Shooters of color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs.’ Why are white people called ‘mentally ill’?

[Surya Gayatri]

https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=
Media pundits have already started to use the “mental illness” narrative to characterize suspected shooter Dylann Roof. Why not call him a suspected terrorist?

But listen to major media outlets and you won’t hear the word “terrorism” used in coverage of Tuesday’s shooting. You won’t hear the white male shooter, identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, described as “a possible terrorist.” And if coverage of recent shootings by white suspects is any indication, he never will be. Instead, the go-to explanation for his actions will be mental illness. He will be humanized and called sick, a victim of mistreatment or inadequate mental health resources. Activist Deray McKesson noted this morning that, while discussing Roof’s motivations, an MSNBC anchor said “we don’t know his mental condition.” That is the power of whiteness in America.

U.S. media practice a different policy when covering crimes involving African Americans and Muslims. As suspects, they are quickly characterized as terrorists and thugs, motivated by evil intent instead of external injustices. While white suspects are lone wolfs — Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston already emphasized this shooting was an act of just “one hateful person” — violence by black and Muslim people is systemic, demanding response and action from all who share their race or religion. Even black victims are vilified. Their lives are combed for any infraction or hint of justification for the murders or attacks that befall them: Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie. Michael Brown stole cigars. Eric Gardner sold loosie cigarettes. When a black teenager who committed no crime was tackled and held down by a police officer at a pool party in McKinney, Tex., Fox News host Megyn Kelly described her as “No saint either.”
...

With that context, it’s clear that killing the pastor and members of this church was a deliberate act of hate. Mayor Riley noted that “The only reason that someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate.” But we need to take it a step further. There was a message of intimidation behind this shooting, an act that mirrors a history of terrorism against black institutions involved in promoting civil and human rights. The hesitation on the part of some of the media to label the white male killer a terrorist is telling.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/18/call-the-charleston-church-shooting-what-it-is-terrorism/?tid=trending_strip_6

_______________
Excellent read in this opinion piece by Anthea Butler, an associate professor of religion and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

[oldandhappy]

1. Yep!!!

Thanks

[Surya Gayatri]

2. If I, a born and bred WASP, get seethingly angry over this, what must POC feel?

[randys1]

26. I think they have SO much experience with this, SO Many years of HORRIFIC treatment

that they have developed into the most peaceful, rational and patient group in history.

I truly believe that and we can be grateful for it.

Imagine if you reversed everything the past 200 yrs and it was Black people walking into Jerry Falwell's all white church and blowing them away....

[Surya Gayatri]

28. Impossible even to imagine. Most AA crime is black on black.

Have never heard of a POC attacking white worshippers, ever.

[oldandhappy]

115. I was thinking of this as I watched the

TV coverage showing church members leading the community in mourning with song and prayer. So gracious. Hundreds of years of oppression and social mistreatment and here they are, outstanding in their community leadership. Humbling.

[Surya Gayatri]

122. Humbling and gratifying. We should all be grateful for their

restrained dignity and display of civility.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

3. I see him as a terrorist and I can't help but wonder if the diagnosis of MI is the modern world

trying to rationalize away Evil, a notion considered too anachronistic and provincial.

There's no embarrassment in calling Evil, Evil.

[Surya Gayatri]

8. Terrorism by definition is evil as it targets the innocent and helpless.

Certainly in the case of white on black violence, the label of 'mental derangement' is a convenient and expedient euphemism..

[immoderate]

12. Demonic possession? That explains it.

--imm

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. I think people are quite capable of creating their own evil. To claim demonic possession would be to

deny free human moral agency. To claim he was possessed would be to relieve him of responsibility the same as claiming MI.

[immoderate]

30. I'm sure that in his mind, he was acting responsibly.

And it was his "calling" to serve notice on the people in that church, BWO mass murder.(!) What does it take for you to consider a person mentally ill? Maybe if he holds them hostage, and lets them go, he is mentally ill. But then if he kills them, he is not?

--imm

[Nuclear Unicorn]

32. Mental illness leads to abhorrent behavior but not all abhorrent behavior is mental illness.

[immoderate]

35. OTOH, I cannot point to a cold-blooded killer, and say, "There goes a normal person."

--imm

[Nuclear Unicorn]

39. I don't see how that is different from what I offered.

[immoderate]

41. You offered "evil" as an explanation for something, or other.

An argument from ... what?

--imm

[Nuclear Unicorn]

44. Mental illness is a psychophysiological condition, a disease of the body.

Evil is a conscious, freely made choice.

