Brian Deneke - ten years on

Amarillo.com | Local News: Short life remembered 12/09/07

Family still strong after 10 years

Brian Deneke looked different than most teenagers.

He and his friends wore colored spiked hair, body jewelry and non-traditional clothing. They were called "punks."

Their appearance varied greatly from their counterparts, the stylish "preps." On the night of Dec. 12, 1997, punks and preps brawled in the parking lot of Western Plaza Shopping Center in a dispute that spilled over from IHOP, 2100 S. Western St.

When the confusion cleared, Deneke, 19, lay dead, run over by a Cadillac driven by 17-year-old Dustin Camp.

Deneke's death and Camp's ensuing legal saga drew the national press and television spotlight to Amarillo.

Ten years after his death, Deneke's story still impacts lives, said his father, Mike Deneke of Amarillo.

"I'm somewhat surprised by all the attention 10 years later," Mike Deneke said. "There are approximately 25 events going on across the nation in tribute to Brian this weekend. We never expected that.

"We hope because of all the attention there have been some changes. I hope it's opened some eyes about how people feel about people who look different, dress different."

Mike Deneke said some young people say their differences are more tolerated these days. He also hears from the other side.

"I hear from high school kids who talk about how they get picked on because they're not part of the 'in crowd' - dress a little different, that kind of thing," he said.

"Brian has become a symbol of people who have experienced those sort of things. I think that's why the story still has such a big impact," the father said.

Another part of the story that produced a big impact was the controversial sentence Camp received after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in August 1999. He received 10 years of probation and a $10,000 fine.

"We were not happy with the original sentence," Mike Deneke said.

Camp ruined his chance to avoid prison when Canyon police arrested him in June 2001 on charges of evading arrest and being a minor in possession of alcohol. In September 2001, 108th District Judge Abe Lopez sentenced Camp to eight years in prison for the probation violations.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles twice denied parole for Camp before granting his early release in July 2006.

Mike Deneke said he never has had contact with Camp or his family, who left Amarillo.

"We do not know where he is at," Mike Deneke said. "He was paroled into the El Paso area."

Mike Deneke and his wife, Betty Deneke, said they hold no bitterness.

"Nothing is going to bring Brian back or undo what happened that night," Mike Deneke said. "I hope he (Camp) has a chance to move on with his life and do something good out of it."

Betty Deneke said, "I don't have any bitterness anymore. I did at first. I don't anymore through the grace of God. He helped me get through it. I just don't want it to happen to anyone else.

"Ten years later, we still feel like he's still with us, still a part of us."

Betty Deneke said she hopes that through the death of her son, people will learn "to treat other people the way they would want to be treated. Respect their individuality."

Said Mike Deneke, "We have tried to move on. Brian wouldn't want us to be bitter. He would want us to move on.

"Out of the tragedy there has been some good that has come: an awareness of the consequences of actions of intolerance."

Brian Deneke - Tenth anniversary

Ten years later and the crimes go on but he is still remembered. Brian was run over ten years ago in a horrible crime.

Punk killing raises awareness
The Ranger, TX - Nov 29, 2007

Sometimes, it takes losing a life to create awareness. In 1997, what many considered a hate crime resulted in the death of a 19-year-old named Brian Deneke. Deneke lived in the Texas Panhandle town of Amarillo, where he and his friends liked to skate and listen to hardcore punk music.

Deneke, also known as "Sunshine" by his friends in the local punk scene, sported a faded blue mohawk and leather jacket. They were different, and as a result, they were considered outcasts in a town full of high school football players and jocks.

There had been constant name-calling in the halls of Amarillo and Tascosa high schools, and it was common for fights to break out between the two groups.

About 11:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 1997, Deneke and his friends were hanging out in an International House of Pancakes parking lot when a fight that would end in tragedy broke out.

Dustin Camp, a 17-year-old junior varsity football player at Tascosa High School, got behind the wheel of his 1983 Cadillac and jumped a median, running over and killing Deneke.

Camp was charged with manslaughter and received 10 years probation and a $1,000 fine.

"A Night for Brian Deneke," a tribute concert, will be from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Dec. 8 at The Roadhouse Saloon, 6159 FM 78.

DJs Anthony Prater and Dina Hernandez, who host Punk Rock 101 on KSYM 90.1 FM from 9 p.m.-11 p.m. Tuesdays, got together with The Roadhouse Saloon and New Goon Productions to help organize the event.

"This hits close to home because that's the kind of scene I'm into," Prater said. "I guess Brian was just a nonconformist in a conservative town, and what happened was unfortunate."

The goal of the event is to encourage tolerance, dialogue and civilized respect for different lifestyles and perspectives, and at the same time, discourage violence and prevent acts of retaliation.

