Dylann Roof's "manifesto" has been found online. It is not a particularly interesting or compelling. It is a boilerplate white supremacist talking-point distortions of empirical reality. Dylann Roof took Mein Kampf, itself a horrible and poorly written fictional work, mixed it with materials he accessed online in an exercise in cyber racist self-programming, processed it through a mind and intellect that can only be produced by a subpar and broken school system, and synthesized it all into the mental willpower necessary to commit mass murder against defenseless black people in a Charleston church.
Dylann Roof is not a 21st century "mindweapon" white supremacist Terminator. No, he is just an old landmine or grenade found in a footlocker at an overcrowded Army Navy supply store.
Dylann Roof's manifesto reminds me of the movie Se7en.
Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt are detectives who are investigating a series of unbelievably vicious and heinous crimes. Is the killer some great mastermind or the banality of evil? Will the protagonists (and the audience) be disappointed with the great reveal of who the serial killer is, or will they marvel at him or her as a type of anti-hero and compelling personality?
Dylann Roof is not Kevin Spacey in Se7en. Roof is tedious. Tedium combined with white supremacy are still very lethal.
A few questions.
1. What do you think of the ethics involved in sharing Dylann Roof's "manifesto?" Roof craved attention, are those media outlets, websites, and other forums that are circulating his work actually fulfilling his end goal?
2. Dylann Roof had a roommate with whom he shared white supremacist beliefs and plans for violence. Why did said person not call the police? What is going on with America where there is no sense of personal responsibility or shared humanity among large segments of the public? Collective sociopathy?
3. Dylann Roof supposedly had "black" Facebook "friends". Roof also has at least one black neighbor who he told about his plan to attack a local college.
Assuming this true, and that he shared his white supremacist beliefs both online and in person, what does this reveal about the lack of training, preparation, and healthy racial I.Q. that is (apparently not) being imparted to "post-racial", post civil rights era, black and brown youth?
4. Piggybacking with the above question. I have encountered black students that have expounded white supremacist beliefs which are none too different from that of Dylann Roof. When I confronted them about this mess, they said that they "wanted to hear the other side of the story" and that maybe white supremacists "had a point" on some things. What would you tell a non-white student who parroted white supremacist beliefs? Are they salvageable?
28 comments:
As for the sharing of the manifesto and his desire for fame, I have to admit that I am in favor of people reading it. As far as his fame is concerned, that horse has already left the barn.
Indeed, sharing it has already shone a light on some of the white supremacist websites that inspired him. But beyond that, I want people to see that the sentiments he expressed are all too often expressed in mainstream media comments sections - especially those that are un-moderated.
You could easily have constructed that manifesto from the comments that are a daily feature of magazines as prestigious as the Atlantic.
The irony is that this type of individual represents the foot soldiers in every war. I recall an X-Men movie where Magneto stops his young charge (Pyro, if memory serves) from rushing into battle too quickly, explaining that you send the pawns in first. These simpletons are just pawns for the powerful. Conservatives depend on these losers to provide the fear that gives their hateful rhetoric teeth.
They would NEVER get their hands dirty by committing an overt act. Instead, they use racism to fuel the fear that maintains their power. I've heard the derision they have for these unlearned masses. They'd have the same sourpuss if one of these guys showed up to date their daughter as Flava Flav. Exactly whom is Roof referring to when he says Black men are raping "our" women?? The Bush twins? William F. Buckley's nieces? Like they would claim him.
My reality is that no Black man has to force his way into the beds of the type of White women's in Dylann Roof's class. There are plenty of women willing to date them voluntarily.
If they let us watch it's not rape.
Excellent point. I will add that Ann Coulter (who has been on the Today Show) as well as Rethuglican politicians on the talk shows have voiced those same opinions, so they have been "mainstreamed". And Bryan Williams listened to Rush Limbaugh to hear what "Americans" were saying (I'm guessing he considered them "real" Americans).