[immoderate]

84. That's why mentally ill people, ... make rational decisions...?!

--imm

[heaven05]

46. this indivdual is a

racist hateful person who targeted POC. He's no better than that LEO killing unarmed black people because he could. White privilege allowed this to happen, again. Nothing mentally ill about this incident, it's par for the course for racists in this country who feel that "black men are raping their women and trying to take over". Most RW hate sites and radio spew this openly, while fox snooze type MSM, while more circumspect, are understood by individuals like this in their using "thug", "threat" "animals""no saint" ect openly on a lot of their reports related to race. And by the way thinking people also are aware of the slyness of MSM now and how they are controlling the media with lies and distortions. No more journalism in this country, just sensationalism and racism.....

[immoderate]

88. If he is one of many, why did he distinguish himself by acting out?

Racist haters are a dime a dozen. What made this guy special?

--imm

[heaven05]

97. nerve enough

to act out his cowardly hate. He's a white terrorist, thug and animals like him are a threat to the stability of civilized society.

[immoderate]

98. Doesn't your description refer to someone 'mentally different' than normal?

You don't think that, say,... his brain could be fucked up?

--imm

[heaven05]

99. all racist brains are "fucked up"

that is one of the many reasons an individual is or becomes a racist terrorist, thug and threat to civilized society. So many "fucked up" people, they can't be counted or identified. POC are going to have to be very vigilant if they don't want to become part of the current genocide taking place.

[JDPriestly]

47. He carried a gun into a Bible study meeting in a church.

He was sane enough to form the intent to carry a weapon into a church.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

49. Pretty much my point.

[immoderate]

92. This, to you, is a sign of sanity?

What if Jesus told him to do it? Is that proof of sanity?

--imm

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

96. So, someone knowing what they're doing is evil and choosing to do it anyway

is not mental illness? You would say that person is mentally healthy? That's ridiculous.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

100. People with a disease cannot be responsible for their actions. One might as well condemn

a childhood diabetic for failing to naturally regulate their insulin. People with MI did not choose their condition. A person who freely chooses to kill is not mentally ill no matter how unfathomable we may find their motives

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

102. Your first three sentences are correct. The last one is not.

The very act of "freely choosing to kill" is evidence of a diseased mind.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

103. Then no murderer would be responsible for their actions.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

104. Ultimately true. Mental health is the final frontier.

Not to say murderers should be tolerated. But, they should be expected. A sick society creates sick people. Along with physiological conditions, of course.

[Surya Gayatri]

121. 'A sick society creates sick people.' Amen!

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

107. There was a great article on this subject in the print version of Psychology Today.

That doesn't seem to be available online, but their website does host a number of related short pieces.

Crime as a brain disorder. Did his brain make him a killer?

My brain made me do it: Do we have free will? Will brain research change our concept of free will?

The Insanity Defense: An Intersection of Morality, Public Policy, and Science, from which the excerpt below is taken.

Advances in neuroscience and genetics provide a means for less obvious brain abnormalities to be offered as the basis for a defense. And this presents a challenge to traditional notions of the causes of mental illness, as well as some types of criminal behavior.

There is growing evidence for genetic transmission of numerous psychiatric conditions, including personality disorders, as well as their underlying anatomic and physiological abnormalities. Psychopathy, for example, is an extreme form of personality disturbance, with no established effective treatment, marked by indifference to right and wrong, lack of empathy, conning and manipulation, and aggressive pursuit of self-interest. It is associated with criminal behavior of all sorts, including crimes of extreme violence in some cases. As such, it has been excluded from consideration as the basis for an insanity defense.

But discoveries of fundamental anatomical and physiological differences between the brains of psychopaths and non-psychopaths--including non-psychopathic criminals—as well as evidence those psychopathic traits may be inherited, has set the stage for arguments that even those who commit the worst of crimes should not be held responsible for them. After all, they didn’t choose their genetic makeup or to be born without the capacity for empathy.

[Surya Gayatri]

123. Thanks for posting this. Indeed, 'a challenge to traditional notions...'

'...evidence (that) those psychopathic traits may be inherited has set the stage for arguments that even those who commit the worst of crimes should not be held responsible for them.'

The new frontier in criminology and public policy--brain chemistry and morphology.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

155. Hopefully such thinking will lead to society realizing importance of

crime prevention by helping people become and stay well, both mentally and physically. Providing for the general welfare, ya know?

If such a chance can be make, it's going to take a miracle. Many people are so attached to blame, punishment, vengeance, evil--drama in general really--I'm not sure ending crime is truly a goal.

