Let’s be clear: all evidence in the killing of 3 people, who happened to be Muslims, by Craig Stephen Hicks seems to point towards a long brewing fight over parking, especially since Hicks has a long history of fighting over parking. But, what does this guy actually look like?
(Raleigh N&O)  If his Facebook page is any indication, Craig Hicks doesn’t hate Muslims. An avowed atheist, his online posts instead depict a man who despises religion itself, but nevertheless seems to support an individual’s right to his own beliefs.
“I hate Islam just as much as christianity, but they have the right to worship in this country just as much as any others do,†the man now accused of killing three Muslim college students stated in one 2012 post over the proposed construction of a mosque near the World Trade Center site in New York.
In often publicly posted Facebook rants, Hicks was brazen about his disdain for all faiths. In one post regarding specific texts from the Quran, the Jewish Talmud and the Bible about battling nonbelievers, he wrote: “I wish they would exterminate each other!â€
But he was just as passionate about personal freedom and liberty – championing an individual’s right to worship or not worship, legal abortion and gay marriage and, perhaps most fervently, the right to own and bear arms. If he has a creed, it’s the Second Amendment.
Yeah, he was gun crazy. And also held lots of left wing points of view. He was also a big supporter of liberals, including Obama, Rachael Maddow, and others.
But, is it really a complicated view? Many in the N&O comments were very upset about noting he’s an atheist. Many Muslims I know, quite a few who attended the memorial for the slain victims, call it a hate crime. Perhaps it would be more understandable if it was, rather than being about parking.
At the end of the day, the simplest explanation usually wins. This isn’t about hate, about liberal values, nor about the 2nd Amendment. Nor being an atheist. Maybe his word view affected the ending, but, parking. We all have biases and viewpoints, but, they may be meaningless in an incident like this. We also shouldn’t forget what really matters: he’s accused of murdering 3 people in cold blood.
