UPDATED: Two Mizzou Students Arrested in Bizarre Hate Crime Involving Cotton Balls

• hmm..50 black scum attack a white family, beat the crap out of the dad putting him in ICU for 4 days while yelling "it's a black country now"..no hate crime. cotton balls is a hate crime? Filthy black beasts belong in cages. Oh that's right. THEY DO GO TO CAGES. the 13% OF BLACKS CAUSE 40% OF ALL CRIMES.murdering, raping thugs!!! Back to hellholes like Haiti. Black cultural center..what a disgusting joke to imply black culture is anything but criminal lack of self-control. 70% of black children are born bastrds vs. 50% of hipanics and 23% of whites...

• Crystol has no logic skills: CottonBalls=Cotton picking=Slavery=Racism WRONG! Only in your shallow nappy head. How about Cracker=Slavery=Racism or Red=Positve & Black=Negative so car battery terminals are inherently racist. Huh "What be a battry"? or BigLIps=Black=Racist or Watermelon=Racist or Corn=Racist Racism = a Human Right protected under first amendment. It's called DISCRIMINATION, a choice, and it's already been enshrined in the 1st amendment. Negores are not tolerated precisely because of this crap. You need Jesus girl, you need Jesus.

• The real hate crime is the : African-American cultural center . Blacks are the racists ...white americans are getting very impatient with this double standard in this country .

• Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

• NIGGERS ARE PATHETIC TRASH.

• Fuck all the niggers to hell!

• The thing is, it's not illegal to be a racist. And charging someone with a federal crime because of a racially motivated insult is a slippery slope. Cotton balls are a racist insult, but they're not a threat against someones life the way a noose or a burning cross would be. (Usually presented before a violent attack to intimidate the victim) Most (all?) universities require students to sign an agreement of conduct. Harassment, sexual or otherwise is forbidden. Based on that contract hit these ,idiots with a civil suit. They should be charged with harassment and expelled. Otherwise, I suspect that a hate crime charge wouldn't stick, and we'd have to to see their idiot faces in the paper again, celebrating.

• Those guys are hot! Some stupid racist ones at that.... they look like they might enjoy each other in the sack.

• CottonBalls=Cotton picking=Slavery=Racism.. See the connection? It seems harmless at first but they knew what they were doing. Basically saying "go pick some cotton" Charge em and go as far as possible with it. Probably some dumb frat prank that I hope they never forget.

• Someone call the ACLU.

• The prison system would collapse,if blacks were held to these same standards.

• Tasteless and rude, but not a hate crime. Reminds me of what passes as performance art these days. Remember "Piss Christ"? Lots of outraged Christians, but no hate crime. We have many rights, but the right to not have hurt feelings isn't one of them. It was a stupid and mean spirited thing to do, but hardly a threat to ones life.

• First of all, hate crime legislation is stupid liberal political correctness doubletalk for controling Freedom of Speech - a crime is a crime, one's political stance should have nothing to do with it. And to respond to Frank and his "FBI statistics on crime" you might want to chew on this - blacks are 12% of the population, but 53% of all prisoners, the FBI study of ALL homicides from 1965-2007 shows 80% done by blacks, and finally, the ratio of rapes done by black men to white women vs. white men to black women(even though non-hispanic whites are 70% of the population) is 40 to 1 or 4000% more.

• C'mon, they drop cotton balls outside of a black cultural center and you DON'T think they meant it as a hate crime? One of these idiots is even a political science major. And with that stupid smirk in his mugshot, you still have doubts about their intentions? Seems to me that these are a couple of spoiled, rich white kids that have nothing better to do than hurt someone's feelings. A couple of smartasses who probably would have gotten away with something like this in high school. I'm sure they thought college would be the same. People, its not about COTTON BALLS for christ's sake. Its the implications. America is in a sorry state if none of you can see the problem here.

• still the fundamental question is: How did the cotton balls not blow away?

• Dropping cotton balls is now a hate crime. Wow. We used to call that a tasteless prank. Now we call it a felony. For a test, lets' go drop some crackers in front of the white cultural center. Ok, ok. There are no white cultural centers because white people aren't important and no one gives a crap about white people herritage. So go to the white part of campus and start dropping crackers. Let's see if anyone gets offended, or calls the police, or anyone gets arrested for a hate crime. We know what the outcome of that experiment will be. But you get the point.

• ahahaha john you are awesme.

• I think the chocolate chips at the marching band was calling band members fat. That is a hate crime. If you throw chocolate chips at a marching band you should serve prison time and endure re-education.

• Some of the posters here and elsewhere who complain about the fact that hate crinmes are almost always charged to members of the racial, religious, sexual identity majority might want to think about that for a while. After thinking, if you still have questions, you may want to check DoJ/FBI statistics on crime - specifically black on white crime versus white on black crime. There may be a clue there as to why far more whites have this enhancement tool used against them. Perhapos you might think of your own experience. How many instances can you think of where a couple of homosexuals beat up a straight guy simply because he was hetero? Are you folks really as obtuse and/or unaware of the world around you as your comments make you appear to be?

• I went to school with one of these boys, and he is known for his blantant intolerance and we even referred to him as borderline neo-nazi almost four years ago. I understand that we can't assume it was a hate crime if we don't know what kind of people they are, but since I do, I can almost confirm that that's exactly what this was.

• A hate crime is a terrible law. It is rarely, if ever applied to other than whites. Suspension is a great ideal. Let them cool their heels for 1 semester. It will upset their timetable and they can think about their utter, gross stupdity.

• hey anon white chick- I don't think white people have a history of picking chocolate chips from fields. also why is the marching band presumed to be white? furthermore, why is that poster assumed to be a 'brother'? I do not think these kids should get charged with a felony, but this whole scenario definitely brings to light the racism that continues to exist, and sadly, in institutions of higher education. yes, we all need to lghten up...but we also need to stop being so ignorant.

• Nunya Damn Business- Are you kidding me? If one of your brothas threw chocolate chips at the marching band, it would be a completely different story.

• I've hung out with the Zach kid a couple of times. He was a pretty weird kid, but I don't think his intentions were a hate crime. Rather, I think he meant to be funny, though it was in bad taste. I think a class d felony is rather a rather harsh punishment(Considering its above child pornography, burglary, and theft).

• What's worse, a misdomeanor DUI or a felony hate crime of dropping cotton balls on the ground? Everyone needs to get some perspective. They weren't burning crosses or making graffiti swastikas. Give them a littering fine and probation or something, don't screw over their lives because they can't graduate. It's about justice, not revenge for people who got offended by a stupid prank.

• Second degree tampering? Tampering with what? How about littering? We're really just aching to be offended, aren't we?

• really, cotton balls outside the black culture center, but you don't think this is hate crime related? I could understand if the kids weren't white. felony charges all around, let's go!

• The cotton ball incident was unfortunate. Not being sure of all of the details - I didn't get how cottonballs was a racist statement. (I also didn't understand why they all just didn't blow away). Vandalism, yes. Disrupting collegiate environment, yes. The university is well within its rights to reprimand the young men. Yet, charging them with a hate crime (I'm assuming this makes the incident a felony) seems like a lot. More details are needed to understand how/why this act is considered to be a hate crime.

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