Two men killed in Oregon train stabbings after anti-Muslim rant

"If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put an end to Monotheist Question," a rambling post on Jan. 23 reads.

Says it all doesn't it. All manner of cretins come out from under their rocks and walk among us when white nationalism gets mainstreamed. Thanks Donald. Of course, he and others on the right will be quiet as churchmice about this. Had it been a Muslim screaming at two little blonde girls, had he knifed white guys trying to intervene, however....

I am so proud of the three people who were willing to die to defend innocents. True American heroes.

Just the latest in a long string of radical, right-wing, white-supremacist terrorism that despite getting little media attention, has killed or harmed far more people in the US in the same amount of time than Muslims have.

RIP to these men. I wish there were more like them not just for religious tolerance but for anything. For example, it made me sick to my stomach when a fan yelled racist remarks at a baseball player in Boston a few weeks ago and not a single, solitary sole stepped in to say something.

He is a coward hassling girls.

He is on the far, far, fringe. Nobody is suggesting this was a stable human or that any violence is ok between individuals.

Brave, heroic people. Like the people of Manchester standing strong, standing together - the actions of these courageous folks shows those who seek to divide that they will never, ever win.

Their actions showed true human spirit and decency.

America is a free country. But making a spectacle of yourself with your religion will sometimes have consequences. Great on these citizens for defending that freedom. But blaming Donald Trump? You might as well blame Obama and Bush as well for perpetuating the lies of 9/11, where it all started.

Fizzbit:

A group of innocent teenagers minding their own business, taking a train is called 'making a spectacle of yourself'??????!!!!!!!! Ironic you said America is a free country. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone became a recluse and stayed home 24/7?

Obama wasn't even POTUS when 9/11 happened. But your fellow Republican Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, etc were in the WH, you're right.

But making a spectacle of yourself with your religion will sometimes have consequences.

God Bless America?

A piece of racist trash.

RIP to those who tried to do the decent thing.

@Fizzbit

Wouild you have said the same thing if he'd attacked someone wearing a cross?

But blaming Donald Trump?

Just like Hillary haters blame Hillary for everything.

Obama wasn't even POTUS

They blame Obama even for the world wars and Vietnam. It's their addiction to hate.

@nishikat, who are 'they'?

your fellow Republicans

wrong.

Wouild you have said the same thing if he'd attacked someone wearing a cross?

Wearing a cross is hardly comparable to wearing a scarf over your head. I see it as oppression of women. How do you see it?

I really don't mind being the brunt of your many attacks

I guess if you can believe in the flying Jesus zombie or Santa (oh, wait, that's children!!!, sorry!!!) then it's possible to believe that George Bush planned 9/11 even though not a single government in the world has agreed to this claim. It's OK, we have flying Jesus zombie believers, Scientologists, body slammers who think the earth was created 364 years ago and we have people who believe Bush guided the planes by a remote control from the white house.

And how about Sandy Hook? Was that a hoax? Anyone?

Unfortunately, these racist neo-nazi scum tend to fly under the radar until it's too late. They don't subscribe to one clearly definable ideology, or gather in one building for prayers, or pledge their lives to following a single book that clearly calls for violence and intolerance. This is why an organised religion like Islam tends to get alot more scrutiny than these equally dangerous individuals.

A christian white male terrorist who was a known white supremacist member with illusions that the homegrown terrorism plaguing the US for centuries is OK because enough ignorant and racist voters are emboldened by that failure and charlatan of a president elected.

If this was done by someone with Muslim name it could be all over the news coverage for weeks. Stand with the oppressed one's and stop violent action with peaceful words. We are all fellow human beings.

"Wearing a cross is hardly comparable to wearing a scarf over your head. I see it as oppression of women. How do you see it?"

Not all women who wear a hard scarf or hijab feel oppressed. Some see it simply as a sign of their faith, as a Christian does wearing a cross. My girl friend is a Christian and wears head scarves for instance when she fancies and she looks beautiful in them.

