Ruby Ridge came to
One of my best buddies in the good old days, Tom and I
learned basic journalism in Amarillo High. Today he is an Associated Press
writer based in
These vigilantes, flashing a tin star and “Marshal” badge, arrested Tom and his cameraman for violating private property rights and taking pictures without permission, although the newsmen had telephoned to announce their intentions and had carefully stayed on the public right-of-way of the county road.
In an earlier incident these modern hillbillies in militia garb had permanently confiscated $66,000 worth of TV equipment from a camera crew, so Tom and Doug felt fortunate when they were only required to surrender the film from Doug’s camera.
When Tom got home that night unbruised and still breathing, he laughed off the whole experience as a hoot. It did gain him moments of fame among his news-gathering colleagues, though, some of them green with envy because of Tom’s brush with death.
My reaction was one of deep chagrin that the crazies who
roughed up my non-church-attending buddy identify their movement as an
expression of Christianity. “Christian Identity” is the tag worn by these
hooligans scattered in the hinterlands of
“They base their righteousness on convenient parts of the Bible,” Tom says, “and everything, somehow, always comes back to hatred of Jews and blacks.”
Isn’t that a grand expression of Christian spirit? “In the name of Jesus we hate you because you’re not exactly like us.”
When the Christian message is perverted by kooks like these, who can blame thoughtful observers like Tom for being dubious of all our truth claims?