Why Is Charleston Shooter Called Mentally Deranged, Rather Than Thug Or Terrorist?

19 Jun, 2015 by William Teach

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It’s an interesting question, as discussed in the USA Today

One hundred and forty characters isn’t nearly enough to unravel the politics of mass violence, to expound on America’s history of institutionalized racism, or to dissect the inconsistencies perceived in the way we talk about both.

But it’s more than enough to make us pause. It’s more than enough for a collective vent. And after Dylann Roof, who is white, allegedly opened fire Wednesday in a South Carolina church and killed nine black people, Twitter users exploded over what they saw as disparities in attitude and language the news media use to categorize violence.

The thesis of many was clear: White privilege persists, even in the coverage of heinous crimes. Users lamented that when a suspect is black, they’re often labeled a “thug” or a “gangster.” When they’re Muslim, they’re stamped a “terrorist.” When they’re white. they’re afforded the far more benign pathology of “troubled” or “mentally ill.”

The article provides many instances of people questioning the meme, starting with

Black shooter = Gangsters!

Muslim shooter = Terrorists!

Professional shooter = Hero!

White shooter = troubled loner.#CharlestonShooting

— Ulrich Janse van Vuuren (@UlrichJvV) June 18, 2015

There are more than enough outlets and pundits which quickly branded Roof as mentally ill and/or a troubled loner. In reality, it depends on the situation. Quite a few of the Blacks who have been in the news as of late were thugs, living the thug life. Many have had long criminal histories. Context matters. Labels matter. If a middle class Black person kills someone, which happens, it just doesn’t make national news, he/she won’t be labeled a thug. What we can say is that roof is a big time racist, a conspiracy theorist, and, yes, this was terrorism, as this was a violent episode meant for political purposes.

That said, we should note two points: first, virtually every time an Islamist, the hardcore type of Muslim, is engaged in a terroristic act, they are quickly dubbed lone wolf or wolves, and we are told that this has absolutely nothing to do with Islam. In fact, the person(s) isn’t really practicing Islam!!!!!!! Even when they tell us they did this for their faith.

Second, why is that the entire White race is blamed, and all Whites have to check their privilege, when something like this happens? But we aren’t allowed to Blame Islam, and to even mention that the Islamists are a part of Islam is verboten. Nor are we allowed to Blame Black culture in any measure.

But, it is seemingly perfectly acceptable to blame all Whites for the criminal acts of one person/group. Oh, hey, wouldn’t that mean all Democrats are virulent racists, then?

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.