On the heels of the brutal murder of Luis Ramirez, comes yet another Shenandoah hate crime:

On Friday, Javier Alcala Jr., 21, allegedly was abducted and beaten by three men who duct-taped and blindfolded him.

This follows the July 12 killing of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, 25, an illegal immigrant who had been living in the U.S. for six years. He allegedly was pummeled near a local park after a confrontation with at least four teenage boys.

It’s almost impossible to believe that the murder of Luis Ramirez wouldn’t have functioned as a wake-up call. Instead, it emboldened some people in this town to dig in on behalf of bigotry, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric, and violence.

On a recent Saturday, the Babe Ruth League field around the bend from the Mrs. T's Pierogies factory was crowded with people waving Old Glory, surrounded by their families and dogs.

The sun was still out, but mosquitoes were circling. Some folks carried placards - "Gallon of Gas: $3.69, Purchase of a Gun: $419, Deportation: Priceless," - that hinted at the turmoil that has simmered and occasionally boiled over since Ramirez's death.

Midway through the anti-illegal-immigrant rally, Crystal Dillman, who had been Ramirez's fiancee, arrived with her sister and some friends. The women, all of whom are white, unfurled a large Mexican flag.

"I'm here to support the cause; I'm here to support my husband," said Dillman, a Shenandoah native, quickly amending her statement to say "fiancee."

When some in the crowd noticed them and the flag, they shouted: "Why don't you go to Mexico?" and "Go home, Crystal!"

But the mother of three held her ground. "I'm not going nowhere," she said. "Let them say what whatever they want."

The trash-talk continued: "Wetback kids!" was directed toward Dillman's group. Her sister Lita responded joyfully with her arms raised in obscene gestures.

The tension escalated until state troopers stepped in, standing as a barrier around the Mexican flag until the crowd dispersed.

Note to reporter: I wouldn’t call a placard linking a gun reference to deportation following the murder of an innocent man a hint at turmoil nor would I call a mob surrounding a group of women and hurling ethnic slurs "trash-talk". It’s a little more serious than that.)

How is it possible that one hate crime could follow so closely to another – especially one that has received such nationwide attention?

Maybe it’s because Pennsylvania refuses to acknowledge or hold accountable bigotry engrained into the political fiber of the state.