Gruesome fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian who fled for America ‘drawing repeated attention’ from Republicans, Axios laments
Republicans have done the unthinkable once again by noticing the senseless murder of an attractive young woman in Charlotte, N.C., and using it as an example to counter the Democratic view that crime is good and criminals are the real victims.
On Monday, Axios lamented that a video of the gruesome fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, who fled war-torn Ukraine for a better life in the United States, was “drawing repeated attention” from Republicans who believe that protecting innocent civilians is more important than coddling career criminals in the name of “equity” and social justice. The perpetrator, Decarlos Brown, was a mentally deranged homeless man with an extensive criminal record who had received lenient treatment under the Democrat-controlled justice system.
Axios reporter Marc Caputo pounced and seized on GOP officials and “MAGA influencers” for highlighting Zarutska’s tragic death—in a random unprovoked attack by a repeat offender who belonged in prison—in order to “elevate the issue of urban crime” and accuse mainstream media outlets of refusing to cover the case and other horrific acts of violence in cities run by Democrats.
For what it’s worth, the accusation of media indifference seems rather irrefutable given that Axios was one of the first national outlets to mention the fatal stabbing, which occurred on Aug. 22, in a story suggesting Republicans were at fault for noticing.
CNN also published a story Monday about how the death of an immigrant from Ukraine—a country the media routinely accuse Trump of not caring enough about—had become a “flashpoint” in the “debate” over whether or not the government should try to stop crime by arresting criminals and locking them up. The failing network’s esteemed media analyst, Brian Stelter (aka Humpty Dumpty or Mr. Potato Head), emerged to provide insightful analysis on the murder and the nasty Republicans whose reactions he described as “baldly racist.” (No pun intended, we presume.)
“I have to say … some of the comments around this story are baldly racist, stoking fear of African Americans because this man attacked a white woman,” he said. “It’s eye popping, but there are also legitimate questions about this so-called career criminal. Someone who had been a repeat offender.” Indeed there are legitimate questions about the tragic crime and the criminal who committed it. Don’t worry, though. Stelter and his media colleagues will readily ignore them as they focus on the Republican response and explain why being mad about crime is actually worse than crime itself.
It goes without saying that if Zarutska had been killed in a manner that was more convenient for the preferred Democratic narrative—that gun owners and Trump supporters are the only criminals who matter—her story would be leading every national newscast and splashed across every front page.
Caputo’s report featured an absurd passage about how the increased prevalence of surveillance cameras in public spaces had become a “big accelerant” when it comes to the ability of anti-crime advocates to pounce and seize on video evidence of senseless urban crime. These videos are “easily shared or leaked, and can instantly pollinate across social media,” which might actually be a bad thing because they provide a “visual counterpoint” to questionable statistics—widely touted by Democrats and journalists—that purport to show that crime is down.
Al Sharpton, the controversial MSNBC host and Democratic Party power broker, has accused President Donald Trump of “race-baiting” by vowing to crack down on crime in cities run by Democratic mayors, some of whom happen to be black. Charlotte mayor Vi Lyles, who happens to be black, received widespread criticism for her initial response to the attack, which did not even mention Zarutska by name and described her death as “a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with social safety nets related to mental healthcare.”
After briefly offering her “thoughts and prayers to the young woman’s family and friends,” Lyles devoted the vast majority of her statement to expressing empathy for the criminal and explaining that she was committed to “not villainizing those who struggle with their mental health or those who are unhoused.”
Lyles put out a new statement over the weekend in response to the footage of the fatal stabbing. Though she finally mentioned Zarutska by name, she also used the opportunity to thank the journalists who chose not to share the video more widely. In a move that could undermine her support within the Democratic Party, the mayor declined to mention how sorry she felt for the accused murderer.
Elected in 2017, Lyles is best known for her Racial Equity Initiative to spend $250 million to “address inequities and remove barriers to opportunity.” Her signature achievement as a city council member was proposing a seven-point plan to combat racism after a Charlotte police officer shot and killed Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man with an extensive criminal record who ignored multiple commands to drop the stolen gun he was holding. The September 2016 shooting sparked violent protests throughout the city. The officer, who was also black, was not prosecuted because the shooting was clearly justified.
In other news, GoFundMe recently disabled an online fundraiser for Brown, the knife-wielding maniac. The page sought donations to assist with Brown’s legal fees. “Anything helps fight against the racism and bias against our people,” the page read. “Thank you for giving us a hand to push against this corrupt narrative.”
Read More: Actually, Crime is Good
