Comments on: Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak Raped and Slaughtered By Her Marine Husband’s Men- They Bragged on MySpace About It.

By: Arnie Schmatz

Arnie Schmatz — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 06:19:31 +0000

I don’t get why people feel that legislating interracial marriages as protected classes will do anything at all. There’s a reason why the police privately refer to restraining orders as ‘hunting licenses’. When humans do this kind of thing to other humans, we seem to look for blame everywhere: their parents, the Marine Corps, their education, the generation, insufficient legislative protection, etc. There is no need to go beyond the four men who broke into a home, tortured and murdered two human beings. THAT is where the blame lies. And no amount of legislation, or enhanced penalties (when the death penalty is in play, what difference will more penalites make?) would have stopped those four haterful humans from doing what they did. We have been violent to one another from the beginning, and so are we still. The only differnece that we can make is to choose not to hate other humans, and influence, teach and guide the people in our own family and close circle of friends to do the same. Sure, it would be great if the Corps would have rejected these four, or if there had been legislation that deterred them. But there wasn’t. And these four men should be held accountable for their acts.

By: Angel

Angel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:26:20 +0000

I think the source of the problem is not interracial relationships themselves, but the sense of entitlement to black women that black men feel. Everyday I encounter black men who think they have a right to me simply by virtue of their being interested in me. Just last night a black man tried to speak to me on the train while I was wearing my headphones (worn specifically to put off such advances). I gave a curt response and put my earbuds back in to indicate I did not want to talk. But he persisted and told me I was rude. I replied, “I am sorry, but I don’t feel like talking right now.” He responded with “that’s messed up.” It did not even matter to him that I was not interested (and it never seems to matter to them!); his interest was enough to make him feel that I owed him a conversation. I felt pained on two fronts– first his sense of entitlement, then also my own shrinking response to him. I felt wrong for apologizing in refusing to talk because I did nothing wrong, but it is my fear that angering the wrong black man could result in violence.

And that was a relatively mild encounter. I’ve also been followed, grabbed, and groped by black men who did not care how I felt or whether I consented. And even when the interaction is mild, the men do not ask if I am interested, but whether I have a boyfriend to ascertain if there is already a right of ownership over me. God forbid I answer in the negative, then almost nothing else I can say will deter them from trying to pursue me. It is this attitude that arises in interracial matters. When black men already feel they have some sort of ownership over black women, it is not a huge leap to feel they’ve been personally wronged by a black woman choosing someone she does not “belong” to.

And while I know not all black men are like this, these behaviors are so commonplace that I have become afraid of black men on the street. It is so common that when I am not harassed by the black men I see, I am pleasantly surprised. I resent self-proclaimed leaders of the black community for ignoring the misogyny that seems to run rampant in much of it.

By: Billiegean

Billiegean — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:38:14 +0000

This is so sad. I hope those monsters get the death penalty. How could they do this to such a happy couple. RIP!!!

By: Keith John Sampson

Keith John Sampson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:22:11 +0000

The tragic story of Sgt Jan Pietrzak, USMC and Quiana Faye Jenkins-Pietrzak brings overflowing tears to my eyes, as it is so heart breaking to read. Those of us who have dated outside our own race or have married or would marry the person they love are especially touched by this tragedy. When in love we know that race is transcended and that the basic truth is that we are not of different races but we are of one race, the human race.

The promise of this unique and dynamic couple will not be fulfilled. The family of love they would have created is now lost. Up to now I always thought that I only had to watch out for angry stupid white people, when with a woman of color. I am so naïve.

Those of us who know the truth of inter-racial relationships must now stand, united and strong and to honor and respect the memory of this wonderful, beautiful couple.

“A woman by any other color is still a woman.”

By: Jacinda G

Jacinda G — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:48:40 +0000

My husband was in the Corps for 8 years and they were all like brothers. I don’t think there were two of them that were the same background, and it didn’t matter. These four criminals are sick.

