A young white man has killed nine black people in a church shooting in Charleston S.C. Several republicans, including some presidential candidates, are saying the church shooting wasn’t a hate crime.
(06-20-2015, updated 07-14-2018) One NRA board member of the historically black church, African-American himself, claims that the pastor who was shot brought it upon himself, because he was against open carry laws. The Charleston morning newspaper with the headline about the church shooting carried an attached ad for a gun store.
I don’t know what to say anymore about any of this. But not saying anything makes it look like I’m oblivious. All I know is that if America was a person, the men in white coats would be coming to take it away. They’d put it in a straight jacket and let it rave in a padded room until it was exhausted enough to accept that it needed some serious therapy.
(This post was first published on the blog Resident Alien: Being Dutch in America, under the title: “Speechless, But Trying: The Church Shooting in Charleston S.C.”, 06-20-2015)
Sources:
- Holmes, Dave. “Charleston Newspaper Places Gun Ad Above Mass Shooting Headline”. Esquire, June 18, 2015. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a35797/charleston-paper-gun-ad/
- Kaufman, Scott Eric. “NRA board member blames Charleston Pastor Clementa Pinckney for his own death”. Salon, June 19, 2015 11:56AM (UTC). https://www.salon.com/2015/06/19/nra_board_member_blames_charleston_pastor_clementa_pinckney_for_his_own_death/
Header image: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33179019
I was stumped too when I saw the ad on the newspaper, the excuses they have for it are just as bad at the ones for the shootings.
What can I say!
I think that you apology is correct.
I also think that it would make you feel discouraged. But please keep on writing about all that is important to you.
Because it is not only about you, it is about your family, the environment they live in, where they grow up, go to school, work. You write for them and therefore you take a stand. Not to keep silent against that what you think is wrong.
Because a drop of water can make an ocean.
Correction: Apology is wrong word.
Should be anology
I’m glad you’re still trying. Giving up is an incredibly scary thought. The ignorance and excuses being made are appalling. And the hypocrisy of how we (Americans) look at world violence and terror versus that which happens within our own borders to one another is a crushing blow to the hope that we can be taken seriously on the issue.
I appreciate you putting your voice out here. It’s a worthy one.
Thanks! Yep, I’m gradually returning to my kick-ass attitude, even if only in the blogosphere. It’s good to be back!