[leveymg]

76. Let's call it what it was: a political act. Extreme RW ideology taken to its logical conclusion:

mass murder and genocide. He's a Neo-Confederate Terrorist.

The kid is a racist, a killer, and proclaimed Neo-Confederate. His license plate identified him as one. Not all Neo-Confederates are mass murders, but it's perfectly in keeping with the ideology and the history of the movement.

[Iggo]

4. Yes.

[hollysmom]

5. people are already arguing this on other baords,

I have no doubt in his family it is twisted with hate, so then prosecute the whole family for making him crazy,I want to see some asses in jail.

[Surya Gayatri]

18. If his family are the racist hatemongers that we suspect, I hope they are at least

hounded mercilessly by TPTB and the press.

[truebluegreen]

6. "Just another Adam Lanza."

[Surya Gayatri]

20. Yes, it's general knowledge that Lanza was frustrated at the invasion of

POC into his predominately white and privileged neighborhood.

[Iggo]

57. Saw that, too, did ya?

[immoderate]

7. I was trying to imagine how this would NOT be an act of terrorism.

As I understand it he even left a witness to testify as to his motives. Part of being a terrorist is being really creepy.

--imm

[Surya Gayatri]

9. Yes, he allowed one of his potential victims to escape and told her to tell the world.

[ck4829]

10. Attribution bias - Media represents white culture, therefore white culture is their ingroup

So when a member of an ingroup does something terrible, it must be due to an individual deficiency and situtational factors. Mental illness is a quick go-to.

But when an outgroup, say a Muslim or a black person, does something terrible, the group as a whole shares some blame, they could have prevented it, the culture, they look at the home life, the religion, etc.

It's weird because I don't think I've ever heard of 'Islamic terrorism' and 'mental illness' being in the same sentence but when I look at the things they say or wrote, I see a lot of narcissism and delusions of grandeur or persecution.

[Surya Gayatri]

11. Mental 'issues' = easy, expedient rationalization.

[raccoon]

64. Great post. nt

[AZ Progressive]

13. It's white privilege for white people not to be responsible for the sins of one of their own

That when one of their own does terrorism, its not considered terrorism, and that white people are in general not seen as terrorists because one or a few has done terrorism.

[Surya Gayatri]

15. Using the 'mentally ill' label automatically individualizes the perp and exculpates his 'tribe'.

He's not a member of some great amorphous, threatening hord, but an unfortunate individual victim of circumstance.

[Igel]

38. The guy who went from Baltimore to NYC and killed the cops.

Mentally ill? Who first insisted he was mentally ill--and was that view accepted by the MSM?

Before that was accepted, what was the "diagnosis"?

I don't mean "what did DUers say they'd seen reported somewhere?" I mean what actually was the common description?

As with many other instances--the shooter at the army base in Texas, the guy in NC who ran into people near a student union, etc., etc.--I hear some voices on the margin making claims that are taken as "what everybody in the media" thinks, but when I look I see a lot of people saying, "We don't know. Yes, I have two people on my show, with one saying 'terrorist', but there's the other talking head saying 'mentally ill' and parents or friends saying how he's a nice guy." However, all some hear is the guy saying "terrorist" if that's what we want to hear, and at other times the guy saying "mentally ill."

It's like HRC's recent statement about the TPP. "I need more information." Some heard it as a defense and whole-hearted support; they have a dog in this fight. Some heard it as a condemnation; they also have a dog in this fight. That's what fast thinking gets you. (Great, now I'll have two groups of people seeking to tombstone me--one group insisting I just used coded language to call HRC the b-word, and another group insisting I just called Sanders a 'dog' and somehow that's anti-something-or-other.)

[Surya Gayatri]

45. Totally off topic, but is your sig quotation from a French translation of E. A. Poe's 'The Raven'?

'...comme de quelqu'un frappant / doucement, frappant à la porte de ma chambre - cela seul et rien de plus.'

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”

[randys1]

27. HELLO exactly. AT this point I no longer have any time for the racists, at all, which includes

those democrats who think they have no obligation for this issue because they havent shot anybody


gRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[exboyfil]

14. My question is can the father be prosecuted

for making a straw purchase for his son. He presented him with a .45 caliber on his 21st Birthday. He did have an arrest record.

[Surya Gayatri]

16. In SC? Now, that WOULD be a first!

[HereSince1628]

19. You claimed racism is mental illness. Have you changed your mind?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6856067

I'm a bit confused.

[Surya Gayatri]

23. Sorry you're confused. Perhaps you failed to notice the "..."

around mental 'illness' and ignored my first lexical choice which was 'form of mental aberration.'

