MERGED: A Morning Daggar/Homicide at Branded

Subject: Re: Chai

Smitty wrote: Chai was a really nice, fun guy who will be truly missed.

This absolutely senseless and tragic.

+1

He's not a dog walker. He has a dog, which he and his wife used to take to various bars in the neighborhood.

ltjbukem wasn't referring to this person as a dog walker by profession, but by activity. There was discussion of a guy that walks his dog, and was an aggressive, menacing a-hole, by all accounts. Different people, none the less.

Why Fi-

The Post now shows a photo of the accused.

....As a PH dog owner and bar goer, I knew them both ...all be neither one of them well.

Folks who were there, or who have seen the video seem to feel this was a relatively minor argument wherein the guy suddenly pulled out a knife and started stabbing people. ....certainly no one thought it had this potential

So very sad and senseless. My condolences to all those who knew and loved him.

As the news reports pile up, I think it is worth asking in advance of Saturday's vigil why this incident is the one that is being highlighted by the media when so many violent deaths have occurred recently in our community. If more attention had been paid to random acts of violence over the past year, could this horrific death have been prevented? Now, we can only wish that something had been done differently.

Terrible news! Very sorry to hear...

Perhaps a clearer account of events:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/nyregion/01leash.html?src=mv

Chai and Rocco were AM regulars at Mount Prospect Park.

Daniel and Bugsy must have been on a different schedule, but were certainly familiar faces.

Whatchuwant wrote: Out of all the stories- the NY Times actually got the facts straight.

Fuck the guy who did it, though- I'm sorry for his wife, but that guy has more than a few loose screws. This guy was looking for trouble and picked on the most gentlest of souls. I hope he rots in hell.

While I totally agree with you..fuck the guy. There is a different angle that probably won't be talked about. The guy was drinking in Hot Bird and is a regular at area pubs. People that were having drinks with the guy before he went totally fuckin' nuts say that he was in a normal good mood before he stabbed and slashed everybody..You can never tell when some asshole is going to crack.

Old Time Brooklyn wrote: Tragedy. I wonder if this could have been avoided if people didn't foolishly tie their poor dogs up outside eating and drinking establishments.

I doubt it, given that it was the humans involved who did the stabbing.

Unfortunately he will more than likely get out someday.

He's 36, not gonna plead guilty to a murder charge, he learned that early in life.

Hopefully the DA will see this vermin for the threat to society he is and not offer a plea deal, even so he stands a good chance of being paroled again someday albeit as a much older man, in his 60's prolly.

Whatchuwant wrote: that guy has more than a few loose screws.

In Prospect Heights, though, that wacko at the bar may also carry a knife (or a gun). In the community where I grew up, pretty much every guy (and some girls) carried a knife somewhere on his (or her) person. It was seen to be necessary, since people felt that they could be the victim of random violence at any time. Carrying a knife was normal. Of course, the result was incidences like these, where loose screws (and alcohol) plus weapon equalled horrific violence.

There have been so many horrific incidences in the Prospect Heights/Crown Heights area of late. I think that this incident is an opportunity to think about whether we have become desensitized to violence in our neighborhood (I suspect we have). Had posters not known Chai, what would the conversation have looked like? I know from growing up around it, that it's easy to get used to violence, especially when it doesn't affect you directly. But how does a gradual process of being desensitized effect people around us who are capable of violence but respond to social cues?

I wonder too about the unequal media attention given to different deaths. When a local newspaper doesn't cover a murder, is there an implicit message that condones the violence? Are we only concerned when the violence effects "us"? Is it a newspaper's responsibility to cover only incidences that are seen to effect their reading audience? If media coverage has any effect on levels of violence, then I think that all violent incidences would need to be taken seriously.

I have great appreciation and respect for the coworkers, friends, and family of Chai who have initiated a vigil, even in the midst of their great loss, to address the violence in this area. Thank-you.

Part of me wonders why there wasn't violence during the 10 years he was out. Who knows, maybe he had some criminal involvements the news didn't dig up.

I think many (if not all) of us are capable of killing someone with a knife. As WCW hints, it's not like future murderers have their knuckles dragging on the ground and are screaming all the time.

Ah, the mysteries of psychology and deviant behavior.

This is so, so terrible. I can't believe it. My condolences to the victims family, friends and co-workers. I'm shocked.

Whatchuwant wrote: You don't put a deadly weapon in your pocket cause your Mr Joe Nice Guy. You do it cause you're waiting for someone to cross you.

I disagree with this. Not everyone who carries a knife around is looking to stab someone.

krowonhill wrote: In the community where I grew up, pretty much every guy (and some girls) carried a knife somewhere on his (or her) person. It was seen to be necessary, since people felt that they could be the victim of random violence at any time. Carrying a knife was normal.

Knives are really useful to have around, and most people would never use them on another person except as an absolute last resort in a self-defense situation. It wasn't that long ago in this country when it was almost assumed that men routinely carried a pocket knife, and there was certainly no stigma attached to it.

Listen to this audio clip of LBJ ordering pants and you'll see what I mean (worth listening to if you've never heard this even if you're not otherwise interested in my point):
http://whitehousetapes.net/clips/1964_0809_lbj_haggar/