I checked out Root's Facebook page.

[WillowTree]

There are a shocking number of black folks on his friend's list. His gross antipathy toward people of color doesn't seem like it's a recent thing, so I wonder what that's about.

[MohRokTah]

1. That's about the propensity of younger members of Facebook to accept all friend requests.

Many are judged by the number of Facebook friends they have, so friending all sorts of people you do not even know is fashionable.

[arcane1]

3. True, and especially true of classmates. Hell, even for us older folk!

Pretty much anyone in my high school who even recognizes my name will try to friend me on Facebook, even if we never spoke a word to each other while in school. It's kind of fascinating, seeing their friends lists and seeing every person you went to HS with, all in one clique for the first time.

But it certainly doesn't make them "friends".

[yeoman6987]

2. Yeah and now everyone is trying to say they don't know him

Lol. Yeah right. You don't accept Facebook Friends you don't know. Silly excuses I am seeing. I get a bunch of requests on Facebook that I don't know who they are and I either leave unanswered (14 right now) or say no.

[think]

5. If you play games on Facebook some games make it so if you to expand your friend list you do better

in the game.

I played Mafia wars for awhile and added thousands of gaming "friends".

Now that I don't play it's kind of a drag as it takes long to delete all these people and you run the risk of losing business & other contacts you want to keep.

[yeoman6987]

8. Ok I take back my previous post completely

I don't play the games so I didn't realize that was another part of Facebook....I know about the games but adding friends to enhance the game I did not realize. Thanks for your post which really changes my mind on this.

[think]

9. Most welcome. It's not something you'd know if you don't play the games.

But that's why so many people send those annoying game requests to their friends

[yeoman6987]

14. I get those all the time....even from my sister! Ugh! Lol.

[JI7]

13. people always accept people they don't know as friends

[Spazito]

4. Friends lists don't mean actual friends...

In this case, some of those on the list say they knew him from school and are NOT friends of his. I know from my own adult children who are on facebook will accept a friend request if they knew the person from their school days even if they were not actual friends in the real sense of the word.

[Igel]

6. I think the question remains.

If you're openly racist in school, it's not like people are going to think, "You know, three years ago that Roof fellow was a real racist asshole. I think I'll friend him, even after what he called me."

And I'm not sure most people who really think blacks are the scum of the Earth would want them as friends. I mean, one way of snubbing people is to unfriend them or decline them. Or ignore them. In my brief FB phase I got lots of requests from people I really had no interest in and just ignored them. (Yeah, I could see some deranged person saying, "Ha, I'll friend them and put them at ease, all the while showing them my evil, nefarious plans for racial genocide." Let's say it's a statistical thing: While I can see somebody doing that, I can't see the majority of deranged, hate- and rage-driven maniacal killers doing that.)

I also have trouble thinking his reasoning would go, "Well, I intend to kill a bunch of them, but I don't want to hurt their feelings."

I'll await word on the triggering event or events that led to his immediate actions. "A long history of societal influences" is true for millions of people, but millions of people didn't descend upon that particular AME church Wednesday night.

[Spazito]

7. Await away...

Young people accept friend requests for all kinds of reasons, some as simple as wanting to show a large number on their friends list while never once actually facebook with them.

He is a murderous rabid racist supporter of white supremacism with killed with intent to terrorize as well. I don't need to 'wait' to know that.

[Ex Lurker]

10. If it's the same one I looked at, I believe it's a different Dylan Root

There are several by that name on social media. I hope they don't catchy any misdirected hostility.

[KamaAina]

11. You sure it's the right page?

Believe it or not, there's another Dylan (one 'n') Roof in the same town who, naturally, has been taking all kinds of crap on social media today.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026857431#post26

[WillowTree]

12. Yes, it was the right page.

Had his scowling little hateful face and wearing the jacket with the apartheid patch(s) as the profile pic. His page has apparently been taken down now, and good riddance.