Then there's the vexed question of the legal versus the medical determination of mental derangement.

It can get confusing, I'll grant you that...

[Lizzie Poppet]

21. A LOT of people are calling him a terrorist, actually.

[Surya Gayatri]

22. And a lot are looking for any other excuse, too, at least

in Ms. Butler's analysis.

[Lizzie Poppet]

31. Some on the right are calling it anti-Christian terrorism, too.

Which is nauseating...

[Eleanors38]

36. There are several posts in GD which make a case for the main culprits being...

mental illness and lack of gun control.

Both miss the mark.

It amazes me how much racism & white privilege is discussed here at DU, then when a flashing neon light of racist terrorism occurs, it is pidgeon-holed as the result of mental illness and weak gun laws. As if Bombingham, Alabama did not experience 60+ explosions during MLK's activism there.

Incidentally, I call all skidmark violent crims "thugs."

[Surya Gayatri]

66. Any other explanation will do to avoid connecting the dots--RW indoctrination creates racists.

Miss the mark? By a light year.

[Eleanors38]

130. And I agree with you. The immediate effect is to legitimize racism.

[Crabby Appleton]

24. Depends

The POC Washing Navy Yard shooter was labeled as mentally ill

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-police-detail-shooting-navy-yard-shooting/2013/09/25/ee321abe-2600-11e3-b3e9-d97fb087acd6_story.html

[Surya Gayatri]

25. Had forgotten about that rare and unusual incident.

Only time I can recall of a POC being taken alive and found to be mentally delusional.

POC are so often killed during the arrest procedure that we never find out what their mental state was (during the 'crime'--of driving, walking or running while black.)

[heaven05]

56. one out of a thousand

while all white shooters sooner rather than later are labeled mentally ill or emotionally wounded from some incident. But not "thug&quot POC), "threat&quot POC), "animals&quot POC) and the many like him that are now in our society as potential racist terrorists are never discussed as possible terrorist threats, thugs and animals. Virulent racist, like this individual are not discussed in our society today because of white privilege, period.

[riderinthestorm]

59. Actually about 50% are deemed mentally ill

Mother Jones did an excellent breakdown on this. Here's a good short synopsis (with citations)

http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/about-us/reports-studies-backgrounders/2531

Also, the statistical percentage of AA mass shooters equals the general population of AFrican Americans.

http://thegrio.com/2013/09/17/african-american-mass-shooters/

Of the approximately 62 mass shootings (in which four or more people were killed) in the U.S. since 1982, including 25 since 2006 (and seven in 2012 alone), according to figures compiled by Mother Jones, “more than half of the cases involved school or workplace shootings (12 and 20, respectively); the other 30 cases took place in locations including shopping malls, restaurants, and religious and government buildings. Forty four of the killers were white males. Only one of them was a woman.”

The percentage of black assailants who kill on a scale such as Monday’s Navy Yard shootings is about equal to the percentage of black Americans, says former FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt.

[alarimer]

29. You can't be a terrorist and also mentally ill?

I think we would do better to try and understand why people do these things, in order to stop them in the future.

There is always a pattern or history that these folks have that is somehow ALWAYS missed. Postings on the internet, videos or whatever, always seem to accompany it. Or the family notices that they are "off", yet no one ever seems to do anything.

[Surya Gayatri]

33. Well, in my very personal opinion, terrorists by definition display mentally aberrant behavior

in their capacity to suppress any natural human instinct to protect the helpless. Instead, they torture and kill the blameless for ideological or political ends.

[immoderate]

34. Right. And considering there were many exposed to the same influences, who didn't commit mass murder

what was different or special about him?

I suspect that certain inclinations are influenced by brain structure. His actions would be consistent with his view of reality. To me, anti-social actions, depending on severity, motivation, define mental illness.

--imm

[heaven05]

42. Racism did this

racist hateful people caused this. No matter what justification the mental illness apologists want to come up with.

[HappyMe]

138. That's it exactly.

Using mental illness or even guns just excuses what that white supremacist did.

If he didn't have that mind set, the fact that he had a gun wouldn't matter.

I think he is so filled with hatred, if he didn't have a gun he would have used a bomb.

[Vinca]

37. A good question, but you have to admit this guy looks nuttier than a fruitcake.

[Surya Gayatri]

85. I'd rather say he looks like a spoiled, nasty brat with a big chip on his shoulder.

[Eleanors38]

131. Seen just that expression on a lot of twerps looking for a fight.

[Surya Gayatri]

133. Curled lip and all!

[heaven05]

40. two words, simple really

white privilege. The white shooter is always the victim in the end, some how, some way. ALWAYS.

