Nightmare At Big Creek

Elm Street has nothing on Big Creek. In what easily qualifies as a nightmare, complete with scenes bizarre and grotesques enough to have been penned by a Hollywood screenwriter, Megan Williams endured a week of wanton torture.

It would be impossible to do justice, no pun intended, to discussing this story, without at least mentioning the victim is black, and the alleged perpetrators, all six of them, the Big Creek Six shall we say, are white. Taking that single fact into account is a great springboard for framing the atrocities foisted upon Ms. Williams as hate crimes.

However, in what may seem an odd twist to some, and truly ironic to others, this is not the tack authorities are pursuing at this time. Before anyone one thinks of leveling charges of conspiracy or racial inequity, chill for a moment. This is actually a good thing.

Why, you may ask? Well for starters, the maximum sentence for hate crimes in West Virginia is ten (10) years. Alternately, the maximum State kidnapping sentence is, up to life. Each of the alleged assailants faces multiple charges, among them:

· Kidnapping
· Sexual assault
· Malicious wounding and assault during a felony
· Battery
· Providing false information to police

Consequently, strange as it may seem, foregoing the hate crimes in lieu of charges with stiffer penalties may be in the best interest of justice. The alleged assailants are more likely to be sentenced appropriately for the crimes they committed.

Big Creek is located in Logan County, West Virginia. The community has a 2007 estimated population of 333, while the County population was estimated at 36,502 in 2004, and trending downward from the 2000 Census. The County’s population is 96% white, and 2.59% black.

Having said that, please note I am framing this discussion as a conversation about race, but not about color, class, or ethnicity. So you’re thinking (and thinking is good), how can that be? Simple, for my purposes, this discourse focuses on the human race! There are those who would argue it is the only race, but that is a premise to examine at another time.

The sheer gravitas of this episode cannot be overstated. It is, or at least should be, unfathomable that such malicious acts cold be inflicted by humans upon another human. We watched in abject horror amid a proverbial media circus, as Michael Vick and his collaborators were depicted as savage and inhuman for inflicting gross pain, suffering, and in numerous instances death, upon man’s best friends, dogs.

By contrast, the Megan Williams story has been woefully under reported. Ms. Williams, after all, is a member of the human race. No need to revisit the sordid details of the Vick case, but consider if you will the appalling excruciation, torment, and abuse Megan was subjected to for an entire week. She was:

· Beaten
· Called the N-word
· Choked
· Forced to eat rat feces
· Kidnapped
· Made to drink from the toilet
· Sexually assaulted
· Scalded
· Choked
· Verbally assaulted

There are treaties that denounce most of these practices even during times of war. The PETA movement reacted swiftly and powerfully to the Vick episode. Where is the groundswell of indignation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Americans? If no human equivalent of PETA will rise up, how about a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Americans?

As a member of the human race, Megan Williams needs and deserves support from some broad based lobby. Vick and friends were reviled, worldwide. Should the Big Creek Six not face similar censure, both nationally and globally?

Indeed, it is a fact pets are substantially integrated into our culture, even considered family members by some people. While that is certainly an acceptable lifestyle choice, let us keep it in perspective.

Animal Rights Activist, Dr. Tom Reagan attributes to Gandhi, his self-proclaimed hero, the quote, “you can judge the character and greatness of a society by how it treats its animals.”

While that may be true, I believe instead, though animal rights are important, the litmus test for judging the character and greatness of a society, specifically our society, is how we treat fellow members of the human race! How about you? What do you believe?

Holla back!


If interested in delving more deeply into the specifics of the Big Creek story, click on the links below and read about it:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=big+creek%2C+west+virginia

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/12/national/main3253257.shtml

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3590598

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20824918/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091900227.html