A day after I posted that an Asian family was targeted by anti-Asian hate crime after moving to a suburban community in Oregon, it was revealed that the whole episode was a hoax conjured up by the family’s 16-year-old son, who was angry about having to switch schools and make new friends.
The family’s 16-year-old son (whose name isn’t mentioned in most of the news articles I’ve read about the story — in and of itself suspicious since reporters published pictures and names of the other three kids when the story initially broke yesterday) apparently was the one to spray-paint racial slurs on the family’s new house, and to leave a threatening note next to a box of matches and a bottle suspected to contain gasoline. The note read “LEAVE” and “Last Warning. We will burn down your house if we have to.”
I guess the son didn’t realize that a hate crime is a serious offense; and that this story would actually make news locally and around the blogosphere.
The son appears to have apologized to the family and no charges will be pressed. But I’m also guessing that the teenager is going to be punished badly enough that juvie jail might almost look like the better consequence. He thought it was bad moving to a new school before? Think how tough it’s going to be to make new friends when all the students know you’re the new kid who graffitied his own house with racial slurs because he missed his old school, and is now grounded for the remainder of his natural life.
Moving to a new high school sucks pretty bad, but yikes — I think it would’ve just been easier to try with the making of the new friends, rather than with the empty threats of arson.
