John Vincentini: racist, terrorist, good ole boy of Lacey, NJ
On September 5 th, 2022, John Vincentini saw a Black person in his neighborhood, cornered him, and threatened to kill him. I realize this sounds absurd. Maybe you think I’m being hyperbolic, sensationalistic, or hysterical. Take a moment to consider the facts and decide for yourself.
John Vincentini was arrested and charged on October 6, 2022, for “Bias Intimidation” and “Terroristic Threats” one month and a day after the incident in question. As an honorable White Supremacist, he turned himself in (which probably means he got a phone call). The following is from a statement released by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office (see the full statement here):
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Bias Crime Unit and Lacey Township Police Department Detective Bureau determined that on September 5, 2022, Vincentini was operating a motor vehicle in Lacey Township and followed an Amazon delivery driver into a cul-de-sac as the driver was making deliveries; Vincentini parked his vehicle in such a way as to block the Amazon driver’s vehicle. Vincentini proceeded to confront the driver, questioned why the driver was in his neighborhood, and further inquired as to whether the driver understood that it was a racist neighborhood. Vincentini then asked the driver whether he wanted him to go back to his car, get his rifle, and shoot the driver in the head. The Amazon driver then drove away and contacted the Lacey Township Police Department.
So, John saw an Amazon driver in his neighborhood, followed him, tried to block him, asked him if he knew he was in a “racist neighborhood,” and threatened to shoot him in the head.
I’ve lived in Ocean County for the past 31 years. I know racism runs deep here, both conscious and subconscious. While not every white person in Ocean County is full of hate, I have witnessed my share of overt bigotry. I’ve seen Swastikas affixed to living room walls and on denim jackets of dudes from so-called “Christian motorcycle clubs”. I’ve heard old locals in a pizza shop say, “The coons are moving in,” with the same casual tone they used to order their chicken parm subs. Racism isn’t new, but words have become actions, and John Vincentini is a menace to society.
Perhaps you’re saying to yourself that appropriate action has been taken: John was arrested and charged. Still, I can’t understand why it took over a month to charge him. For over a month, John was free to walk among the rest of us who are just trying to live. The rest of us who are good, upstanding citizens working to feed our families and pay our bills. The rest of us who don’t threaten to kill other human beings.
But John said it. Out loud. So, maybe those of us who don’t want to be called racist can start talking about racism. After all, you can’t say it doesn’t exist anymore.
Let’s be clear that the things we say are often encrypted in code to the extent that we don’t even realize we’re talking about race. If you hear phrases like “the neighborhood is changing” and “we have to protect what’s ours” you need to know that these conversations are about race more than anything else. Think about it: who are “they” and who are “we”?
We have become so accustomed to talking about each other in ways that don’t explicitly indicate race because it’s comfortable. It makes us feel more free to say the things we really think without fear of backlash. For example, when we want to talk about a specific group of people, we refer to a town: Lakewood is code for Jewish people, South Toms River is code for Black people, and Brick is code for white honkies with a collective vocabulary that ranks higher-than-the-national-average for including words like “pigskin” and “tanning booth”. Brick is code for pumpkin spice Karens who get chemical peels. Brick is code for bros who like to get swoll, a term defined by Urban Dictionary as “Something douchebags say to describe themselves as being ripped or jacked,” which sounds about right. I can shit on Brick all day-I grew up there.
John Vincentini’s proclamation of racist pride is proof that this is the number one issue we need to address. Well, besides climate change. And health care. And … my point is that it’s important. We can agree to disagree on details-but only after we agree that each person has a right to life, liberty, and all that stuff in the Constitution.
To dispel any doubts or misunderstandings: the US Constitution is the social contract of the United States. We agree to play by a certain set of rules so that we know how to interact with each other. We don’t have to agree on everything, but we absolutely have to agree that each of us has a right to live. While threatening to kill another person is still considered a crime, I’m worried about what happens if we stop agreeing that it should be. It’s not that far-fetched-we can’t even agree on who won a presidential election two years ago for crying out loud.
Currently, John Vincentini is at home, in his racist neighborhood, waiting for his court date. I sure hope he doesn’t kill anyone in the meantime.
Originally published at https://leemarionlyon.com on October 23, 2022.
