Bias Crime in Bergen County

Can it happen here in bucolic Bergen County? You betcha! It can happen wherever there are people.

On the face of it, the Record article "Paramus man charged with bias crimes in Ringwood" recounting the arrest of a Bergen County man on bias, arson and intimidation charges has a happy ending. The victim's statement "justice has been served" might be taken as "all's well that ends well". But the victim also stated the sad truth that "Wherever you go, you'll find people who don't like you for your race, country of origin, or gender - that's the world we live in today" (quoted from the print article in The Record of 1/31/2008; the print article is much longer than the online version and is titled "Man jilted on home sale charged with bias crime"). He also states that his son "still has a little bit of fear - his skin is darker than mine". The victim is described by The Record as "Hispanic and dark-skinned".

Every bias crime involves a bigot. In this case, the alleged perpetrator scrawled "No Blacks" in an apparent effort to scare the victim out of a house for which he (the perp) was outbid. So why did he turn to racially-based intimidation? It seems likely that something in his upbringing supported his stance of discrimination. It all starts at home, and it all starts when we're young.

In the days following the 2006 incident the victim's neighbors raised $2000, plus donated services, to restore the damaged house. The victim's response was "I'll forever appreciate all the things they did for me. I met a lot of good people, and they were nice to help me out. That's something I wasn't even expecting."

A neighbor who helped organize the recovery effort said "My kids are still talking about it. It taught the neighborhood children a lot about community spirit and what a community can do."

Now that's the way to raise kids!