[LovingA2andMI]

48. Yep!^^^

White Privilege!

[Surya Gayatri]

83. And, it's so insidious that it pervades most public discourse with impunity.

Most people are literally blind and deaf to it. Like a fish in water, the hapless purveyor of white privilege knows no other 'natural environment'. It's where he/she lives.

[JDPriestly]

43. I've been wondering the same thing. Thanks so much for posting this.

[Surya Gayatri]

51. You're welcome. It struck home with me, and I'm a WASP.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

50. Some people want to turn this into another gun debate....

The gun he used didn't fill his head with hate.

The Right Wing in this country, supported by Republicans, did that.

NOBODY in the media is going to say that.

[Surya Gayatri]

53. NOBODY, except the occasional invited, token black intellectual.

And, he or she can be safely pidgeon-holed as being of the angry radical left.

[nirvana555]

65. As we are now in a speculative state, I realize it's human nature to

"blame the parents". However, at this time we really don't a thing about them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

70. We will know all about them if they run to Hannity.

[Solly Mack]

52. I have often wondered if some white people want to label racism a mental illness so they

can hide behind the label and tell themselves how glad they are they aren't sick (because they don't kill black people...so obviously they aren't racists) or how the poor dear just couldn't help himself, because he's sick.

Same with all other hate crimes. As in, they tell themselves that they would never kill a gay person, so they're no homophobe....but they sure do like making fun of gays (which they think isn't a form of violence)...but those poor dears who do kill gay people must be sick...they'd have to be...because they're nothing like them.

If you see what I'm saying.

As a means to distance their own prejudices and bias from the exact same prejudices and bias that gets people killed.

I'm not saying hate isn't a mental instability, because I think it is.......but I am saying some white people, straight people, etc.. are all too willing to jump on the mental illness bandwagon as a means to show a difference between their own prejudices and bigotry and those of people like Roof.

As if hateful jokes about Gays and African-Americans are somehow unrelated to the environment that produces racists cops and people like Roof - and McKinney and Henderson (killers of Matthew Shepard). As if harboring bias against African-Americans and Gays is somehow not feeding the hate.

Same with all bigotry. (sexism, racism, homophobia)

The need for people - who see themselves as good people because they aren't killing people, but who still use certain words and phrases, who still harbor prejudices, who still display racism, sexism, homophobia on a daily basis - to make themselves feel better about their own prejudices by pretending they aren't just as racist, just a sexist, and just as homophobic as those who act on their hate with physical violence.

Because racist jokes and comments, etc., are a form of violence and they do inflict harm.

I'm not saying calling me the word that can get you banned is the same as killing me....but if you think of women in those terms, you're really no better in my eyes. Because hate speech can all too often turn into physical violence. Same with the "N-word" , and assorted other hate-filled names people call those different from them.

Oh, and K&R to the article.

Because not labeling white domestic terrorists by their rightful name, is also a form of distancing white skin from the crimes committed. No trouble labeling brown skinned and black skinned people as a group when an individual commits a crime...but goshly bum, no way that white terrorist is representative of the dominant culture he was raised in. Oh, no....he was just someone who was sick and needs help. Not like us at all.

[Surya Gayatri]

60. I DO see what you're saying and point well taken.

'I'm not racist or homophobic or zenophobic or whatever. I would NEVER do such a thing. Some of my BEST friends are black or gay or foreign or whatever, etc. etc.'

Insidious and so, so prevalent.

[Solly Mack]

63. Exactly. Thank you.

Insidious and prevalent are excellent words for it.

[Surya Gayatri]

68. ...

[Dont call me Shirley]

54. Because the word thug implies that they are not redeemable. A mentally ill person can get help.

[Solly Mack]

58. I think that is an aspect of it. White America can be redeemed

if hate crimes committed by white people are committed by those with a mental illness. Because, you know, if we aren't mentally ill, then how can Roof be linked to the prejudices and bias of the dominant culture?

Because, you know, racists cops just pop up out at of thin air. And people like Roof just went wrong along the way... taking no societal cues from anywhere.

[Dont call me Shirley]

71. The need has become exceedingly apparent for real treatments for society's abuser mindset.

The bullying, ridiculing, outcasting, otherizing, are all old worn out behaviors that we must replace with behaviors that lift, honor and care for all.

We've got to do some looking within and saving our own selves from these archaic lowbrow mindsets.

[Solly Mack]

73. We do indeed.

And it takes being aware each and every day. Can't root it out if you won't acknowledge it exist.

