12 years ago, on Dec. 12, 1997 a young man was killed due to intolerance and just sheer stupidity and cruelty in a school in Amarillo, Texas. It's a story that really got to me because of how cruel and just pointless and wasteful it was.
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Many are already familiar with the story of Brian Deneke. For those who are not, 10 years ago, nineteen year-old Brian Deneke was murdered in Amarillo, Texas, essentially for being a punk. His killer, who ran him down with a car, was found guilty of manslaughter but was only given probation.
http://punkmusic.about.com/b/2007/11/20/december-8-a-nationwide-memorial-for-brian-deneke-1978-1997.htm
http://punkmusic.about.com/b/2007/11/20/december-8-a-nationwide-memorial-for-brian-deneke-1978-1997.htm
Quote:
The International House of Pancakes at the Western Plaza Shopping Center was a popular hangout for youths in Amarillo, Texas.[3] On Saturday, December 6, 1997, a confrontation occurred at the IHOP involving Dustin Camp and John King, a member of the punk rock community. One witness, Kendra Petitt, claims that Camp hopped the median in his Cadillac as he tried to run the punks down in the parking lot, and that Camp missed and instead had his car window smashed by John King's police baton. Camp and friends denied this event ever happened. Tension and resentment from this confrontation lingered among the respective groups for the next week.
After a night of drinking on Friday, December 12, 1997, Dustin Camp and his companions returned to the Western Plaza Shopping Center at 11:00 p.m., anticipating a fight with members of the punk community. Violence soon broke out between jocks and punks outside of the IHOP restaurant. During the fight Dustin Camp retreated into his Cadillac; at first Camp appeared to drive away but then he sharply turned back, targeting Deneke by running him over. Camp's attorney would later argue that Camp returned to defend a fellow jock, however this claim has been discredited by Deneke's companions, as well as a passenger eyewitness who was in the car with Camp at the time of the killing.[4].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Brian_Deneke
After a night of drinking on Friday, December 12, 1997, Dustin Camp and his companions returned to the Western Plaza Shopping Center at 11:00 p.m., anticipating a fight with members of the punk community. Violence soon broke out between jocks and punks outside of the IHOP restaurant. During the fight Dustin Camp retreated into his Cadillac; at first Camp appeared to drive away but then he sharply turned back, targeting Deneke by running him over. Camp's attorney would later argue that Camp returned to defend a fellow jock, however this claim has been discredited by Deneke's companions, as well as a passenger eyewitness who was in the car with Camp at the time of the killing.[4].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Brian_Deneke
I know we have a lot of young members in this Guild and it's something I ask you especially to look into, to remember and to learn from.
More info:
http://www.myspace.com/brian_deneke_tribute
http://www.members.tripod.com/~VanessaWest/deneke.html
