spin-off thread on the Charleston perp

[haapai]

There's something a bit obscene about us all knowing the name of the alleged shooter and few of us knowing the name of even the most famous victim.  Therefore, I'm not putting his name in the thread title. 

The NYT has weighed in on the alleged shooter and the article that I've linked includes this assertion. 

His black jacket is adorned with two flags — one from apartheid-era South Africa, the other from white-ruled Rhodesia — that have been adopted as emblems by modern-day white supremacists.

Erp!  I never thought that I'd be asking this but should I trust the NYT?  Can any of you corroborate their assertion that these two emblems have been adopted by that crowd?  I can see the symbolism.  It isn't subtle.  However, I've never heard of these emblems being used in this manner. 

I'm both grateful for my ignorance and a bit skeptical of the claim being made by the Times.  Can anyone enlighten me a bit? 

[happyhoix]

Yes, those flags have been adopted by certain white supremists. There is a whole skin head/neo nazi/white supremist network out there, just google around a little bit and you'll find some of their nasty sites. They even create their own shitty music and have rallies and everything.

I suspect (and this is only my guess) that this kid grew up in a household that embraced this white supremacy idea, because his middle name is Storm, and there is a KKK hate site forum called Storm Front. Could be wrong, maybe Storm is a family name, but I'm guessing not, based on what his friend said about him and his intense racial hatred. 

I also think it's interesting that his mom and dad haven't stepped forward to say anything about him (not that I've heard, anyway). Could it be they're having second thoughts about raising their kid to believe people of color are everything that's wrong with this county? Maybe dad is having second thoughts about giving the asswipe a gun for his birthday?

I agree with you, now that the little shit is caught, we should be focusing on the victims and their families. With any luck, someone in prison will gut him like a fish and we'll be spared from endless media coverage of his trial.

 

[mmhmm]

According to the guy's uncle, he wasn't raised this way, at all. One of his friends said something about him having lost a girlfriend to a black guy a couple of years ago and taking it badly. The uncle said he'd be willing to execute his nephew himself. That's how angry he is.

[ArchietheDragon]

Jun 19, 2015 8:16:16 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

The uncle said he'd be willing to execute his nephew himself. That's how angry he is.

With a family like this it is not surprising. 

[mmhmm]

I'm not willing to jump to any conclusions about the guy's family. Sometimes, a waste of DNA is just a waste of DNA because that's what they choose to be. It's not always the fault of the family. I'm sure more information regarding this family will come out over the next few days/weeks.

[thyme4change]

If this kid was going to shoot someone, it should have been the person who cuts his hair.  

[OldCoyote]

Jun 19, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

If this kid was going to shoot someone, it should have been the person who cuts his hair.  

This is true.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 19, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

If this kid was going to shoot someone, it should have been the person who cuts his hair.  

Maybe he was a Three Stooges fan in his earlier years.

[Wisconsin Beth]

from Slate.  Dalton Tyler, the roommate of "the perp", told ABC News that "the perp" had been planning an attack like the one he carried out in Charleston for months. "The perp" had been “planning something like that for six months,” Tyler told ABC News. “He said he wanted to start a civil war. He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself.”

As for the original post - Slate had a article on the flags. 

One of the symbols worn by Roof in the photo, the Apartheid-era South African flag, is listed in the Anti-Defamation League’s database of hate symbols, “Hate on Display.”

www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/charleston_shooting_the_flags_in_dylann_roof_s_facebook_profile_photo_are.html

[zibazinski]

Unfortunately he didn't kill himself.

[Deleted]

Jun 19, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

If this kid was going to shoot someone, it should have been the person who cuts his hair.  

I feel so bad, but this made me laugh out loud. 

[Deleted]

Jun 18, 2015 14:58:43 GMT -5 haapai said:

There's something a bit obscene about us all knowing the name of the alleged shooter and few of us knowing the name of even the most famous victim.  Therefore, I'm not putting his name in the thread title. 

The NYT has weighed in on the alleged shooter and the article that I've linked includes this assertion. 

His black jacket is adorned with two flags — one from apartheid-era South Africa, the other from white-ruled Rhodesia — that have been adopted as emblems by modern-day white supremacists.

Erp!  I never thought that I'd be asking this but should I trust the NYT?  Can any of you corroborate their assertion that these two emblems have been adopted by that crowd?  I can see the symbolism.  It isn't subtle.  However, I've never heard of these emblems being used in this manner. 

I'm both grateful for my ignorance and a bit skeptical of the claim being made by the Times.  Can anyone enlighten me a bit? 

I am confused about your first statement. In this case we do know at least one victim's name because he was a Senator. I think you can make the statement about other shootings because it is true, the victim names get lost with all the press going to the shooter.

I wonder if the white supremacist groups, presuming he is a member of one, martyr a person who does something like this. Frightening to think of, but the raging hate they embody is something I really don't understand. I can hate an individual that has harmed me or my family seriously; but I don't understand what triggers extreme hate against an entire ethnic group (or other group/community).