However that is not to say wearing a hajib could not be looked at as a form of oppression, but it depends on the situation and the country they live in. Some females are severly punished, while others it is just expected of them. Christian women could be considered oppressed in certain circumstances and definately not too long ago all women in general.

However I applaud these three brave men. They are at the very least decent human beings, if not heroes. But it would of been nice if the Muslim community also applauded/thanked the actions of the three, instead of only focusing on the actions of the one nut job, or so the news story alludes to.

I wonder if Christine would of gotten violent with the two young women had the three not stepped in... Things could of been much different. One more feather in the cap of the daesh recruiting tool. This actually goes against their agenda now. These three men did more to help relations with Muslims then most governments in a sense.

 But it would of been nice if the Muslim community also applauded/thanked the actions of the three, instead of only focusing on the actions of the one nut job, or so the news story alludes to.

Still, Zafar said he was inspired by the men who "had nothing to gain by putting themselves in harm's way."

"Of course, that's immediately replaced by an intense emotion of sadness that they've lost their lives," he said. "My heart goes out to the families of those individuals, who are also now lost in grief."

Members of the Muslim Student Association at Portland State University expressed sorrow over the killing. Organizer Fatmah Worfeley said the group wants to host a vigil after the victims' families have time to mourn.

"It's heartbreaking to see these things continue to happen," she told The Oregonian/OregonLive over the phone Friday evening.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/muslim_community_reacts_fatal_ne_portland_stabbing.html

@katsu78

"radical, right-wing, white-supremacist terrorism....has killed or harmed far more people in the US in the same amount of time than Muslims have."

Not true and/or misleading statement. It's actually the other way around. Fact check

https://pjmedia.com/homeland-security/2016/08/17/fact-check-islamic-terrorists-have-killed-more-in-domestic-attacks-since-911-than-the-right-wing/

https://apholt.com/2016/01/11/right-wing-extremism-vs-islamic-extremism-in-the-united-states-a-look-at-the-numbers/

More hoax news. Turns out the nutter was a Bernie supporter

Just as when former Intercept journalist (left wing rag in case you didn't know) and Bernie supporter Juan Thompson was arrested in connection with bomb threats against Jewish community centres last March, many left wingers immediately blamed President Trump. Both he and Jeremy Christian publicly denounced Trump.

I hope Democratic leaders do the right thing and denounce the rising bigotry of the left.

And this should go without saying but I will anyway. God bless those two men who paid with their lives in trying to protect the 2 muslim girls from the nutjob.

I hope Democratic leaders do the right thing and denounce the rising bigotry of the left

Please stop this. Show some respect.

american govt and media has brainwashed a large segment of their society into thinking all muslims are terrorists. same as the UK. these attacks are bound to increase.

Please stop this. Show some respect.

.

I have my good man. Read my comments above.

And I continue to show my respect to everyone involved by pointing out erroneous comments such as "Jeremy Joseph Christian is a Trump supporter" when in fact he hated Trump.

Trump's America. I wonder if Trump will congratulate him the way he congratulated the politician who was charged with criminal assault.

clamenza: "And I continue to show my respect to everyone involved by pointing out erroneous comments such as "Jeremy Joseph Christian is a Trump supporter" when in fact he hated Trump."

Regardless, it does not change the fact that under Trmup's 'Merica people like this have become emboldened to do things like this, and that's been factually proven.

"Rush a gun, but run away from a knife" used to be the conventional wisdom.

In Japanese schools they often keep a sasumata two-pronged pole in the teachers' room for knife-wielding intruders, to pin the guy against the wall. Even a loose chair might be more effective than bare hands against a crazed nutter with a knife. So brave, so sad. How could they have protected themselves, and still taken him down?

smithinjapan - "factually proven" is factually wrong. In fact the only numbers that are going up in Trump's America are the number of totally baseless statements like that by left-wing media and hoax crimes perpetrated by the left.

