Murder of Christopher Lane Will Not Become National Touchstone of Racial and Cultural Debate

Yes, the folks at WSJ are reading my blog.

See, "For 'the Fun of It': The debate we aren't having about a murder in Oklahoma":

Three teenagers were charged Tuesday in the killing of a white college student in Duncan, Oklahoma, and part of the story is what didn't happen. There was no saturation cable TV coverage, no press conference featuring Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, and no statement from the Oval Office. The death of Christopher Lane, while as troubling as that of Trayvon Martin, will not become a national touchstone of racial and cultural debate or reflection....

The murder is a national story in Australia, where people are contemplating the horror of such casual killing in America. Some are focusing on the ease of obtaining a gun in the U.S., as (inevitably) is the reflexive CNN, and it would almost be a relief if we could blame such a murder on guns.

Then we wouldn't have to focus on a culture that produces teenagers for whom the prospect of shooting an innocent man in the back on a Friday evening apparently raised not a scintilla of conscience. That is the deeper tragedy, and the real scandal, of too much of American life.

That is also an issue of far greater consequence to the future of young black men than the acquittal of George Zimmerman in his awful showdown with Trayvon. If only Mr. Sharpton and his fellow black leaders paid attention to what was missing in the lives of those three teenagers. Maybe President Obama would even care to use it as one of his teachable moments.

PREVIOUSLY: "Christopher Lane Murder Update — Dramatic 911 Call From 'Thrill-Kill' Murder Scene," and "Just 'Three Bored Teens'? No, It's 'Three Bored BLACK Teens' Who Gunned Down Australian Ballplayer 'For the Fun of It...'"