This trial is horrifying. It is so sad to see so many people killed for literally no reason. While I am in no position to delegate blame, it is unfortunate that Crotteau decided to confront a trespasser who had already apologized and was leaving. What was to be gained by that? Some personal satisfaction? But clearly it was Vang, according to my reading of the evidence, that turned tension to tragedy. I can’t read the facts any differently than cold blooded murder on his part. As a male who occasionally feels the irrational anger of the reptilian part of my brain, I can see why this situation was so precarious. If nothing else I hope that we can learn from this that peaceful resolutions never come from violent confrontations.
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lolife 
You’re so right Mike. I’m from this area, knew some of the dead, know some left behind, and my family hunts mere yards from where it happened. As I said, I knew the people involved, and the people from that area. I grew up knowing and learning to deal with their personalities and tempers and capacity for anger. It made me tough, but it’s one of the things that always made me feel like I was made of something a little different, too. No amount of yelling or threatening makes it ok to shoot unarmed kids in the back.
The thing I’ve been thinking about is the level of comfort I and others who grew up around them have with guns. It never occurred to Bob or anyone else there that someone would actually fire at them, because for them (us) it’s just not in the realm of reality that someone would do that. As cultures collide and the world gets smaller, this is only going to happen more and more often. On the one had I advocate for our right to bear arms. I spent days in the woods hunting with my Dad that are some of the greatest memories I have. I know how it can be. On the other hand, there’s a need for control, but you can’t define that control on racial or any other lines without infringing on peoples rights. It’s an old, tough question that this whole situation has brought up again for me.
I’ll be in these woods the last weeks of November, and I’m very interested to see how people react to the SE Asians, if they come to that area again. It’s sad that one man’s act has become so catalyzing and symbolic for so many who already dislike the presence of a foreign element in “their” woods.
I’ll try to remember to report back in December on how it felt to be there.
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