Image: A white stucco wall with the words Stop the Whitewash! spray painted across it. (Image by R. Ruth Adar)
The man I refuse to name is accused of setting three black churches on fire in Louisiana. There is strong evidence to suggest that he was the arsonist. He is young, he is white, and his father is a local law enforcement official.
Promptly after his name became public, Louisiana Fire Marshal Butch Browning confirmed that M had a “relationship” with the black metal community, which had an “association” with church burnings. CNN reported that “authorities said that M’s interest in black metal music may have influenced his behavior.”
Let’s get something straight: the bombing or burning of churches and other civilian targets are acts of terror. 9/11 was terrorism. The Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing of 2001 was terrorism. The Paris Terror attacks of 2015 were terrorism. The bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946 was terrorism. The 1963 bombing of a black church in Birmingham, AL was terrorism. The 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham, UK were terrorism. The ramming of a crowd with a car in Charlottesville in 2017 was terrorism.
In the United States, when a dark skinned person with a foreign-sounding name sets buildings on fire or sets off bombs, it’s “terrorism.” Strangely, when a white male does the same thing in 2019, targeting African American churches or church groups, he is characterized as being under the influence of something: mental illness, the internet or now, music. (Back in 1963, we made no such excuses. What’s happened to us?)
I propose a name for this squeamishness, this excuse-making that seems to apply only for white males in the United States. I call it “whitewashing.” Instead of calling murder, murder, or terror, terror, we make excuses: he spent too much time on the internet, he is misunderstood, he is frustrated, he is listening to the wrong music. Enough!
The burning of black churches in Louisiana in 2019 is an act of terrorism. The evidence points to a white man – he is a white supremacist terrorist.
It’s not some mystical musical thing.
It’s not mental illness.
It’s plain old hate.
Quit whitewashing it.
I tweeted this.
Thank you.
Good Shabbos.
Rabbi, You have it right, making the correct call!
Thanks, Robert!
Great post!! Yasher koach!
On Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 4:54 PM Coffee Shop Rabbi wrote:
> rabbiadar posted: ” Image: A white stucco wall with the words Stop the > Whitewash! spray painted across it. (Image by R. Ruth Adar) The man I > refuse to name is accused of setting three black churches on fire in > Louisiana. There is strong evidence to suggest that he was t” >
Oh, you know, boys will be boys….(snark). Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist too, but the authorities (a.k.a. the Good Ol’ Boys) refused to acknowledge that as well. It is only applied to foreigners with brown skin and/or the “wrong” religion. My hope is that in time, that will change, because it must.
I intended to include McVeigh And then forgot – thank you for mentioning him. And yes, things must change.
I am very certain that I am older than everyone who has commented or even liked this commentary. So, that puts me in the generation that has perpetuated this hypocrisy and the world has suffered because white america insist on filtering justice through colo contact lenses. But thank GOD, there’s a new generation in town. I’m hearing your voices, and this new generation has the potential to change the system! I am praying for you and your zero tolerance policy for a double standard. I just might be able to put the capital A back in america. (I’ve been on strike). You might just be the generation to make me do it!
P.S. This New Generation will create the kind of culture that will help us to eliminate color distinctions from our language. I know that’s a tall order, but your sick of it and I see promise in you all, across the board in every nationality. You are demanding the change and you will be the ones that will make it happen! You just need to be in charge now! Replace the old guard. Thank You!