Friday column: Violence mystifies; not so words that follow

Where does random violence come from?

Fear, ignorance, pride, deprivation, our so-called “reptilian” brain?

Search me.

There are instances where, to my simple mind, instances of violence are just inexplicable.

The multiple killings in Afghanistan in the wake of a Florida pastor’s burning of the Quran, for instance.

Or, closer to home, the severe beating of a Giants fan on Opening Day in Los Angeles.

On March 31, following L.A.’s 2-1 victory, Bryan Stow of Santa Cruz was jumped on the way to his car by two men wearing Dodgers clothing. Knocked to the ground, the 42-year-old paramedic hit his head on the pavement, suffering a severe skull fracture and bad bruising to his frontal lobe.

In hopes of relieving pressure because of brain swelling, doctors placed Stow in a medically induced coma, and a piece of his skull was removed. Now, Stow is said to be showing signs of “brain injury and dysfunction” and faces a long recovery process, at best.

The only apparent motive for the attack on Stow was the Giants gear he was sporting. Think about that. Two men pummel a man they don’t know — in this case, a father of two — changing forever not only his life, but also the lives of all those close to him because he’s wearing another team’s colors.

Are there other factors? Bound to be — here’s guessing that alcohol is one of them — and perhaps they’ll come to light if the attackers are arrested. A reward of $100,000 has been offered.

The Dodgers contributed $25,000 to the offer; that was the good part of the team’s response to the incident. There was also a poor one.

“It is extremely unfortunate that this incident took place on what was otherwise a great day at Dodger Stadium for tens of thousands of fans,” said Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers’ vice president of communications.

Yes, Josh, by all means, put the savage beating in perspective for us. We’ll all feel better.

Rawitch may be paid to bleed Dodger blue, but it’s Stow’s red blood we’re concerned about; Rawitch is just trying to sidestep the fact that there have been questions about security at Dodger Stadium, including the amount of alcohol served.

It reminds me — in a way — of “Pastor” Jones’ response to the stupid, senseless but all-to-predictable violence that followed his burning of a Quran.

Jones called the killings “very tragic” but accepted no responsibility for them, even though he had been warned that such incidents would certainly follow a burning.

“As we say, we live in America and people are free to do as they please within the confines of the law,” Jones blogged.
Well, bully for Pastor Jones’ standing on his rights — a stand that other people paid for with their lives.

As I said, violence often is inexplicable to me. Not so comments that follow violence. They’re frequently, as in these cases, manifestly self-serving.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.