As far as I know, Cruz and Walker returned the money from the group, even though the group had nothing to do with Roof. They returned it because they don't want the backlash that will come from the media, not because the money has any evidence of supporting racism. So the key lesson you refer to isn't really valid in this circumstance. Although I would yield that ALL candidates on both side of the aisle take money from anyone without checking.
I wouldn't blame the politicians for the acts of this madman. But I do find his rather extreme political orientation interesting and consistent with the fairly extreme orientation of a number of ET members who post in P&R and whose prior general remarks about African Americans would dovetail quite closely with some of the general remarks made by the killer about African Americans. What makes it particularly fascinating is that those are the same guys who usually invoke the "slippery slope" argument in all of their discussions...
Actually, like a lot in politics, that only applies to conservative republicans. Democrats are free to take money from anyone, no matter how odious. They rake in plenty from hollywood and the music industry, which produce a steady stream of glorified violence and abuse of women. Hillary Clinton is on the take from numerous foreign regimes, including human rights exemplars like Saudi Arabia. So now, if you publish stats on crimes broken down by race, you are a hate group? But if you publish stats on crime, broken down by police shootings, you are a hero.
Having railed away time and again against the inner city savages for rioting and looting every time some thug gets gunned down I would be remiss not to commend the good people of South Carolina, specifically the black people, and yes, even the leftists. It's a pretty good bet had this happened in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit or any other number of cities, the fires would be burning and the bodies piling up. There have been no riots. No violent civil disobedience of any real consequence. The people of South Carolina have shown themselves to be of the highest character. I salute you.
Yes, the good people of South Carolina came together and drew strength from one another. They showed how it's done. However, keep in mind that your reference to rioting in other instances has a different context attached to it in addition to location. The South Carolina tragedy was the work of a madman with extreme views. The other incidents to which you alluded that caused riots resulted from actions by a person or persons with some level of authority. Big difference. Especially when it looked like those people in authority were going to skate. That's a different form of outrage altogether. Put yourself in the place of someone who is part of a group, not by choice but by appearance or some such, that is treated differently from other groups. I think after several such episodes, and especially if it happened to your children, it might raise your ire. I'm not condoning the violence and destruction that followed in those other cases by any means, but how much are people expected to take before having had enough?
What I expect is that they not go crazy when a criminal gets shot while resisting arrest in a violent way. Some guy getting choked out for selling cigarettes...different story, but the common thugs like Mike Brown and Freddy Gray, they should be saying good riddens. The broad brush in which these very different incidents are painted needs to be put away.
good point, FF. Everytime a "group" is upset about somrthing not going their way, they should go out and riot. I'm probably going to be upset at the Supreme Court. I have been in the past. I guess a riot and looting some licquor stores would be the best way to display my unhappiness.
Charleston was the cradle of the Civil War. Seeing the city come together as a community in wake of this tragedy should be a lesson to us all. Maybe it will serve as a model for improving the conversation about race in our nation and openly addressing the issues.