Craig Stephen Hicks the murderer of three Muslim Students in N.C..
Claims that he is an activist for Gay Rights and Is an Atheist..
Of Course the Right Wing is elated with this info..
Lets not allow them to hi-jack this event of an execution/ murder of 3 Muslim Students by a True Hater..
I am not suggesting that the below article is not written with some sort of bias.
But a good beginning to a discussion of this tragedy..
Five Quick Facts:
http://heavy.com/news/2015/02/craig-stephen-hicks-deah-shaddy-barakat-yusor-mohammad-razan-mohammad-abu-salha-muslim-students-shot-dead-unc-chapel-hill/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Hi, D.U. old timers. 
Because I've been busy, and coping with health issues, I haven't posted here in a while.
As I read reports about Craig Hicks late last week, the 'voice' and personality of his Facebook posts gave me a sense of deja vu. I knew I'd encountered him online, here at Democratic Underground, several years ago. I shan't speculate on his posting name. He may have been one of two or members, and then a happier man.
Hoyt, that Craig Hicks happened to be among a million or more people who hold CCW permits tells us next to nothing about the man or any other concealed weapons permit holders. I know several, among them a physician who happens to be a U.S. Army veteran, another being a 60+ working man who lives in a metro area where he's a minority and might easily be targeted for assault or robbery. IN the greater ATL metro area Female realtors are at risk for carjacking or robbery. Several carry weapons. So don't assume you know everything. 
I thought a lot about Craig Hicks last week. Southern states, in particular North Carolina (where my mother lived the last few years of her life) , have been affected by uncontrolled immigration which has drastically affected employment opportunities and lowered wages for most working class men. Let's try to look at the lives of men of Craig Hick's age, class, and location.
When a 40 something year old white man, resident of North Carolina (or South Carolina or GA), attained adulthood, the factories which provided steady jobs were shutting down. North Carolina, along with Pennsylvania and Michigan up North, manufactured most of the furniture bought by Americans. From cheap to the finest levels of craftsmanship. Throughout the states in the South, there were factories which made hardware, tools, clothing and all sorts of textiles. The manufacturing, shipping, and sales of same meant steady employment for millions from the lowest jobs up through higher management positions. College degrees weren't generally required except for those at high management levels.
Outsourcing began in the early 1980s. When internet communications systems went global, the ownership class were able to chase cheap labour no matter where. Bush 41 and Clinton helped expedite policies which solidified the permanent export of most U.S. manufacturing. Both touted the replacement of manufacturing by a 'service economy'. And thus sunk the middle class to serfdom.
We'd always had migrant labour for agriculture. But those working class people who'd lost indoor manufacturing related jobs were not inclined to pick produce in the fields or work in meat processing. The capitalist politicians had pretty much destroyed the unions, so such dangerous grueling jobs paid very little. The border between US and Mexico became open, and INS didn't deport anybody. At least not permanently. Immigrants from all over the globe were welcomed in to America's universities and given preferences at the same time many 20-40 years old American born males were losing job prospects. There were and are no 'affirmative action' programs to help white men obtain higher education. Excepting they join the military.
Hoyt, I don't know where you live, but North Carolina and Georgia are among the states where many men, black and white, have some reasons for nursing grudges about their economic stations in life. I imagine Craig Hicks never 'got it together' to attain the level of employment and income he felt he deserved. He was aging, and opportunities appeared available for the young immigrants next door which were closed to him. The 'foreigners' next door were happy, laughing, perhaps possessed of the arrogance of all youth. (I know I had it.) Maybe they scoffed *just a little* at the 'redneck' next door.
What might have happened if Craig Hicks hadn't been able to buy guns, we can't say. I don't intend to sacrifice my own Second Amendment right to self defense because Craig Hicks slid into an violent breakdown. He might have murdered his neighbours another way if he hadn't owned firearms.
The bigger picture is resentment of 'foreigners' in the South is not actually based on religion or skin pigmentation. When people feel they've hit the 'bottom', they have nothing to lose and strike out in anger. Anger and envy were at the base of Hicks' crime, as at the base of black dysfunction.
The politicians and corporations of America sold out our nation. Computers and other technological advancements have made human beings less necessary. In inflation adjusted dollars workers earn less than half the average wage tah in 1970. Social mobility is nearly non-existent for the majority, yet politicians jump to obey Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, George Soros and other billionaires orders for 'Open Borders'.
