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02/12/2008: "Racial divide in support of mass killer"

With so many people asking why, a brother of gunman Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton provided answers Friday that prompted fresh anger over the shooting rampage at a Kirkwood City Council meeting Thursday.

At a neighborhood meeting in the mostly black Meacham Park neighborhood, where Thornton lived, people cried, prayed and spoke of a racial divide. Some spoke sympathetically of Thornton and his rage over repeated parking and permit citations. One man called him a "hero."

Many say they are sickened by Thornton's brand of vigilantism. But others say they're left outside the mainstream and oppressed by unfair rules. Those people mourned Thornton and directed their anger back at Kirkwood officials.

[ Multiculturalism outright fails both groups. So... why are we persisting? ]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/F26DDAED0921F0D3862573EA0015F4DC?OpenDocument