Boston native Mike Dillon just moved into his new home in South Philly last week. Yesterday morning, he, his wife, and infant daughter were treated to a cross-burning. Dillon is of European descent, his wife is African-American. In the AP story, a Philadelphia cop is quoted:

“This was a couple of people who were tanked up from the holiday and who did something stupid. I think this was a spontaneous thing, and not planned. The people we’re looking at are loudmouths who don’t like change,” Tolliver said. “At this time, we are treating this as a racial incident.”

I read that and had a Jon Stewartesque eye-rubbing, mouth-breathing moment. “Change?” The perpetrators must be Rip and Bob Van Winkle. Interracial marriage is about as controversial as the mixture of peanut butter and chocolate in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup in 2004. Maybe there are holdouts in the deep south, but in Philly?
Also, “at this time?” At some point are they going to uncover that this cross-burning had nothing to do with race? Perhaps it was just an overzealous Christian who had no idea that the act has a specific meaning in the US other than a burning love for Jesus. Jeesh.