[Dont call me Shirley]

110. And if people are saying "you're wrong" then listen and evaluate what they are saying

I'm not saying you are wrong Solly. I had an incident yesterday with the Rachel thing where I did not have the facts and jumped to a conclusion that was wrong. After posters put up sound reasons why I was wrong, I admitted I was wrong and apologized.

Too many people will not admit they are wrong, under any circumstance. That must change on a massive scale.

To admit that we are wrong and then correct the mistake is a STRENGTH, not a weakness.

[Solly Mack]

111. Studies show people actually become more entrenched in their beliefs

once shown they are wrong. It's called the "Backfire Effect". And the more ideological and emotionally attached to the belief, the stronger it (the effect) is.

Look up Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler and the BackFire Effect.

The below article addresses it some.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128490874

I do agree that the first step is realizing you're wrong, though.

[Dont call me Shirley]

112. Thanks for the link, Solly. Bookmarked for later..

It's bizarre, most of my family members will never admit they are wrong. I don't know how I turned out being able to do so, family scapegoat maybe.

[Solly Mack]

113. People exert a lot of effort to cling to their beliefs.

Beliefs become part and parcel to the identity of the individual. When you challenge those beliefs, people will act defensively. Because they don't hear that a particular belief is wrong, they only hear you saying - YOU are wrong. Your very being and everything you stand for is wrong.

This is especially true of racists, who have built an entire way of life on thinking they are better than everyone not white.

You're welcome.

[Dont call me Shirley]

128. For many, being wrong carries a huge emotional reaction, which clouds reason.

Course in Miracles teaches to let go of the emotion attached to the mistake, look at the mistake rationally, then the solution to the mistake will become apparent. The whole key to fixing the mistake is standing above the emotion of error in the emotionless state of reason.

How are we going to retrain society to do this?

[Solly Mack]

134. No clue. I really don't know.

[Dont call me Shirley]

136. I think we need to keep talking about Caring, Loving, and Peace. And do not stop.

[Solly Mack]

137. Good idea.

[Surya Gayatri]

118. ^^^AMEN to this^^^!

'To admit that we are wrong and then correct the mistake is a STRENGTH, not a weakness.'

All great souls teach that the path to enlightenment is through examining and acknowledging our own shortcomings, and then ignoring or minimizing what we perceive as the faults of others.

[Dont call me Shirley]

129. In self-analysis it it easy to get stuck in the trap of being aware of ones own shortcomings

We must also ask ourselves in this process of self-analysis, What is right with me?

The focus on what is bad and wrong within us will expand what is bad and wrong within us. The focus on what is good and right within ourselves will expand what is good and right within ourselves.

Courageous self-honesty is the key.

[gordianot]

55. Until evidence otherwise this a thug in my book.

[Surya Gayatri]

69. I prefer domestic terrorist and racist killer.

[gordianot]

77. Correct

[jtuck004]

61. That's what happens when those who have the privelege make the labels. n/t

[raccoon]

62. I think this needs to be bolded and repeated:

The hesitation on the part of some of the media to label the white male killer a terrorist is telling.

[Surya Gayatri]

75. There was SO much to highlight in that piece. You're right--this phrase deserves to be

repeated and reframed, again and again.

[7962]

67. Because a true racist has a mental issue. nt

[Surya Gayatri]

72. And, terrorists are mentally aberrant. That doesn't mean they cannot control their behavior.

They use terror to subjugate through fear, as did this twisted mass murderer.

[1monster]

74. But how many mass murdering shooters were people of color? I can't remember even one!

This type of derangement seems to be almost exclusively a white male problem.

[Surya Gayatri]

78. I think some 'highway snipers' were POC a few years ago, no?

Those are the only ones that come to mind. And, their victims were chosen completely at random--no racist overtones whatsoever, IIRC.

[Lilith Rising]

91. The motives of the 'Beltway Snipers'

is sort of unclear - one theory was that the adult sniper wanted to kill his ex and wanted to use the shooting spree as a cover, another was that he was into jihad...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltway_sniper_attacks#Motive

[Surya Gayatri]

94. Thanks for taking the trouble to find it...

[Lilith Rising]

101. You're welcome :)

Personally I'm of the mind that the adult in this case was actually mentally ill. But it remains that there was no specific racial motivation or religious motivation for that matter.

This Roof fellow was obviously motivated by race.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

108. Aaron Alexis

The guy who shot up the navy yard. He was off his rocker.