I am a caucasian female and I am SO disgraced that I live within 30 minutes of this crime, and I never saw it headline the news. As said previously, if this were a caucasian woman it would have been all over. SHAME on the media. We are ALL equal, and all one race… The Human Race.
This poor young couple – They were clearly victims of a hate crime. My heart goes out to their loved ones, and may these two beautiful people rest in peace.

By: nicolas wilson

nicolas wilson — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:01:23 +0000

Just hearing any of this makes me sick.. i can’t believe any person would do that to another human being..

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:01:59 +0000

and… since when it was a robbery? Robbers when caught usually try to disarm the person who is defending his/her place, and make a quick run with stolen goods. They do not stay and torture household members.

There is nothing lower than death penalty for those people. Nothing lower. I would like Obama to do something about it. Apparently the change has come.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:56:05 +0000

Let’s call this for what it is; a “HATE CRIME.” The dead Marine was a white male and his beautiful wife was black. The four suspects are black. Could you imagine if the husband had been black, the wife white, and the four suspects white? There would be riots in the streets across our nation. The truth needs to be told and justice needs to be carried out.

By: Southerner

Southerner — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:05:10 +0000

This is a late post, but:

@ “boboso on 11.07.08 at 7:23 am
More importantly, what in hell is wrong with young people today that they can treat other human beings with such hatred and savagery?”

There have always been people like that, but I would say the culture today certainly fuels the fire when it engages in adulation of self-involvement that has no consideration for one’s obligations to friends, family, community and humanity at large.

@ “boboso on 11.07.08 at 8:04 am
I hope those four maggots receive the full measure of punishment they deserve for snuffing out those two precious lives in such a callous, savage way.”

I’ve read several comments elsewhere that border on wishes vigilante justice (I am not suggesting that is what you meant because I don’t know). What I will say is that while the legal system isn’t perfect, it is better than vigilantism. Of course that conversation opens up another can of worms in relation to the penal system being 99% punitive with not much to speak of in terms of reforming those convicts capable of being reformed.

@ “Dia on 11.09.08 at 12:10 pm
So the legal system is trying to be somewhat fair, yet the media is clearly biased.”

“White”-on-”black” bias motivated attacks and “black”-on-”white” bias motivated attacks have both been occurring in the States since the founding of the US. I think the media tends to focus on “white”-on-”black” bias motivated harm simply because of its historical predominance/empowerment, the same way the media tends to focus on “male”-on-”female” hatred more than on “female”-on-”male” hatred, even though both exist, because of the historical predominace/empowerment of misogyny as opposed to misandry.

@ “no one special on 11.12.08 at 4:02 am
…since one of the victims was the boss to a couple of the perpetrators, this had me formulate another possible reason: revenge killing.”

Did the sergeant sexually assault and murder the four mens’ girlfriends/wives (not that that would justify the harming/murdering of yet another innocent)? We could psychologically dissect this tragedy and never reach a truly 100% satisfactory conclusion, but at its core I am sure the dynamics (history of resentments, etc) of skin colour were a primary factor.

In terms of “interracial” dating, which is actually intraracial anyway, admittedly viewed through the lens* of my own experiences and observations, I would say there is a double standard. Most if not all “interracial” couples suffer slings and arrows, but some meet with more acceptance than others. “Black”-white” “interracial” couples where the man and woman are from well-to-do families will generally have an easier time of it, and “black”-”white” couples where the man is “black” and the woman is “white” generally meet with less societal antipathy than the reverse pairing.

*[If in this day and age you hold to the biologically unsound construct of "race", I would be labelled "white" or "caucasian". But my genetic line has seen changes in skin colour, languages, the rise and fall of religions and empires. Humankind started in Africa, it's just a matter what travels and travails different individuals/families/tribes/groups have endured since then, but we are all definitely still of the same race (i.e. subspecies).]

By: ak

ak — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:05:12 +0000

Huh those four fools should have thought about what you just wrote actually before killing Jan Pietrzak the way they did come to think of it.

But sadly what you just wrote up there also shows why those four beings killed Quiana. Because they felt that NOBODY would value her nor should value her life nor her person.

That getting rid of just another black woman at least would go under the radar where they felt, and possibly others feel, Quiana belonged!