Friday, June 19, 2015

HEY, JEB, EVEN BILL O'REILLY CALLED THE CHARLESTON SHOOTING RACIAL TERRORISM. WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?

Jeb Bush's comments on the Charleston shooting are embarrassing:
"I don't know what was on the mind or the heart of the man who committed these atrocious crimes," Bush said in remarks at a Faith and Freedom Coalition summit in Washington. "But I do know what was in the heart of the victims."

Bush went on to meditate on the fact that the massacre -- which resulted in the deaths of nine African-Americans including South Carolina state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), pastor at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church -- took place in a house of worship.

"They were praying. They were learning and studying the word of the Lord," Bush said. "In times like these, in times of great of national mourning, people of faith, all of us must come together and at least reflect on this and fortify our strength and love of Christ, love of God to be able to continue to go forth."
Jeb's full statement is here. He didn't exactly say the victims were shot for praying, but he did essentially wave away the question of the shooter's motive.

The Huffington Post's Laura Bassett subsequently tried to drag Jeb, kicking and screaming, into the realm of reality, with partial success:
UPDATE, 6/19, 12:05 p.m. -- The Huffington Post asked Jeb Bush on Friday whether the shooting was racially motivated. "It was a horrific act and I don't know what the background of it is, but it was an act of hatred," Bush said.

Asked again whether the shooting was because of race, Bush added, "I don't know. Looks like to me it was, but we'll find out all the information. It's clear it was an act of raw hatred, for sure. Nine people lost their lives, and they were African-American. You can judge what it is."
I don't know what Jeb's problem is. Even Bill O'Reilly is willing to acknowledge that this was an act of racist violence. Hell, BillO even calls it terrorism:
"Apparently he is a longtime racist wearing anti-black patches on his clothing," O'Reilly stated. "Those who know him say he often made inappropriate statements about African-Americans."

"The Factor" host said the deadly shooting "was an act of terror."

"No different than what ISIS and Al Qaeda does targeting civilians because of who they are," O'Reilly stated. "In this case, skin color seems to be the motivator. This is not a tragedy. This is an execution designed to terrorize people just like the Boston Marathon bombing and the mass murder at Fort Hood, Texas."
Also on Fox, Geraldo Rivera said (at 7:42 in the clip here),
I think that this is not only a race mass murder, but this is also an act of domestic terrorism.
Jeb? Even Fox is now giving you permission to acknowledge the motive Dylann Roof has now openly acknowledged. What's holding you back?

9 comments:

Feud Turgidson said...

I GETT IT!

Jeb! is saying:

1) Gosh, even tho I'm a white male southern American, I don't have a single CLUE about what that white male young southerner with the gun could possibly have meant when he said, to a group of 11 black African-Americans comprised of 7 women 6 of whom were post-menopausal and 3 men one of whom was in his 80s with 2 of them professional clergy and one of those a middle-aged state senator plus 1 child, "you rape our women - you must all go" then shot all but 2 of them to death and specifically directed one he left alive that the specific reason hw was leaving her alive was to tell the world what he said so the world would understanding his thinking.

2) But on the other hand, gaaaaawwwlee, I for sure DO know what those 11 black African-Americans I've never met were thinking, just as surely as I knew Terry Schiavo's brain was fully re-up-pable after years and years of coma and despite every attending physician opining her to be brain dead.

.. which are representative of Jeb!'s larger messages:

3) I have a gift(!): I can read minds!(!)

4) But I can't read ALL minds - I can only read minds that haven't left behind written or verbal or really any evidence at all of what they were thinking or if they were actually thinking anything in partcular or even if their minds were capable of thought. That's my gift(!), and after all these years, I STILL got it!(!)

5) I most certainly can NOT read minds that've written or said actual words in actually organized ways in a timely or directed manner on their actual thoughts underlying their actual actions; in particular, fully looaded fire-armed, hate-larded, human-uttered wordeology just completely bumfuzzles my gift(!) to the point it's of no use whatsoever, sorry.

Victor said...

Jeb isn't saying that because he needs the South, and you can't call a racist mass-murderer a "terrorist" because this racist punk is now a hero to a lot of people - not just in the South, but across this whole country.

Republicans need every one of those bigoted assholes to come out and vote for them in the primaries, and then the general election.

Anonymous said...

Jeb Bush is from the same alternative planet as Fox news where facts and history are rewritten. The fact is over 50 years ago, a Black woman stood amid the debris in Birmingham, Alabama, her feet covered with shattered glass from the bombed out 16th Street Baptist Church, cried out in anguish: “My God, you’re not even safe in church!”
That was 1963.
We are still not safe. There is still no place Blacks are safe from the police and their use of excessive force or the guns of a white supremacist.
The Charleston Church terrorist has been caught but the threat has not abated.
We are not post racial. http://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2015/06/19/a-stain-on-america-again/

paulocanning said...

We have a winner. Eric Erickson blames Caitlyn Jenner.

Ken_L said...

O'Reilly stated. "In this case, skin color seems to be the motivator."

Gosh Bill, ya think? That bit about wanting to start a race war not too subtle for you?

Victor said...

@sally,
Thanks.
That needed to be said!

Philo Vaihinger said...

Mass murder and a hate crime, sure. Terrorism? No more than columbine or the massacre at the Texas tower.

Steve M. said...

He said he was trying to start a race war, Philo.

Dark Avenger said...

Philo doesn't do nuance, Steve. That's for hippies and other political low-lifes.