[linuxman]

125. Off the top of my head...

DC Snipers
Washington Navy Yard shooter
Christopher Dorner
Elliott Rodgers (woman hater who killed students in CA)
The guy in the meat packing place in Kansas that beheaded a coworker in his spree last year (can't remember the name)
Virginia tech shooter
Can I count the attempt (failed) at the draw Muhammad event? Wasn't for lack of trying.


Just off the top of my head, all in recent memory.

I could google some more for you.

We live in a majority white nation. The majority will inevitably be white. Go figure.

[Enthusiast]

79. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

[Surya Gayatri]

87. ...

[Enthusiast]

89. ...

[George II]

80. The premise of your subject line is patently false

[Surya Gayatri]

90. MY subject line? You'll have to take that up with Ms. Butler of WAPO.

She's the author, not I. Direct quote from the opinion piece.

[LeftOfWest]

117. see post 90.

Enough.

[ish of the hammer]

81. stochastic terrorism

[Surya Gayatri]

93. Perhaps you'd like to enlarge on this?

The term stochastic occurs in a wide variety of professional or academic fields to describe events or systems that are unpredictable due to the influence of a random variable.
...
Any system or process that must be analyzed using probability theory is stochastic at least in part.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic

[Surya Gayatri]

95. Could the 'random variable' in this killer terrorist's case be a racist family environment?

[countryjake]

106. SC state Rep Todd Rutherford says it's cause they're egged on by Faux News...

Representative Rutherford was on The Lead with Jake Tapper a little bit ago and he really cut loose on why he thought something like the Charleston Massacre happened.

South Carolina state Rep Todd Rutherford...

South Carolina is one of five state that does not have a hate crimes law. South Carolina is still the only state that I am aware of that still flies a Confederate flag in front of the statehouse dome. South Carolina represents and is emblematic of the problem, which is words that come from these networks that broadcast what they call news, but it's not. It's really hate speech and coded language and leads people to believe that they can walk into a church, because it's no longer a house of God, but a killing ground. It's a place they can feel free to desecrate and leave blood everywhere and that's what this young man did.

And he did so based on some ill-gotten belief, on some wrong belief that it's okay to do that. He hears that, because he watches the news and he watches things like FOX News, where they talk about things that they call news, but they're really not. They use that coded language, they use hate speech, they talk about the president as if he's not the president. They talk about church-goers as if they are really not church-goers. And that's what this young man acted on. That's why he could walk into a church and treat people like animals when they are really human beings.

I think that might be one example of stochastic terrorism, wouldn't it? Jackasses like O'Reilly and Hannity on Fox or Glenn Beck are continually screeching that the world's gonna end, lookout we're all gonna die. Racists believe them, all of their dog-whistling, and take action "to save America".

[Surya Gayatri]

119. Obvious...'it's cause they're egged on by Faux News...'

Last edited Fri Jun 19, 2015, 05:15 AM - Edit history (1)

We are what we 'eat'--and we eat with our eyes and ears, not just our mouths.

Steady consumption of hate-speech and race-baiting causes 'spiritual indigestion'.

That's why the great philosophers and teachers have always advised their students to 'watch their diets'.

[backscatter712]

109. From Daily Kos:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/01/11/934890/-Stochastic-Terrorism-160-Triggering-the-shooters

Stochastic terrorism is the use of mass communications to stir up random lone wolves to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable.

...

Here's the mechanism spelled out concisely:

The stochastic terrorist is the person who uses mass media to broadcast memes that incite unstable people to commit violent acts.

One or more unstable people responds to the incitement by becoming a lone wolf and committing a violent act. While their action may have been statistically predictable (e.g. "given the provocation, someone will probably do such-and-such&quot , the specific person and the specific act are not predictable (yet).

The stochastic terrorist then has plausible deniability: "Oh, it was just a lone nut, nobody could have predicted he would do that, and I'm not responsible for what people in my audience do."

The lone wolf who was the "missile" gets captured and sentenced to life in prison, while the stochastic terrorist keeps his prime time slot and goes on to incite more lone wolves.

FOX Noose has been blowing that old dog whistle, and rolling the stochastic terrorism dice for months. They keep rolling the dice, over, and over, and over...

Last night, they rolled a Yahtzee.

[Surya Gayatri]

116. ^^^This!^^^

'They keep rolling the dice, over, and over, and over...

Last night, they rolled a Yahtzee.'

Did they 'high-five' in the editorial meeting room?

[hunter]

82. It's a two-for-one deal.

Slam the mentally ill (who are more likely to be victims of violence than the average person) and distance one's shiny bright white ass from the racism of U.S. society.