When I was a teenager the images from Birmingham and Mississippi were seared into my soul. There was no one in the mainstream media that sugar coated what we were seeing. Big change from today. (Not that the media were perfect, but reporters did not equivocate on those images).
We're of an age, you and I. I was 13 when the Birmingham bombing occurred. I'd hoped that we would have got beyond that.
I guess there's a reason why "hope" was the only thing left in Pandora's box after all the other evils escaped.
It is rape by definition. The white woman is unable to consent after being rendered senseless by the sight of the massive negroid shlong.
I believe he and other shooters who simply snap like this, such as Incel employee Eliot Rodger and James Holmes, are mind controlled. Look into MK ULTRA 10 project (I followed up until 4, but now it is at 10). There is no way that one day these guys are normal citizen and then turn into killing machines then return to normal. The thought that blacks were raping "his" women seems inserted into his mind by an outside source code, such as those believe if you have no money, the wife this paye. It cannot be reality. If we examine this source code with our own eyeballs the motives become shallow. It makes me laugh quite heartily at how obvious it is.
"Dylann Roof's manifesto reminds me of the movie Se7en."
Brilliant. This is what I try to explain to people, and I just get blank stares. My Greek friend pirated that movie (he doesn't believe in copyright) when I tried to explain it to him. He just stared at me blankly. But it was the very first connection I made the moment I heard there was a manifesto.
It really is a sad commentary that at least two people who had first-hand information that he intended to commit a terrorist act of mass murder dismissed his talk. They apparently did not Google him to see if he was just "drinking" and shooting his mouth off or actually posting things for the world. They seemed not to probe him for his intent and dedication to that. Those two people share the culpability for the murders and terrorism. Nine people who had not harmed a soul could be alive today if they had said something to law enforcement--even if it was, you guys should talk to him, he's wants to commit murder.
I mean, for fks sake, a 12-year boy playing in the park sparks someone to call the police; the police immediately kill him; someone sees a grown Black man handling a toy guy in a store; police immediately kill him. If it a Black person, even the most innocuous, non-threatening, non-violent behavior sparks a phone call to the police.
But, a white man talks about committing mass murder and a terrorist act and his white roommate--who heard this conversation for six goddamn months, and even his Black neighbor dismiss it as just "drinking talk"?
This country has essentially produced a populace filled with morons.
I refuse to read the propaganda being circulated as his "manifesto." I refuse to believe he actually wrote it, at least without being overtly coached. Bi refuse to believe that he came up with this murderous plan on his own, or that he worked alone. As another commenter mentioned, this guy is a pawn, set into action by a leader with an agenda.
And the media, and social media unfortunately, is playing along with that agenda by further propagating images and stories about this supposed lone wolf. I am disgusted that my regular news feeds feel fine with assaulting my attention with his photos. One image is enough, anything more than that betrays an intent to incite. And to what end? Could it be some want to trigger a violent counter by some on the fringes of movements like Black Lives Matter?
I had hoped the same. So disheartening.
I think one of the reasons our youth are unaware of, or even willing to accept the arguments of white supremacy, is because they have fallen for the belief that racism is over. Part of that is because that is what this country pushes, when Dylann's manifesto shows this not to be the case.
Yes, I think it should be made available for all to see. It may inspire other acts but, it also allows our youth to see that they have to be careful. That there is a size community who hates them, either openly or secretly, that will befriend them and lull them into a sense of camaraderie but, inwardly, seethe. That they go home at night and take measure of their testosterone levels, along with their likeminded buddies. That blame blacks when their women reject them, and warp that women's choice into rape by black men.
I want it out there every time there is a screed, that accompanies these acts. So that they are not brushed off as single incidents but, as the ongoing undercurrent of this country, that it is. America is quick to put everything that they don't want to address, whether it happened yesterday, or a century ago, into the past. To be forgotten about, quickly. Especially when it comes to harm done against blacks. And what we see to day is the residual, over centuries, of never having to make right with their actions, unless their backs are against the wall or they want to hold themselves up as an examples of goodness.
