Am I wrong for hoping this

[tabbycat31]

I'm hoping that the Boston bomber is a white guy. There, I said it. I had a long conversation with a friend about this last night and we both hope it's a Tim McVeigh type that did this.

I remember going to work immediately after 9/11 and seeing the intense hatred of 'those damn Arabs' from my coworkers. However, I do not remember a hatred of white guys after the OKC bombing.

I just can't deal with that kind of hatred again.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. I don't think you're wrong

but I consider 'hope' in this instance to be a waste of psychic energy, seeing that the bombing is a fait accompli - a done deal. Still, I know what you mean regarding the ethnicity of whoever did this horrible thing.

[Betsy Ross]

2. Right or wrong

You are not alone.

[slackmaster]

3. No, you're not wrong.

[liberalmuse]

4. No. I think a lot of us are tired of demonizing Muslims...

..because of the actions of a few. You know if the guy is white, he'll be considered, "mentally disturbed" or a "lone wolf". Only terrorists have dark skin, and when one person with dark skin commits an atrocity like this, everyone with dark skin is suspect.

[FreeState]

5. Regardless of background

it still baffles me that the general public thinks they are immune to the ills of terrorism. It happens everywhere, we might be better at stopping it, but it still goes on, even in the US. We are going to have to deal with it and come up with solutions that fit our unique country and culture.

At the gym last night someone dropped a weight and there was a loud bang and vibration, at least half the people there stopped what they were doing and looked startled, myself included. Gut reaction. It will take a while for all of this new reality to settle in.

[CakeGrrl]

6. There's a Salon article saying the same thing

it boils down to an extension of the lynch mob mentality:

A non-white suspect generates profiling against the suspect's demographic.
A white suspect is isolated as a lone nut.

Spike Lee called out this issue in "Summer of Sam", where a black community member was interviewed while a suspect was still at large, saying 'Please don't let him be black!'

The Carol Stuart murder and the Susan Smith case were examples of white perpetrators capitalizing on this dynamic. What better way to cast suspicion as far away as possible when you murder your own wife or children than by saying a black man did it?

[seabeyond]

7. I said the same to son today. We both agree. And we both

Think that it is horrible that we the people are such that two smart compassionate people would express this.

[Llewlladdwr]

8. Yes you are.

Wanting the blame to be placed on any particular group just to ease you're own feelings is wrong.

What happened has happened. Let the police investigate, determine who or what group was at fault, and then deal with that.

As a "white guy" I find this desire to blame people like me very disturbing.