Suspect now sacred cow; ‘let due process begin’

In her Oct. 15 column titled “A hate crime,” Rina Jimenez-David gives her take on the celebrated Jennifer Laude case. At one point, she writes:

“Quite apart from the factor of being snookered into a liaison with a transgender or transvestite, there is also, it seems, an element of self-loathing on the part of the perpetrator, who may feel his masculinity diminished simply by the fact that he had been even slightly attracted to another man.

“Then, driven by anger and self-hatred, the man turns on the object of his ire, the ‘woman’ who had shared his bed.

“This doesn’t mean, of course, that even ‘real’ women have not, at one time or another, been assaulted, raped, or battered by their customers, lovers or even husbands during or after sex…”

Jimenez-David goes on to say that Laude should have “known better,” as the phrase goes. The complication in the case is that the murderer (and there’s no other word for it!) was a US Marine serviceman and its implications on our celebrated “special relations” with the United States.

Before all else, this was a specific case of monumental brutality done by one human being to a fellow human being. As such the “suspect” deserves to bear the brunt of the law; the fact that his victim was a transgender woman does not change anything whatsoever.

That our government seems (at the moment at least) rather disinclined to take action against an “ally” with whom we have “special relations” is par for the course. Our relationship, the Visiting Forces Agreement included, has never been one of mutual respect. We have always been as if one with a debt of gratitude to a “benefactor.”

To put it another way, our government has become quite comfortable with being ignored, so the Laude family has become hoarse from crying out to the concerned authorities, including no less than President Aquino, to do something about it. We’re always the doormat!

Question: Would a real man do the cowardly thing that Joseph Scott Pemberton did?

One news report enumerated the injuries inflicted by Marine “Pemby” in great detail. All possible physical injuries were listed. Nothing is left to the imagination.

Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg address spoke of all men “being created equal.” For standing fast in that principle, he was assassinated. “Pemby” obviously presumes himself to be “more equal.” Too bad, the US Marine jack—is now a sacred cow!

This writer asks: What did Lincoln mean when he said, “All men are created equal”? Apparently, he meant ALL, regardless of race, religion, persuasion, or, yes, physicality.

And the doormat? It will always be there, to be stepped on!

The latest we hear is that Pemberton has been turned over to Philippine authorities—but with well-armed American escorts. Let due process begin!

—BOBBY G. KRAUT,

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