Shocking Hate Crime in South Carolina Shows That Sometimes, the Enemy is Within

      With all the talk of ISIS and Jidahist terrorism-which is a very real and worrisome problem-the scope of the tragedy in SC today is just shocking. It shows that we do have some 'homegrown' terrorists to worry about as well and not all of them are Jihadists.

     "A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside a historic black church in downtown Charleston on Wednesday night, killing nine people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime. The shooter remained at large Thursday morning.

Police Chief Greg Mullen said he believed the attack at the Emanuel AME Church was a hate crime, and police were looking for a white male in his early 20s. Mullen said the scene was chaotic when police arrived, and the officers thought they had the suspect tracked with a police dog, but he got away."

     "We will put all effort, we will put all resources and we will put all of our energy into finding this individual who committed this crime tonight," he said.

      "The FBI will aid the investigation, Mullen told a news conference that was attended by FBI Special Agent in Charge David A. Thomas."

      "Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley called the shooting "the most unspeakable and heartbreaking tragedy."

      "The only reason that someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate," Riley said. "It is the most dastardly act that one could possibly imagine, and we will bring that person to justice. ... This is one hateful person."

      "State House Minority leader Todd Rutherford told The Associated Press that the church's pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, was among those killed."

     http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/charleston-church-shooting-emanuel-ame


    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/17/charleston-shooting-churc_n_7608738.html

     Overall, what stands out in the wake of this tragedy is that this happens way too much in the country and that with all the talk of terrorism it gets forgotten the amount of times we've suffered from the enemy within. As Paul Waldman says there is a time when tragedies like this should be politicized. 

    Today President Obama pointed out that there have been too many of these speeches by him during his time in office and  he did suggest that, yes, maybe now is a time to at least think about our gun laws. As Waldman says, he will get knocked for that. 

    "I promise you that on conservative talk radio, on Fox News, and in many other places, Obama will be condemned roundly for “politicizing” a tragedy. But what do we really mean when we use that word, and why is it supposed to be wrong? It would of course be inappropriate to to say, “This shows why you should vote for my party,” because that would mean that the politician in question is trying to milk people’s pain and suffering for political advantage. That has certainly happened before, after all different kinds of tragedies."

     "But the “political” encompasses much more than the partisan, and when something terrible happens, there may be no better time to discuss the substantive issues it raises, just as the aftermath of a storm is the best time to talk about disaster preparedness and the wake of a bridge collapse is the right time to debate the state of our infrastructure. This particular incident brings up many issues we should be discussing more — not only the relentless toll of gun violence, but also racism and the reality of terrorism. Yes, terrorism — from what we know at the moment, it seems clear that this was a terrorist attack by any definition. This event is a reminder that the threat Americans face from home-grown right-wing terrorists is far more serious than the threat from foreign jihadists."

     "And let’s be clear: this applies to both sides — right and left. If conservatives want to seize on this moment to argue that the law should permit people to take their guns into more places, such as churches, so people can defend themselves in these types of situations, then by all means they should argue that. I might disagree with them, but there’s nothing wrong with them advancing their own solutions to the problem when it shows itself."

    " Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if South Carolina legislator proposed a bill toloosen the state’s gun laws even further in response to this shooting. As it is, South Carolina’s laws on guns have been fashioned with the goal of putting as many firearms in as many hands in as many places as possible. Today’s edition of the Charleston Post & Courier was delivered with a sticker advertising “Ladies’ Night” at a local gun shop. (According to the suspect’s uncle, he received a .45 caliber handgun for his 21st birthday a couple of months ago.)"

     "One couldn’t help but sense a fatalism in Obama’s remarks on guns, that even as he said “it is in our power to do something about it,” he didn’t exactly communicate optimism that something will be done. After all, since Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, some blue states have tightened their gun laws, but in many others, gun laws have been loosened, as Republican legislators rush to make it as easy as possible to get a gun, take it wherever you please, and use it whenever you feel threatened."

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/06/18/obama-politicized-the-massacre-in-charleston-and-thats-fine/

     As Waldman says, Obama sounded a bit resigned that anything will be done and, indeed, Rand Paul is already proclaiming to the Heavens that 'government isn't the answer.'

     http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/charleston-shooting-rand-paul-government

      UPDATE: The man believed to have carried out these unspeakable acts has been found. 

     http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/dylann-roof-charleston-suspect-facts

    The 21 year old white man does indeed have white supremacist leanings, run ins with the law, and a Confederacy license plate. 

    You have to wonder what it is in his background that would lead him this way as most young folks today live pretty seamlessly in a biracial, multi ethnic world in terms of music, MTV. who they know at school, etc. The pull of hate though still has some resonance for social misfits. 

    "The suspect was an introverted and soft-spoken young man, according to a man who identified himself as Roof's uncle in an interview with Reuters. Carson Cowles, 56, told the news service that he told Roof's mother he thought his nephew needed to get out more."

     "I said he was like 19 years old, he still didn't have a job, a driver's license or anything like that and he just stayed in his room a lot of the time," Cowles told Reuters.

Cowles told Reuters he believed Roof's father recently gifted him a .45-caliber handgun for his birthday.

      As Waldman says this is the time to politicize this as this sort of thing happens too often in America today and simply chalking it up to 'shit happens' is nowhere near satisfying anymore. If government isn't the answer for cutting down on these if not eliminating this epidemic that other similar Western countries don't have then maybe Rand Paul can tell us what the answer is-more guns, I'm guessing. That's what this kid's father thought when he gave his misfit son that handgun.