@nanda i totally agree with you. had both knife and gun attacks. only injured by a knife. if in this situation use anything you can find...a bicycle, briefcase, tree branch, traffic cone, big rock. best is to run, but these heroes probably saved two innocent young girls lives by not looking the other way.

I have my good man. Read my comments above.

And I continue to show my respect to everyone involved by pointing out erroneous comments such as "Jeremy Joseph Christian is a Trump supporter" when in fact he hated Trump.

He hates Muslims and is a white supremacist, has given nazi salutes and hopefuly now will spend the rest of his life in gaol. It really doesn't matter if he is a Trump supporter or not.

He hates Muslims and is a white supremacist, has given nazi salutes and hopefuly now will spend the rest of his life in gaol. It really doesn't matter if he is a Trump supporter or not.

.

Since so many were frothing at the mouth immediately blaming President Trump - It matters a hell of a lot.

False information like that only serves to strain relationships in local communities that are already strained by the histrionic left-wing media and their previous lies and doomsday scenarios.

@clamenza

smithinjapan - "factually proven" is factually wrong. In fact the only numbers that are going up in Trump's America are the number of totally baseless statements like that by left-wing media and hoax crimes perpetrated by the left.

You want to read before parroting uneducated baseless statements that are echoed by right wing news media.

Here are more proven facts to support smithinjapan:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2016/12/hate_in_america_a_list_of_racism_bigotry_and_abuse_since_the_election.html

Even Drump said stop:

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/10/us/post-election-hate-crimes-and-fears-trnd/

well, Silvafan - If un-biased, conservative stalwarts like "Salon" and "CNN" say these things are true, it MUST be!

Those are very, very biased opinions, and not facts.

@clamenza

well, Silvafan - If un-biased, conservative stalwarts like "Salon" and "CNN" say these things are true, it MUST be!

Those are very, very biased opinions, and not facts.

No one quoted "Salon". As oppose to Fox that has been proven be wrong alot over the years, and they had to make a pblic statement that many of their programs are not real news but simply entertainment.

Or are you an Alex Jones fan because he also had to make a public statement that his show is also entertainment nonsense when he was sued for defamation.

Absolutely horrific, Silvafan. Horrible.

when did that happen again?

I know like all acts of domestic terrorism. How long has it been happening again?

@clamenza

Since so many were frothing at the mouth immediately blaming President Trump - It matters a hell of a lot.

This man doesn't hate Trump because they don't share the same views. He hate Trump like many other Trump supporters because Trump broke his promise to those extreme voters and screwed them over at the same time. This heinous act could be another symptom of that frustration.

Sorry Silvafan. Slate, not Salon.

I mix up my heavily biased liberal SJW sites that start with S. Huffington Post starts with an H, so I wasn't going to screw that up..

@clamenza

According to his posts, he was a passionate Bernie Sanders supporter who later supported, but did not vote for, President Trump. He frequently posted violent threats against Hillary Clinton and her supporters.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/portland-suspect?utm_term=.psxAmn5R8#.dqoqpYJRv

Interesting take on the situation, Silvafan.

Heres what I think. He was a very frustrated Bernie fan and ultra liberal because, well, obviously; He attended a free speech rally in Portland. What is more liberal than that?

He was so frustrated that the promised wave of right wing violence and hate crimes didn't materialize that he did this in hopes of creating more division.

Silly isn't it? To report on what another man was thinking with absolutely no idea and never having met him.

@clamenza

He was a very frustrated Bernie fan and ultra liberal because, well, obviously; He attended a free speech rally in Portland. What is more liberal than that?

Well, your take is the extremely biased and illogical. The main reason is because of your selective memory of the facts ala right-wing media.

Christian is a known white supremacist who attended a right-wing "March for Free Speech" on April 29 in Portland. He brought a baseball bat to the march to assault left-wing protestors with, which was later confiscated by police, The Portland Mercury reported.

Oh dear.

Silvafan - Your Buzzfeed quote supposing he "later supported Trump" was followed not by supporting evidence, but by his Facebook quote "I could not bring myself to vote Trump. Today I abstained from voting for the first time in my adult life"

Mod - point taken, just saw that now. My point is made and its time for beddybyes. Good job tonight.