Everything written in that manifesto, is/has been heard, time and time again, down through the years. Material he gleamed from councils, and groups whose members have associations with lawmakers, senators, people with inside access, ability, to write or unwrite policy that affect blacks. It's no coincidence that the mainstream politicians of a particular party, spew some of the same verses written in this boy's document. Nor, that they have such a huge following.
Our youth need to be curious enough to wonder what that emblem, proudly sported by their white friend means. And further, ask them why they wear it. I think it is sadistic that this kid wore symbols of oppressing blacks, knew why he was wearing them, and casually conversed with black friends.
a lot of his views aren't even that 'extreme' when it comes to white folks. a lot of it is just mainstream white views, reinforced by the larger society aka a white supremacist society.
are we allowed to slap #4 until they come to their senses?
1. On the one hand the sharing of the manifesto is similar to the replaying on a loop tthe Walter Scott shooting video. (fittingly, those two are in cells next to each other) The media does this for clicks, viewers and ultimately ad dollars. On the other hand I think its good that the evil, hateful ideology of people like this needs to be laid bare for all to see. Its not new to those of us who track the inanities and ugliness of white supremacy and its history. But giving it a wide audience can blunt the excuses coming from the defenders of it you see in comment threads and in the media.
2. I don't understand why the police aren't looking at the friend who knew the killer was planning something like this for months, as an accessory. The FBI has ran stings of "terrorist" plots in the US, and have arrested black men who really weren't thinking of doing anything, on association as flimsy if not more so than this. That said, what kind of moron does it take to hear someone talk about planning something like this, and even admitting that he knew it was going to happen at some point, but did not say anything?
3. This goes back to my #1, and the reason why it might be important to publish that manifesto. We have way too many young people in this country, too enamored of "Facebook" and similar trivialities while the world passes them by. I'm not saying people shouldn't spend time on things they enjoy doing, but when that becomes the sum total of your being, and it dumbs you down in the process, then things need to change. The problem of black folk not being aware of their history, and what that does to the youth coming up, has been cited. The "answer" to that, from those who have an interest in keeping people docile and uninterested, is social media, unfortunately. It is a medium that has a powerful potential for good, but its being wasted.
4. Fortunately, I have not encountered anything like that, though it doesn't surprise me that this situation exists. Again, let me cite #3 as a contributor to that. The problem is, they don't know their history. I've had conversations recently about the Charleston murders recently with some not too young black folk, and I was astonished the questions they asked me, about the confederate flag. I try to answer that as simply and direct as possible: the confederate flag was the flag of a group of states that rose up in rebellion against the federal government. Easily, its leaders were guilty of treason. To make them think for themselves, I ask: What country, after defeating a rebellion at the costs of hundreds of thousands of lives, would then hold in reverence the flag of those that rebelled? Sympathizers say it is "heritage," and they're right, but its a heritage of rebellion over the right to maintain slaves in a nation that was founded on freedom. Why should such a flag be flown on official government property?
Now they have outdone themselves. I can't imagine even Fox going this far:
"Following the tragic deaths of nine black church-goers in Charleston at the hands of an alleged white supremacist, NBC host Chuck Todd featured a segment with only black murders who were regretful of using guns."
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/06/wtf-nbcs-chuck-todd-airs-color-blind-segment-with-all-black-shooters-to-address-charleston-massacre/comments/#disqus
There is a furious effort now on the part of the so called mainstream media, to blunt the racism angle of this shooting, which really is the only angle, to avoid having the discussion that needs to be have. Yes, guns are a problem. But so is race, and that was the focus of the Charleston killer. He wasn't there to make a statement on the second amendment or gun ownership, he was there to kill black people for being black, to start a race war.
If anything, what the media needs to be exploring are the beliefs of people like Roof. Where do they come from? Why do they persist in believing things that are not true, in order to keep alive the hatred that seems to be the only thing that really animates them politically? If they were going to air a segment, why not air one of white male killers, who are damn near the sole perpetrators of mass killing, and ask them why they did it?
