Before I begin, let’s be clear - my primary feeling is one of shock and horror about this morning’s events, and embarrassment that I live in a country that tolerates this kind of carnage as a matter of course. That said, there is a predictable set of reactions that has been set in motion, and while I don’t agree with the gross caricaturization that these reactions stand for, they’re gonna happen, they’re already happening and I’m just noting that fact. Every death is a tragedy, but some are more representative of a political/social/legal problem of long standing, and some are not. There is a centuries old tradition of politically motivated violence against African-Americans and other minorities, but there is no similar history of organized black violence against whites, and there certainly is no such movement today. The racist efforts to justify police violence against minorities and to stifle voting by minorities, however, remain alive and well. Something to remember when the inevitable “look, a racist gay black man who killed a WHITE WOMAN! What about that? Huhhuhhuhhuhhuh?” reactions go mainstream - which will come soon, rest assured about that. Just remember that historically, much of the extra-judicial violence (lynchings, etc.) against minorities was drummed up explicitly about fears of sexual exploitation. Now we can throw homosexuality into it as well and just watch that mothefucker burn. Having said all that, and hopefully headed off any misunderstandings about what I’m saying, let’s now proceed to the point.
This Roanoke story is shaping up to be the shitstorm of the millennium. We have: (a) a dead blond white woman, (b) another dead white man and a seriously injured white woman, (c) a self-described African-American gay man on a self-professed racial rampage, and (d) a right wing hype machine just slobbering to retaliate for the Charleston shooting, the Black Lives Matter/All Lives Matter dustup, and a host of related racial issues.
So get ready for a whole lot more of this. And it won’t be just on right wing blogs. By tomorrow, every conservative blog will be running the racial angle. I give Fox 24-36 hours, CNN 3 days, and MSNBC will condemn it while making sure to discuss it in excruciating detail within a day or two thereafter.
Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at the front page of the Breitbart blog (no links for those assholes). Read the post if you must, but as the saying goes, whatever you do, DON’T GET OUT OF THE BOAT and read the comments. You’ll leave your sanity and your soul behind, if you get out alive. Trust me on this.
