Head Scratcher

Why is it that Tookie Williams is still in the news? He was executed last week after 25 years on Death Row. He was convicted of four murders - killing 7-Eleven clerk Albert Owens, 26, and Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, and the couple’s daughter Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at the Los Angeles motel they owned. He was instrumental in the founding and expansion of the Crips. Yet, all kinds of Hollywood types flocked to his side, arguing for clemency.

I didn't get it then. I don't get it now.

Why is he getting the star treatment for his funeral? Was there a star-studded funeral for his victims (heck, Jesse Jackson was stumped when asked the names of his victims)? I don't think so. Nor were there large funerals planned for the hundreds, if not thousands of deaths caused by the Crips over the years.

A funeral normally reserved for a dignitary or religious leader was scheduled for Tuesday, almost exactly a week after Williams was executed by lethal injection for murdering four people during a pair of 1979 robberies.

Among those expected to attend were the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who visited Williams shortly before his death; Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan; and hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg.

More than 1,500 people are expected to show for the funeral, which will be broadcast online as well.

Some folks have their priorities screwed up - and this funeral gathers 'em in one place. He wasn't a hero. He wasn't someone who did good in the world. He brought nothing but sorrow and anguish to everything he touched. South Central LA and many urban areas are a far worse place for his existence.