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Racism Is Part of America’s DNA: Why Did Dylann Roof Burn The Flag?

July 1, 2015 By David Seaton 1 Comment

There are times when an expatriate says to himself, “maybe I’ve been away too long.” This is one of those times.

The Charleston massacre shocked me and horrified me, but unfortunately it didn’t surprise me … Billy Holiday’s classic, “Strange Fruit” is as valid today as the day it was written. Racism is part of America’s DNA and will be as long as a system/culture that divides humanity into winners and losers holds “losers” in contempt and, through marketing, celebrity worship and mainstream media makes most people feel deep down like losers. In such a system feeling superior to someone, anyone, somehow, is an irreplaceable, psychological crutch. And po’ whites need that crutch more than anyone.

So, Roof’s murdering a group of peaceable African-Americans gathered for Bible study doesn’t surprise me, but seeing a photo of such a white supremacist burning an American flag does surprise me.

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, National News Tagged With: Black Lives Matter, Charleston Shooting, Dylann Storm Roof, racism, United States flag

Charleston Massacre & Freedom In America: As Plain As The Nose On Your Face

June 24, 2015 By David Seaton 3 Comments

The most obvious things are often the hardest to see: for example, without a mirror it is impossible to see the nose on your face … unless of course you suffer from severe concomitant esotropia, in which case you hardly see anything else but the nose on your face. Much of American political discourse is victim to both mirrorlessness and mental esotropia.

Although the Charleston shooter had no known political affiliation, because a congregation of innocent African Americans were attacked, the massacre is being treated as a political act. In a sense I think it is one, but only for what it reveals about the contradictory pull of the American reality on the American subconscious.

Some might say that, since the perpetrator of the massacre is obviously insane, his act has no meaning in itself, simply the “tale told by an idiot.” This would be missing the point. Insane people’s acts do have meaning, but the meanings are private, dark, obscure and must be read as metaphors, as in the interpretation of dreams. They live in their dream world and perhaps their dream world is not so different from ours, differing mostly in that we only visit that world in our sleep or under the influence of drugs and they spend their tortured lives inhabiting it. Their life is a “daymare,” so to speak. Perhaps we could learn about our own hidden darkness by studying his visible darkness.

Filed Under: Civil Liberties, Media & Culture, National News Tagged With: 2nd amendment, Charleston Shooting, Dylann Storm Roof, gun rights, racism

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