What's really disingenuous and telling about Todd's real intent was his claim at the outset that this was a "colorblind" look at the issue. Well if that's the case, why are all the killers black men. There are killers of every stripe and social strata in Sing Sing. Why did the producers only interview black killers? And if they did interview others, why were only the black killers shown?
Roof in his manifesto said that he saw on some "conservative" web site pictures of white victims of black killers, and from that he surmised that there is validity in the racist and stereotypical premise that blacks are running around, just looking to kill white people, solely because they are white. Never mind the stats that show the vast majority of people killed, including whites, are killed by members of their own race.
So why not do a segment focusing on these false beliefs, and educating the potential Roofs out there, who may not know any better, on the truth, instead of running a segment like this to double down on these beliefs? Show the public that murder is not a black crime, and that what Roof did is not some unexplained anomaly, that there are reasons for what Roof did, and they are steeped in the racism that has infected this country for centuries. But also, why not use the medium to show that the premise for those beliefs have no basis in fact?
This is where the media has more than just failed the public. What NBC did with that show was provide grist for the stereotypes that feed people like Roof. I'm glad the one black panelist called him out on his disgusting attempt at whitewashing racism.
With NBC and shows like "Meet the Press," no wonder Rush Limbaugh is losing his mojo,
The age old promise of an educated society has been replaced by an Idiocracy. Dylann Roof being exhibit A. Public ed funds are systematically diverted toward rapid charterization. Public schools are stigmatized by prestigious charter academies which represent the very elitism, classism, caste-ism, and "whitening" that atomizes society.
Yes, dissect the radical right and trace it to its roots in both lower and higher circles.
Back in the day you had real news men and women like Cronkite, Rather, and many others who were steeped in the craft of reporting and opinion making. They told the truth, e.g. they reported events for what they were.
"Nightly News," "Meet the Press" and other shows have become a parody of news. They focus on "both sides" and "equal time" regardless if one side or the other has views or opinions not supported by fact or reality. There is no way, for example, the "beliefs" of some of these climate science deniers would be given equal weight as news just by virtue of their opposition. That its done today undermines the entire concept of the first amendment and free speech, and what it was designed for: to inform the public so it would have the decisions it needs to support a thriving democracy.
This is why "democracy" as we call it is so effed up, because the people who are depended on to ultimately make it work, the voters (that's scary) get their "news" from media outlets who tell them someone who thinks the earth is 6,000 years old and Jesus rode on dinosaurs and that its not possible, even as we ride around in cars that have been emitting carbon based fumes into the atmosphere for decades, for man to be responsible for disrupting the atmosphere.
And its just sad that those black friends were ignorant of what those symbols meant and what their "friend" stood for.
Precisely.
Well, as Chuck Todd would tell you "that's not my job".
Exactly. That makes me fear for our future. That our youngsters don't even know who hates them and how that hatred is used to make them hate themselves.
I'm for Sharing it as long as its the unedited version. Shred the little skidmark on-line. What impressed a bunch of Reddit basement dwellers won't impress wider society. Broken schools or no.
Fox and Friends just had a "debate" on the appropriateness of the president using the term "n*gger" by way of explanation. One of the demon spawn on that show actually said, "we" ended racism, but racists still exists. I put "we" in quotes because this is coming from a panel that has probably done more to keep racist sentiment alive than any other group, save for the GOP. But those two are one and the same.
Not to mention the stupidity and illogic of the statement. If racists still exist then obviously, so does racism.
I'm going to channel conspiracist mindset and wonder if Roger Ailes, is some sort of foreign asset sent to destroy the American project? Because, Fox is almost single-handedly making a mockery out of this country.
Is it possible that the black neighbor didn't call the police because, you know, black people and the police? I have no idea, just wondering
Uh Roof just said what 80% of white Americans believe. For that he gets the freedom of speech award in my book. If you've ever been too poor to be white you know it's true. If we take down the flag do you think they'll pull up their pants?
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