ...
jo6pack says:
So in Victor Cruz’s mind, a white neo-nazi burglar is going to break into a player’s house and decide “you know, I feel like I need to further incriminate myself while also making a political statement!”
Or it could be that somebody left the messages so police look for white neo-nazis instead of whomever actually did it.and
honalulublue says:
Wow! Those burglars sure belong to a lot of hate groups. Still sounds like a democrat’s idea to spray all that hate graffiti.and
dsheik says:
I always find crimes like this where the perps intentionally leave evidence or try to leave behind a “suggestion” of who to look for as probably not what it appears to be.
If they catch these perps it will probably be revealed the Trump, racist stuff was done as an attempt to send the authorities looking in the opposite direction.
If its actually legit it would be funny if thats what ultimately led to their arrest.and
micky741 says:
.... Why would someone waste their time writing on walls if they are robbing you. Get in and get out as quick as possible! And who is to say they weren’t black to throw off the investigation???? ......-----
Oblivious to the certainty that the vandalism in Whitlock's home would so commonly be perceived to be a hoax, The Record immediately published an editorial, titled Racially charged acts have no place in civilized society, insinuating that the incident was caused by Trump's presidential campaign. The editorial's key passages (emphasis added):
When Barack Obama was elected America's first black president in 2008, millions hoped we would, at last, live to see a post-racial America, at least in our public lives and discourse. Yet following the last several months, and including some nasty incidents that surfaced during the course of the long presidential campaign and the election of Donald Trump, we sadly note that such wishful thinking has been erased.
Due to the use of some rhetoric used during the campaign, Trump's election has served to put many minorities on edge.The Record did not specify any Trump campaign statement that put African-Americans on edge.
On the following day, The Record published in its Opinion section a column written by staff writer Christina Joseph and titled Racism: It happened in Moonachie; it’s happening elsewhere. The key passages (emphasis added):
.... The intruder, who scrawled the words "KKK," three swastikas and other racist language on the walls of the football player's home, apparently did so in homage to President-elect Donald Trump, whose name was also part of the graffiti. Moonachie police are investigating it as a hate crime.
Sadly, incidences of bias are all too common these days. .... And now this recent election cycle – with all of its negative rhetoric – has unleashed the contents of Pandora's box.
Those harboring racist views have been emboldened. They feel victorious. And even worse, they feel a kinship with the president-elect, who during his campaign appealed to their fears that immigrants and people of color are taking over. ....
Remember, it can happen to anyone.-----
Actually, however, a break-in where an actual vandal (not a hoaxster) writes racism graffiti on the interior walls happens to practically no one.
-----
This is the first of a series of four articles
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
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