@clamenza

"later supported Trump" was followed not by supporting evidence, but by his Facebook quote "I could not bring myself to vote Trump. Today I abstained from voting for the first time in my adult life"

Why don't you use his whole quote instead of taking out the parts that don't support your narrative.

he said:

I could not bring myself to vote Trump like I said I would.

That is an important point to leave out!

actually its not, since that does not support the claim he "LATER" supported Trump.

Mod, seriously. Thats it. God Bless.

Since so many were frothing at the mouth immediately blaming President Trump - It matters a hell of a lot.

They did it to Obama for 8 years and hated him because he is black and geriatric white Conservatives think he was born in Kenya. It's only fair. But aren't Trump supporters mad at Trump because Trump failed to keep his promise about having Hillary arrested? Then there is the wall (what won't be built- and even if it was Mexico won't pay for it)

Many women choose to wear a hijab. It means they don't have to futz with their hair that day. It is freeing.

But, many women are pressured to wear a hijab too. Only the wearer knows how they feel about it.

Some days I wear a hat if I don't feel like showering or futzing with my hair. Same thing.

Oh, and I suppose there is some religious aspect to wearing a hat/hijab too. Perhaps?

Fanaticism comes in all stripes.  Political, religious, ideological.... I commend the men who sadly lost their lives for standing up to this neo-Nazi nutjob. The girls should have been left the hell alone, but as was said before, this man was already an extremist of his own views.   Not really surprised at his actions, but it cost 2 good Samaritan's their lives to finally put him behind bars.   Homegrown "nationalist" terrorism is just as bad.

Bothering a woman because they're wearing a hijab is just arrogant and ignorant. I'm not a fan at all of Islam and believe it is an exceptionally harmful ideology that promotes the destruction of democratic, religious, and basic human rights of others as known in democratic societies and governments.   But that does not justify harassing Muslim's that are minding their own business.

"I'm not a fan at all of Islam and believe it is an exceptionally harmful ideology that promotes the destruction of democratic, religious, and basic human rights of others as known in democratic societies and governments."

Although I know what you mean, that statement is actually an oxymoron... How many non-Muslims or even moderate Muslims (innocent civilians even) has the US killed in our "gentle" democratic, religious and basic human rights views? And how many people with in the US have killed fellow Americans on a large scale due to race, religion, etc.? To sum it up, a lot.

For those speaking of knives in a fight, if they were on a train, their weapons at hand would of been very limited and the man probably had it hidden until the last moment. I always wear a belt for this reason, not to mention being able to respectfully keep my pants up. Plus if you are carrying a jacket you can wrap it around your arm to help deflect a few knife slashes. Depending how the train was set up with poles, "swinging" may not of been very pragmatic, meaning thrusting only. But in the heat of moment who knows what will happen.

[The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

The program, "Countering Violent Extremism," or CVE, would be changed to "Countering Islamic Extremism" or "Countering Radical Islamic Extremism," the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.]

And Trumps rhetoric of Muslims in general is not good and only fuels hatred. Let's ignore everything else, but the one. Sad. Just so very sad.

M3M3M3 May 28  12:16 pm JST

This is why an organised religion like Islam tends to get alot more scrutiny than these equally dangerous individuals.

I feel like you're making a pretense of being conciliatory but in actuality spreading some pretty gross Islamophobia. You just compared the whole of the Muslim community, a community that let's remember less than the tiniest fraction of one percent actually commit violence or practice hate, as equivalently dangerous to "racist neo-nazi scum", a group with hate in their DNA and violence as their raison d'etre.

Dogma no matter its name is dangerous.

Until we promote, and want, a society of maximal freedom for the largest amount of people it can be extended to we will see groups being targeted, and we will also see groups being over represented as aggressors.

This goes both ways.

