Domestic Terrorism

Hey all,

Seems like I've been posting about a lot of depressing things on here. And I apologize for that, but I can't not do it today. Today 9 people were killed in Charleston South Carolina at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. It was a hate crime motivated by what can only be described as intense racial hatred and deep racism. I know most people out there will agree with that statement, but I have to say it because there are still some who aren't talking about it (read: commentators and guests on Fox News).

I'm not going to go into much more on the subject except to say that it's too early to jump to most any conclusions. But I think we can safely make a few tiny steps. The shooting took place at Emanuel AME Church, which has been a part of Charleston since the early 1800s. It was founded as a black church, has been persecuted as a black church, and remains a black congregation today. The church pastor was Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a member of the South Carolina State Senate since the age of 27. He was also among the victims last night. Along with 8 members of his congregation. All black. I can't stress enough how unlikely it would be for Dylann Roof, the alleged terrorist*, who sported a jacket with the flag of apartheid era South Africa and Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe) and drove a car with confederate plates, chose the place on a whim. Or because it was the first church he stumbled upon. It is a tiny step to declaring this a hate crime, motivated by race.

Raven and I have been talking about this a lot today and one of the points I wanted to share is this: race has become a topic of national conversation again in part because of the shooting of unarmed black men by police officers or community members. This attack will, I'm sure, fuel the conversation further. But events like these are not new. Our country has a history of racial violence and oppression. Our country has a history of illegally repressing or flat out silencing the voices and even lives of its black citizens. That repression has come through legitimate channels, like government and law enforcement as recently as the 1960s. We, as a country, have made poor decisions, taken morally indefensible actions, and acted as oppressors more often than liberators during our 200+ year history as a sovereign nation. It is not a legacy I am proud to live with. It is not a legacy I am proud to call myself a part of. Yet I benefit from it because I am white. We will never get anywhere in this nationwide discussion without more people understanding that very basic, but very difficult piece of our collective history. That is the narrative in which this shooting took place. That is the narrative in which the media needs to place it. Anything less is half truth.

I hope world events will give me something pleasant to post on tomorrow. I urge anyone interested to read the Washington Post article I linked to earlier (linked again here) to get a great overview of the place of AME in the broader civil rights movement.


As an apology for this very depressing post - and a reward for making it through (if you made it this far) here is a link to an hour of cat videos. Watch it until you feel joy again.



*I use alleged because he hasn't yet been convicted, not because I doubt that he is guilty - seems pretty clear he is at this point, but still... technically not guilty until convicted