A terrorist remains on the loose, possibly in Colorado Springs. The equation is simple: Bomb outside local building + no suspect in custody = terrorist on the loose.
Had this attack on a Colorado Springs building been more successful last week, friends and neighbors could be dead. We have no reason to know the bomber won't try again. No reasonable effort should be spared in bringing this predator to justice.
The building, sustaining external charring, housed a barber shop and the local office of the NAACP. This attempted act of terror could be the work of a maniac upset by a haircut. It seems far more likely this was someone with hateful sectarian motives who tried to harm an organization that represents black people. For those who haven't noticed, our country's black-white relations have regressed to rioting in the streets. Some argue we've lost decades of civil rights progress.
The bombing has become another blemish on Colorado Springs. The International Business Times used the crime as rationale to characterize the community as a "conservative" place of ethnic intolerance under the headline: "Racism In Colorado Springs Has Long Been A Contentious Subject For Some Local Blacks." To provide evidence, the publication quoted a black man who grew up in Colorado (we're not told where) and had "the N-word hurled his way on the playground and in hallways 'more often than not.' " Furthermore, the publication tells readers, only 3 percent of the community's businesses are owned by black people. And members of the City Council are "all white." The publication reported 5 percent of local businesses are owned by Hispanics, while Asians own 3.5 percent.
Given those numbers, minorities own 11.5 percent of businesses in the Springs, while whites own 88.5 percent and make up about 80 percent of the general population. Compared with the rest of Colorado, it looks pretty good. Statewide, minorities own 9 percent of businesses. Minorities own only 4.5 percent of businesses in Boulder, which saw a spate of white-on-black hate crimes in 2005 and has continued struggling with attacks on minorities in recent years.
In a perfect world, the ethnicity of our business community would proportionately mirror the city's demographics. In the real world, we know the Springs was settled mostly by white people less than 150 years ago. Many passed businesses from one generation to the next. We are blessed by growing diversity and should be proud to see more minorities buying or starting businesses as the community matures.
Yes, today's incarnation of the City Council is 100 percent white. It is also 10 percent Hispanic. Besides, statistical data do funny things when applied to small samples. Only five years ago, the City Council was more than 10 percent black and 10 percent Hispanic. Another local governing body, the El Paso County Commission, is 20 percent black. Commissioner Darryl Glenn, who is black, won by 80 percent in an overwhelmingly white district against a white opponent in November. It was his fourth landslide victory in this community, having been elected twice to the City Council and twice as a commissioner.
We're not saying life is a cake walk for minorities, here or anywhere else. It is not. Bigotry and stereotypes die hard and continue to infect American culture. But this is not, as some in the media wish to portray, a community defined by disproportionate levels of ethnic intolerance and cultural tension.
One party tried to bomb a building that houses the NAACP. This person or group is dangerous, probably hateful, and must be hunted down. Our community cannot and will not tolerate ethnic intimidation or criminal violence of any type. It is not what we are about. This is a community that must feel safe for people of all nationalities, political persuasions, sexual orientations, religions and ethnic backgrounds. We must continue striving to be the best hometown on Earth - the place for people to live in safety and peace, exactly as they were created.