Personally I think religious wear is silly, be a it a head scarf, big cross or I love Jesus T-shirt, but response in kind is the only thing thats OK, which is, I don't wear outwardly religiously inspired clothing or accessories, and perhaps, although I don't, wear a T-Shirt or similar that expresses my lack of an association to a religious group or support of something I am interested in.

About as far as you could go in a fair and equal society is to have a conversation and ask why someone wears something and talk about why you don't think that makes sense or perhaps learn something new.

There is no excuse for this man, a sad and disgusting situation, and while it ended terribly its at least something that others tried to defend these young people.

Just be careful, if you are happy to attribute his dogmatic beliefs, which I think are clearly a factor, don't then defend or disregard dogmatic beliefs in other situations.

I wish the two men had lived to tell their story. Why did they act? I hope a statement by the third man who did survive will be released and reported in JT. 

Several things seem to have been going on there.

(1) Two young women appeared to be in danger. There used to be an ethic taught to boys (and to some girls) in America - and elsewhere - that men defended women and the weak. Some readers may be screaming now, but once upon a time that was the way it was. Not universal, of course, but not unusual. Today, a lot of people would avert their eyes. Walk away. The fact that these three guys didn't makes their action so praiseworthy though tragic.

(2) I suspect that the assailant's use of anti-Muslim epithets added to their decision to intervene when they did, but I hope it wasn't what initiated it. Before religion there was recognition of shared humanity.

What were other passengers doing? I can't blame people for burrowing into their seats. I will say I'd have wanted to do what the three did, but, to be honest, I wasn't there and tested so I don't know.

This illustrates that action is rarely, if ever, collective but initiated by individuals who, for whatever reason, rise to the occasion.

it is a sad state of affairs when the only reason liberals even cared was if they could link it to Trump. Soon as it was found out he supported Bernie Sanders/Jill Stein it was right out of the news cycle and back to Russia Russia Russia. The new thing that was Trump fault last night was attacks on reporters, they are trying to blame him for that now that this story didnt stick.

Crocodile tears of the left. So often publicly virtuous and privately cruel.

Crocodile tears of the left. So often publicly virtuous and privately cruel.

And how did you feel about the murders?

it is a sad state of affairs when the only reason liberals even cared was if they could link it to Trump. Soon as it was found out he supported Bernie Sanders/Jill Stein it was right out of the news cycle and back to Russia Russia Russia. The new thing that was Trump fault last night was attacks on reporters, they are trying to blame him for that now that this story didnt stick.

When people witness the president of the US being openly bigoted, they see it as legitimate. Statistics bear out that this kind of thing has been increasing since the election. It does not matter who the attacker supported because he was receiving the message of hate being spewed.

The above holds true for reporters. When the president normalizes hostility towards the press, other politicians don't hesitate, or hesitate less in attacking the press.

As Toasted asked, how do you feel about the murders?

if they could link it to Trump

Geriatric Trump conservatives link all bad things to Hillary and Obama so it's only fair. What's pathetic is Geriatric Trump conservatives would like these bad things happening in the present to Obama and Hillary even though they are no longer politically employed.

Trump has made no comment at this writing about this hate crime and double murder. I truly wonder why? Is he even more evil than I have imagined him to be. At any rate, Trump has created a climate of hate in the United States. His campaign was predicated on hate. He has brought the most vile pack of bigots out of the woodwork. I blame Trump and and the conservatives, especially people like Ann Coulter, for this.

My condolences to the victims of this ugly hate crime.

And Trumps rhetoric of Muslims in general is not good and only fuels hatred.

Of course this was Trump's fault. He has expressed his public hatred towards Muslims. It all builds up then boils over and we have these crazy Trump voters who go after innocent people with knives with Trump's blessing.

 we have these crazy Trump voters who go after innocent people with knives with Trump's blessing.

Well, Bernie Sanders voter, and no blessing from Trump. But don't let facts stand in the way of a good narrative.

And how did you feel about the murders?

That's a meaningless question. Normal people feel bad about murders, regardless of their political party. But the rush to assign political significance to a murder suggests some people feel less bad about them than others. People are murdered every hour, every day around the world. How do you feel about that?

