Luckily, the terrorist behind this dastardly act has been arrested and is in police custody. Now by piecing together what he did in Charleston is making the case very clear that what happened was a hate crime. The individual was shown in a jacket with the flags of Apartheid South Africa and White supremacist Rhodesia. I'm aware those 2 patches in the perp's possession is no crime in itself, but it does explain his ideology when firing his gun in Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston.
Emanuel AME Church has seen its fair share of White supremacist violence, going all the way back to the Antebellum era of South Carolina's history. It was a safe-haven for Blacks both in slavery and after its abolition in 1865. It was a continual target even during the lead-up to the Civil Rights Era after Reconstruction ended in 1877.
It was a place to congregate and worship, a pillar of the community. The church was originally founded in 1822, at a time when places of worship for African Americans were illegal in South Carolina. It was a place that Blacks could get away from Whites. This didn't mean that they were always safe from the wrath of Whites lusting for blood, the reason usually being just because, or to make an example of what could happen if there was a slave revolt.
Because of the Church's long history, it's not much of a shock that it was targetted again in 2015. Still, it's enough to wake us all up to the fact that we're going to have to hold the uncomfortable discussion of race relations and how each racial group experiences them. It should be a learning experience for us all.
The more I learn about the perpetrator of this ghastly act, the more I see the ugly return of White supremacy and how it's not ever going to disappear. Its ties to both our nation's gun culture and its law enforcing is apparent to the point of wanting to throw our hands in the air in utter frustration.
In no way can we allow White supremacy to take hold in this grand nation of ours. The only outcome will be that of a race war, which is exactly what these racists want.
For many who see the Black community as inherently inferior and subhuman to this day are proving that even though the last shots Civil War shots were fired 150 years ago, the war has never ended. If anything, the war has found a new home to fight in, our political discourse via the Media. One of the biggest arenas I see this happening in is in Congress. Specifically among Congressional Republicans.
Congressional Republicans have shown themselves to be willing tools for organization pushing for these kind of terrorist acts. That organization is the NRA, who's been cowing everyone in Congress, and this has brought a number of Democrats under their control.
Let's be clear on 1 thing here, some of these extreme voices in the NRA are also tied to White supremacy.
The region with the loosest gun laws is the South, and the reason is obvious. With a strong belief in White supremacy in parts of the region, many Whites take it on to themselves to hunt and exterminate Blacks before they come to rape and plunder White women or other poor scared White folks. This thought pattern is total bullsh*t, but it's how many people think. Add that to loose gun laws, and there you have it. It's open "n****r" season.
Saying that if Blacks don't mind their place as second-class citizens, they'll be a target is no empty threat. Just like Blacks saying they'll arm themselves in defense is not an empty one either. However, this is not the exchange to follow. The one to keep tabs on is on why Whites have the sole right to exact revenge on minorities and why they can be exterminated at any time. That's the exhange to follow as it's the common denominator to puck up on when recognizing White supremacy's self-expression and the vestage of White privilege.
The violent expression of White supremacy is a direct by-product of this nation's gun culture. That's what happened in Charleston, and that's why we need gun control.
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