by Sandy » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:14 am
I know this all falls within the realm of human behavior, culture, life circumstances, education, etc..., but it is still disturbing to see the extent of racial hatred and bigotry in the US. Sadly, it seems that the influence of Christianity, along with the claim of being a "Christian nation" does not extend into this particular aspect of our culture, but instead seems to inflame prejudice and feed the hatred. And there's something particularly dark and evil about the fact that Roof chose a church, not just any church, but the most historically influential African American church in South Carolina, to launch his race war. Who did he think he would encounter inside a church on Wednesday evening? Clearly, not only did their profession of Christian faith make no difference to him, it made them his deliberate target.
Roof wasn't from some extremist right wing fundamentalist background, either. Both he and his family were members of an ELCA congregation, in terms of both theology and social position, one of the most liberal denominations in the country. The connections are chilling. Both Pastor Pinckney, and Rev. Simmons, who was also killed, graduated from an ELCA theological school.
The support for GOP candidates isn't surprising. Interesting that it takes being identified, and called out, for a Republican candidate to announce they are returning contributions made by known racist hate groups, which makes you wonder how much money they keep if they aren't called out. It's certainly evident, in their actions and votes, that they know they are indebted to these groups in some way.