For all this talk of sympathy, most people don't so much as pause over their morning latte at the thought of murder victims in far away places. It's disingenuous to for someone to claim they care more than a stranger's tragedy than someone else, when the fact is they only care so much as it fits their own narrative. A little girl at the receiving end of a US drone gets zero notice - tell me why that is.

Congrats Trump. How many more nutjobs will pop up in your name.

the rougou- I think by now you know the nut was a Bernie supporter who hated Trump.

clamenza: "Heres what I think. He was a very frustrated Bernie fan and ultra liberal because, well, obviously; He attended a free speech rally in Portland. What is more liberal than that?"

The "here's what I think" at the beginning says it all, especially from a guy ranting about "biased news". Haha. Well done!

"I think by now you know the nut was a Bernie supporter who hated Trump."

And has been in an environment for the past four months that has emboldened people who commit such acts of hatred. It's fact, even though you won't hear it on FOX.

Smith- how unfortunate that you omitted the next part of my post where I point out how silly it is to speak for someone you have never met.

I guess you missed that. It happens to the best of us

And no smith, it's not "fact" that hate crimes are spiking at all. Censuses take much longer to take and evaluate to get any actual grasp.

What is fact is the sheer number of hoaxes called in by the left hoping to smear a President Trump. They are being exposed on a weekly basis.

i would urge liberals to get out of their echo chambers and off of Huffington Post in order to learn fact, not opinion

What is fact is the sheer number of hoaxes called in by the left hoping to smear a President Trump. They are being exposed on a weekly basis.

Pizzagate?

Pizzagate

.

that thing that was in internet chat room things for about 30 seconds and 12 people heard about?

No, not quite..

that thing that was in internet chat room things for about 30 seconds and 12 people heard about?

No, not quite..

That thing that went viral and millions of people across the world heard about it.

That wasn't a hoax?

Oh very much a hoax. And almost no one heard about it or cared about it. Even I had to google it to get the particulars. The difference here is the MSM wouldn't touch it with a 12 foot pole because it showed liberal Democrats in a bad light.

But when a Muslim lady in Detroit makes a false claim that 2 rednecks tore her Hijab off about a week after Trump took office?

National news for about a week until police discover it was totally fabricated.....then nothing.

So many in the past 4 months its impossible to keep track.

hoping to smear a President Trump

Got to admit Trump is a nasty man, especially with what he wants to do with his own daughter (check his quotes about her). OK, go ahead and believe Trump is a great president. Trump followers are free to think what they want. Trump followers think Trump was the best candidate for the Republican party. The only thing I can say is what were you thinking? Because there were other decent Republican candidates. Why didn't you nominate one of those people instead of Trump?

Faced in a similar situation, is there any way to avoid bloodshed ? Rather than by directly confronting the individual, perhaps escorting the women to another location would have been a better approach ? What would you do, in such a situation ?

Rather than by directly confronting the individual, perhaps escorting the women to another location would have been a better approach ? What would you do, in such a situation ?

Difficult to say. Such incidents escalate rapidly and one's response can define the outcome for good or bad. Really down to the individual.

Getting back to the topic (thanks, btw) these men were brave but I reckons they were pretty much doing what any decent citizen would do in the face of such injust and disgusting behaviour. They paid for their lives because they acted spontaneously but in the end; they were right and this murderer was wrong.

FWIW; I try to avoid relating personal experiences and anecdotes because it's not wise at all to reveal or lay bare your feelings on the internet. Especially with some hostile contributors (not necessarily on this site, natch). Suffice to say; these brave people showed public spirit, common decency and humanity which has to be a good thing. Even if the end result was one of tragedy.

There's a remarkable amount of "goodness" around; the people of Manchester have shown it & so did the passengers who stood up. That's what I can draw solace and hope from, even in some of the more darker moments the world sees fit to unleash.

Do I wish I'd voted for Ms. Clinton? Nope.

OK, you like Trump