"I hate the word tolerance. I prefer the word acceptance," Prater said. "Tolerating them isn't enough; people should accept others regardless of their appearance or likes and dislikes."

To honor the memory of Deneke, the event is sponsored in cities throughout the United States and Canada, and features local and national punk bands - music Deneke liked to listen to. Musical guests will include Graded By X, The Dreadnauts, The Dirty Hacks, Terrible Teardrops, Silent Minority, Sewer Rats, Pavel Demon and The Revenant, Second To None, Filthy, The Muffdivers, The Dementers, The Dispicables and Deneke's favorite band, Destroy Everything.

The event is $10 at the door or $5 with a new unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys For Tots.

Proceeds will go to the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children and the Esperanza Center for Peace & Justice.

Fear of the Other - the Purpose of this Blog

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. Alterophobia is the term for fear and hatred of the Other, which is Fear of the the Strange, the Unknown. This hatred of the Other, is the basis for all kinds of fears and hatreds: hatred of foreigners, hatred of those of a different sexuality or gender, hatred of those of a different religion, hatred of the disabled, or hatred of the young or old. To fight against these prejudices to respect other people and to tolerate diversity is a keystone of modern Western society.

One area of intolerance which is little appreciated is the lack of respect shown towards members of alternative subcultures across the world. So I think alterophobia is a convient term to use describe this kind of prejudice. Often these subcultures arose in youth movements, but with time they have grown to become permanent part of the diverse web of organisations and people which make up modern life. These groups have frequently become targets of moral panics, their members turned into folk devils responsible for all the ills of society. Exaggeration, distortion and prejudice have made them convenient media scapegoats for tragedies like the Columbine shooting (see Columbine - The Legacy of Hatred ). These media distortions then support and reinforce existing prejudices.

Subcultural groups from hippies, punks, metalers, goths, skaters, emos, mods, rockers, New Age travellers, ravers and others all have suffered from these perceptions. As a result members of these subcultures often feel isolated and under attack. They receive not just verbal abuse but even physical violence which this blog has documentated in a number of posts There have always been those who are ready to turn to violence because of prejudice, ready to attack those who seem different. It is particularly bad for teenagers in school who are bullied simply because they listen to a different kind of music or dress alternatively. Many of the reports we have dealt with underline that school is a key location in these problems. Yes indeed some members of subcultural groups are criminals, or indulge in bad behaviour, but the extent of this is exaggerated along with other media distortions simply because it is easy to pick on them as scapegoats rather than o explore the complex social issues surrounding problems like violence, suicide and self-harm. There are cases like the West Memphis Three where being part of subculture has led to a miscarriage of justice and has further blackened the reputation of the subcultures involved. The vast majority of members of these groups are law abiding citizens of wherever they live. Indeed they often unnoticed perform good deeds. We must not forget to condemn equally the long-standing rivalries amongst subcultures, which when taken to extremes support exactly the sort of hatred and prejudice we are against. These feelings have contributed to violence in Mexico against emos for example.

I believe that this prejudice against these subcultures feed into creating a wider sphere of discrimination and hatred. If you cannot tolerate someone from the same nation as you, but who has a different hair style what chance is there you can tolerate other differences? By teaching tolerance for everyone we can create a better society.

This blog was motivated by the death of Sophie Lancaster, only twenty years old but murdered because she choose to dress in a goth style in August 2007. Yet Sophie's death is only part of a wider wave of prejudice which chooses to attack or abuse members of subcultures simply for the crime of existing and going about their daily lives. Look at the earlier case of the death of American punk Brian Deneke in 1997 in Amarillo, Texas for another example. Ten years on the case of Brian Deneke's death still arouses deep feelings amongst punks but there is no sign the issues of school and teen divisions it highlighted have been dealt with.

If Columbine High School had solved in 1999 the similar social divisions between jocks and alternative people in their school, exactly the sam divisions as there had been at Amarillo, would lives have been saved?

In the UK the death of Sophie has resulted in a Epetition at Downing Street website against Subcultural Hate Crime which is drawing attention to the issues and created a debate. This led to a poltical movement which may lead to a change in the law in the UK see post on the Early Day Motion.

Are these attacks at the same level as in earlier periods or are they getting worse? Without statistics it is difficult to say. Certainly it might seem we are just seeing what is an age old story but if you take the example of the fight which ended with the death of Dele Little that gives you two deaths as a result of subcultural differences amongst teenagers in the UK in 2007. There are worrying indications the problem may be getting worse. Since starting this blog I have documented a number of attacks and other issues which have effected emos, goths, punk, followers of Heavy Metal and skaters.

This blog will try to keep track of these problems, in the UK and across the world, and by highlighting them hopefully go some way to showing the problem exists and start to combat them.