White supremacist said pair wanted to "kill more Jews"

The couple, David Joseph Pedersen, 31, and Holly Grigsby, 24, were arrested last Wednesday in Northern California, capping what authorities said was a two-week, three-state crime spree that began in the Puget Sound city of Everett, Washington.Both face charges of aggravated first-degree murder in Washington state over the stabbing death of Pedersen’s 69-year-old stepmother and the shooting death of his father, aged 56. Both were slain last month.Appearing together in Yuba County Court in Marysville, California, on Tuesday, the pair waived their right to challenge extradition to Washington to face the charges.”We anticipate they will probably be out of our jail by the end of the week,” said Patrick McGrath, Yuba County’s district attorney.An affidavit filed with the charges said Grigsby had confessed to killing the stepmother, Leslie Pedersen, by slashing her throat with two knives after she was bound with duct tape.The affidavit said Grigsby also told Oregon State Police in a five-hour videotaped statement that her companion shot his father, David Jones Pedersen, in the back of the head while the elder Pedersen was driving the couple to a bus station, and that Grigsby took control of the Jeep from the passenger seat after he was shot.SUPREMACIST LEANINGSThe affidavit said the pair then drove to their home state of Oregon, where they are suspected of abandoning the body of Pedersen’s father in his Jeep and later shooting dead 19-year-old Cody Myers, whose body was found last week in a forest.Pedersen and Grigsby were driving Myers’ car when they were taken into custody, police said. They have since been named as suspects in a fourth slaying, that of Reginald Clark, 53, who was found shot dead in a car in Eureka, California.Grigsby told police detectives in her statement that Myers was killed in the mistaken belief, based on his last name, that he was Jewish, according to the affidavit. It also quoted her as commenting when arrested that she and Pedersen “were on their way to Sacramento to ‘kill more Jews.’” Clark was black.The accused couple’s white supremacist leanings were evident in a White Power tattoo on Pedersen’s neck and through Facebook postings by Grigsby.In a jailhouse interview published by the Marysville Appeal-Democrat newspaper, David “Joey” Pedersen said he decided to kill his father because he believed the elder Pedersen had molested Joey’s sister and a cousin.”It looks like I’m an irrational psychopath, and I’m not,” the paper quoted him as saying.Police have said the couple killed the stepmother because they believed she had known of the sexual abuse but failed to stop it, though police said they had no proof of molestation.Prosecutor Mark Roe of Snohomish County, Washington, said aggravated first-degree murder was the only crime in the state that can carry the death penalty. He said the pair could also face execution if the slayings in Oregon and California were prosecuted as hate crimes.

Thoughts on studio elitism and the nature of prejudice

The following was posted on Pixar Planet in response to two Planeteers speaking up against studio-based discrimination:

I’m really heartened to read your posts, x3haijessiex3 and MissCarrera; that’s the right attitude. I went on a little tirade on Twitter about how someone cheesed me off for being really insensitive towards other (non-Pixar) animated films and basically being an intolerant knucklehead.

Look, I know a lot people love Pixar and their movies. I know, because I am a fan too. But we should open our hearts and minds to other studios’ efforts too, and come to the realisation that Pixar doesn’t own a monopoly on quality animation. Not anymore. There’s no one ‘Best’ studio in the world, just as much as it’s ridiculous to claim that one film is the ‘Best’, or one race is the ‘Best’, or one religion is the ‘Best’, or one country is the ‘Best’. You get the picture.

Again, I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to your own opinion. But please express it in a well-reasoned, level-headed and polite manner, especially if you are talking to people with vested interests in the very things you are criticising. I’m sick and tired of people who say “Cars 2 sucks!” but don’t give a reason. Or “Rango is stupid” and then give some half-cocked diatribe. Or “Toy Story 3 is the most emotional movie ever made” and doesn’t give enough evidence to support such a tall claim.

The moment we choose to be narrow or close-minded, we become arrogant and ‘supremacists’. And it is these same individuals who founded the Nazi party, or say that mentally-challenged children should be locked away in asylums, or those insensitive idiots who laugh at Paralympians. I’m sorry to extend the definition to such lengths, but this is how I feel about certain Pixar fans I’ve encountered in Real-Life and on the Internet. 

I can stand if you’re stupid, cos’ we are all ignorant to an extent (I can’t say, for example, that I know how old Steven Seagal is, so I’m ‘stupid’ in that way). I can stand if you’re physically-weak, cos’ we are all weak to an extent (either by genetics or our lifestyle habits). I can stand if you get angry or upset occasionally, as we all are humans and we have our moments of passion or self-doubts.

What I cannot stand is those who are prejudiced and don’t make an effort to learn more about the ‘Other’. This can mean anything from race, culture, religion, political ideologies, TV shows, countries, and yes, even movies.

By rejecting the strange and unknown, we are not open to the infinite possibilities of life’s many wonders. 

 

*End soapbox session*

So to those of you who are doubting Cars 2, you are entitled to that opinion. I, for one, have expressed some doubts. But this doesn’t mean that we should be dismissive of it entirely (just as I have praised and complimented certain aspects). The key is to choose the ‘Middle Path’ and acknowledge both the strengths and weaknesses of the subject, without devolving into a fan-worshipper or a hater-troll.

Today’s been the first time I faced discrimination when a lady stood up (in the midst of a Republican Congressman’s speech) and she said she hated Muslims, did not trust them, and wanted them all to go back to their third world country. She went on to say how Islam is a sick religion and disrespected all Muslims. I don’t have any political affiliation whatsoever and I was only there forms government class assignment; after the question and answer session, I went up to her with a Hispanic friend to explain not all Muslims are terrorists and not all are psychotic. I’m a more liberal Muslim but it was the first time I was disrespected regardless of what I said based on my religion. Next, the lady and her friend disrespected by Hispanic friend telling her to go back to her country (she is a U.S. citizen) and they started insulting her and the way she dressed because she has short hair and dresses up in baggy jeans and a shirt. They called her a pervert and then told us both we would die and go to hell. They disrespected my country too. My eyes started watering after I walked out of that auditorium; a few people were enraged at the reaction we got and after a few minutes, a white teen guy and girl came towards us and apologized for what had happened. They said they realized that disrespecting a person to such an extent was in no way ethical and that not every white person had the same opinions as those ladies.

Today, I realized that not every person will see sense; some people are just supremacists. I can’t hate every white on the basis of the actions of two white ladies. But, no one else should hate me on the basis of the actions of other Muslims either. No one should judge you because of your race, ethnicity, religion or gender. It’s just sad that you can’t make blind eyes see.

Please don’t judge a person based on the actions of another.