Tag: Dylann Roof

Thoughts on Charleston

So much excellent stuff has been written on the murders in Charleston, I hesitated to weigh in. But one part of the story that I thought could use some amplification is the politics of safety and security in this country, from the backlash of the GOP through today, how that intersects with the politics of racism. So I took it up in my column for Salon. I’m not sure I said exactly what needed to be said or what I wanted to say: for some reason, the precision and specificity I was aiming for here proved to be more elusive than usual. So if you find that the article misses its mark, I’ll understand. Here are some excerpts: In response to Wednesday’s […]

You Have to Go: Dylann Roof in Historical Perspective

Of all the things Dylann Roof said, that “you have to go” is the most chilling. It’s so historically resonant. It makes me think of Jefferson: …convulsions which will probably never end but in the extermination of the one or the other race…. When freed, he is to be removed beyond the reach of mixture. Dew: If our slaves are ever to be sent away in any systematic manner, humanity demands that they should be carried in families. And Harper: …one race must be driven out by the other, or exterminated, or again enslaved.