World War II Vet Beaten to Death by Teens Sparks Internet Fury

It's one of the most unbelievably sad stories, and at the same time infuriating.

A man who served his country, and fought for his fellow citizens' freedom, killed at the hands of heartless cowards for seemingly no reason.

88-year-old Delbert Belton was beaten by two teens outside of the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, Washington where he regularly went to play pool.

The teens attacked him and left him for dead. Belton later died at a local hospital.

Friends said he enjoyed playing pool and fixing cars. Police told KXLY-TV that the incident seems completely random. The suspects were 'described by witnesses as young African-American males of average build.'

And it is seemingly that last detail that has my entire newsfeed in a tizzy.

I have seen many incendiary comments like, 'Where is Al Sharpton now?' 'The suspects look like they could be Obama's kid' and 'Where's the press and the news conferences about a white vet being beaten and killed?'

Those comments are clearly all in response to the media frenzy surrounding the George Zimmerman trial for the death of Trayvon Martin.

And it's all pointless. Yelling, 'Where is Al Sharpton now??' will not bring Mr. Belton back. How about instead of focusing on the issue of race we focus on the fact that twice in the last week teenagers have felt murder to be an appropriate cure for their boredom?

That is not normal.

Two wrongs will never make a right. So stop focusing on the BS and terrible decisions of the past, and start moving forward.

Should George Zimmerman have been found guilty of murder? I don't know. I wasn't there, and I wasn't in the courtroom to hear the evidence.

The overwhelming (and often asinine) remarks and response to that verdict doesn't mean the same asinine behavior is required now.

Let's hope justice is served, and that the people responsible for taking Delbert Belton's life are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Let this honorable man's death mean something. Let it spark a change in all of us.

Let's stop making everything into a race war. That goes for you too, Mr. Sharpton.

My thoughts are with Mr. Belton's loved ones. I hope they can eventually find some kind of peace.

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