[Surya Gayatri]

86. ^^^This!^^^

[Jamastiene]

105. Even unarmed people of color trying to swim are called thugs and

terrorists. Unarmed people of color walking down the street are automatically assumed guilty and shot on sight by too many cops that shouldn't be cops.

[Surya Gayatri]

124. Reminds me of these photos from Katrina. Remember the divergence in 'labelling'?

The whites were 'courageously foraging' in order to survive.

The blacks were looting and thieving.

[LWolf]

114. Sanders called it an act of terror.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026860900

[Surya Gayatri]

120. Good on him. Call it what it is.

FWIW, I'm watching CNN International this morning, and they ARE calling it 'domestic terrorism'.

[Dorian Gray]

126. I've seen plenty of people

calling this kid a terrorist.

That's what he was trying to do. Instill terror and start a war. Is there another definition that fits him?

[Surya Gayatri]

127. Well, the 'usual suspects' are pushing the meme of 'an attack on religion' and

the mentally unstable, lone wolf outlier.

FWIW, I've been watching CNN International today, and they ARE going there--domestic terrorism.

[Tipperary]

132. I remember that the DC shooter was believed to be a white man

before they caught him. Whatever his race, he was still mentally ill.

Surely we do not think that sane people do this?

[Surya Gayatri]

135. Racism = mental aberration, but that doesn't mean

he didn't know what he was doing and wasn't aware that it was wrong.

[bvar22]

139. DURec.

----from Mew Orleans 24 hours after the flood wall collapsed.

[Surya Gayatri]

141. Yesss! I posted this unforgettable and damning contrast in another thread.

So graphic, so glaringly unjust, that nothing needs to be added.

Systemic racism, indeed. White privilege, indeed.

[sinkingfeeling]

140. Somebody send this to Chuck Todd.

[B Calm]

142. NRA

[BlancheSplanchnik]

143. humanizing him, compared to narrative spun about anyone not white.

and there are actually people who don't realize there's anything wrong with that.

[Surya Gayatri]

145. The very core of systemic racism and discrimination...

"...people don't realize there's anything wrong with that."

[roamer65]

144. I put this *thing* into the same column as McVeigh.

Domestic terrorist/ mass murderer.

The trial should be at the federal level, just like McVeigh and Tsarnaev.

[Surya Gayatri]

146. Let's hope the FBI carries through and brings this sub-human before a FEDERAL court.

His newly revealed racist bilge on-line should form the core of the case against him.

HATE CRIME - HATE CRIME - HATE CRIME

[cstanleytech]

150. The murders dont fit the rules for being tried in federal court, they could charge him with a hate

crime though that way atleast even if by some weird ass ruling by a jury he will probably not ever be free especially since I dont think they have parole at the federal level.
Edit: Plus the feds dont have to rush it since if I read it correctly since the crime lead to the death of people there is no statute of limitations so even if he is ever freed the feds can then charge him.

[rocktivity]

147. The only reason that someone could DELIBERATELY walk into a BLACK church

and shoot BLACK people praying in hopes of TRIGGERING A RACE WAR is out of TERRORSISM:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026872573


rocktivity

[Surya Gayatri]

148. Ya think?

[rocktivity]

149. The current director of the FBI doesn't think

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141122949


rocktivity

[Freelancer]

151. Labeling any crime that scares the crap out of us as terrorism needs to be resisted, people!!!

If we keep broadening this definition, pretty soon some of the scary stuff that goes along with fighting for positive change could land people in rooms in black sites. Read the patriot act! The workers that fought for unions in the last century would have been called terrorists today.

This evil F###ER is a racist mass murderer. Why isn't that bad enough?

[get the red out]

152. Sickening

How can skin color possibly make one terrorist mentally ill and another a conscious evil-doer? Why can't people use reason? No one who commits an act like this "is right" in the head, but that is across the board! The human brain isn't "white" or "black".

I grew up in an all white area, and we had bad guys like anywhere else, no difference because they were white. The KKK, for instance, is no different from Al Quaida. The place people let their minds go in their hate is the same.

[peace13]

153. Uhhhhh....

He shot and killed people in cold blood at their place of worship. Suffice it to say that his mental state has more than a few issues! He was able to plan this thing out and is telling the press that his motives were racial. I believe he wins the prize in at least two categories here!

[certainot]

154. the overlay on all this is 1000 coordinated radio stations

blasting the country with excuses and rationalizations for racism and exactly what roof did.

he is a dittohead in spirit, the manifestation and action that limbaugh and 400 other talk radio cowards sitting behind call screeners have been working for, whether they know it or not.