NOT THAT YOU ASKED
I was really looking forward to writing my column this week. There were just so many things to write about. First there was that goofy white woman in Washington state that claimed she was black, and then Donald Trump announced he was a candidate for president. Opportunities like that don't come along very often. Those columns practically write themselves. You don't have to be clever, all you have to do is report what they said.
Then things changed when a pathetic little idiot with a gun walked into a black church and shot nine people to death. He told one of the survivors that he did it because "black people are taking over the country and raping our women." He had also told a friend earlier that he hoped to do something to cause a race war. He claimed to be a white supremacist, which was a contradiction in terms, especially for him. Have you ever noticed that whenever a white supremacist shows up on TV he comes across as someone who isn't superior to anybody.
If this little worm's actions weren't so horrible and evil, you could almost laugh at the stupidity of killing people in a church because you want to stop rapists. I don't know much about how sexual predators think, but if I were hunting them I wouldn't expect to find them hanging out in a church. Four of the people he murdered were ministers, and one was an 87 year old woman. Again, if your target is rapists, ministers and elderly ladies don't quite seem to be the people you should be shooting.
Before the shock of a murder spree in a church could even set in, the Republicans running for president and Fox News rubbed salt in the wound in the way they reacted. Remember, before this little worm opened fire he said he came there to kill black people. Every Republican running for president, every one, said they were mystified as to the motive for the crime. Fox News claimed on all of its shows that the shooting was an attack on Christians. A conservative on "Real Time" parroted the attack on Christians theme, and even inferred that host Bill Mahr might bear some blame because he is an atheist.
What we have here is the merging of three things that could only lead to tragedy. First you had a not-too-bright fellow who began logging onto white supremist websites exercising their First Amendment right to broadcast their garbage, which he believed. Then you add the Second Amendment right of this idiot to get a gun legally so he can carry out his plan. It could only end one way.
Look, I'm a great believer in the First and Second Amendments. The rights of free speech and a free press are vital to our form of government and way of life, even if it means that people whose opinions I don't like also have those rights. I also like guns and like having the legal right to own them. I would fight any serious attempt to repeal the Second Amendment. At the same time I have no problem with laws that might inconvenience me while making it harder for people who shouldn't have guns getting them.
For those of you who would argue that gun laws haven't prevented bad people from getting guns, think about this. Our drug laws have not stopped anyone from getting any illegal drugs they want, so going by your logic we should have no laws banning the use of any drug. Are you ready to make all drugs legal?
In the end, this little worm didn't achieve any of his goals. Instead of inciting a race war, he has united people of all races who are appalled at the idea of killing people in a church. Also, because of him the Confederate flag that he is so proud of will probably be removed from the Capitol grounds in South Carolina. All he has to look forward to is a likely death sentence in a state that isn't shy about using it.
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