Apparently, SC law makes it very difficult to change anything about the positioning of the Confederate flag, requiring change to be mandated by more than “mere” majorities of both houses:
So, it’s indicative of the importance of that flag as a symbol in SC.
I know the parents are under no obligation to talk with the press on the actions of their children, but I believe if a child of mine had done something so horrific, I might feel compelled to express my sorrow and dismay, and to apologize to the victims. Actually, what I can’t imagine is being the parent of a child capable of such savagery. 
Once again I see mental illness stated as a probable reason for the attack. I agree that there needs to be more awareness and resources for the evaluation and treatment of mental illness. That being said , if I was a person experiencing any symptoms of mental illness, I’d be extremely hesitant to seek out the assistance I needed if I would be associated with all the evil people in the world who do heinous crimes against humanity who aren’t mentally ill and are called "crazy " or " mentally Ill " because society has a difficult time accepting that evil exists in this world and not only in the minds of people suffering with mental illness. The stigma associated with mental illness needs to be addressed , as well as the need for resources or change will never happen.
"I might feel compelled to express my sorrow and dismay, and to apologize to the victims. Actually, what I can’t imagine is being the parent of a child capable of such savagery. "
The family of the shooter did release a statement yesterday:
"The family of Dylann Storm Roof, the accused shooter in the attack inside the Emanuel AME Church says they are in shock and disbelief over the slayings.
The family released a statement on Friday, saying they extend their “deepest sympathies and condolences to families of the victims,” the Associated Press reported.
The family is devastated and praying for peace and healing for the relatives of those slain, according to the statement."
Indeed it is. And the fact that they chose to post it on a stanchion that precludes the ability to lower it was probably deliberate.
If racism or hatred is considered a mental illness, I wonder what the treatment would be…Getting over themselves? Relinquishing their insecurities? Gaining accountability for the faults in their lives? Perhaps, increased time spent with those different than themselves to gain exposure and experience?
Add me to the list of people who find is despicable and disgusting that the confederate flag still flies high throughout this time. Is it so hard to lower a flag? Perhaps, it is when there’s an unspoken grudge against the victims of this slaughter. Show some respect.
There’s been a lot of discussion on this website about removing the flag from the grounds of the SC statehouse. That needs to be evaluated and I feel confident that it will be addressed as a result of the terrible things that have happened in our community over the recent days and months. What I haven’t seen discussed is how my state as a whole is dealing with this crisis when all the eyes of the nation, if not the world are on us. Charleston as a whole is grieving together. We are sickened about what has happened in our state . When the shootings occurred , Charleston’s Mayor Joe Riley and law enforcement immediately denounced this as a hate crime in order to get the resources needed to catch Roof as speedily as possible so that justice could be served and the healing could begin. The people
of Charleston and SC have come together to grieve and get through this. There has been no riots , destruction in our state when there easily could have been . What does that say about the integrity of the people in our state . Roof is not an example of the thoughts and opinions of our state, the people of Charleston are. The nation as a whole could learn something from the people of Charleston as how to work together to change the devision in our country so that the next time we face something like this in our country( because unfortunately I believe we will ) we can get through it and make the changes necessary to prevent these terrible events.
As a hobby genealogist, I’m alway interested in people’s names and the history behind them. The idea that a guy named Roof could tell a black man named Pinckney that he wanted to “take our country back” is rich with irony.
Hayden, can you clue in the uneducated among us as to the irony inherent in that idea?
Pinckney is one of the oldest and prominent names in South Carolina. For a black man to be named Pinckney indicates a strong (though not certain) possibility his family were slaves of the Pinckney family, meaning his family has been here for a long, long time as it was the convention for slaves to be given the last names of the family that owned them (I always wince when I say “owned them”). Roof, on the other hand could be an old American name, but if I had to guess, I’d guess European immigration of the late 1800s but more likely early 1900s.
On CNN this morning, a friend and Democratic colleague of Rev. Pinckney’s stated that another state senator, a Republican, had begun the procedure to introduce legislation to change the state flag.
The colleague said he would support the legislation but wasn’t optimistic that it would pass, given that 2/3 of the legislature would have to vote for the change. I couldn’t easily find the legislation online, so I apologize for not posting it here. Tragic that he believes 2/3 of the legislature couldn’t agree to this even now, and disturbing (flabbergasting) that a law calling for an outright 2/3 majority was okay with at least the simple majority that passed it some years ago. That’s democracy?
@carolinamom2boys, I know that you represent the majority of people from your state, who are stunned and grieving. I know South Carolina is better than a small handful of residents make it appear. It would go so far to heal so much if that flag were taken down.
The name ‘Roof’ sounds very Dutch or possibly German, to me. Might be a pan-ethnic name; Dutch, German, British. I’m no expert.
The Daily Mail article regarding stepmother Roof doesn’t provide any real insight for me; people invent and exaggerate a lot of atrocious behavior in their divorce complaints. Someone stated today that she may be trying to portray herself as victimized so as to alleviate inevitable criticism directed towards her because even after the divorce, Dylann reputedly spent most of his time at her house, since his father often was on the road working.
People might want to look on-line at the The State (Columbia newspaper) site and Charleston newspaper and the main broadcast stations of these two towns (WIS in Cola) to read more about family/neighbors etc. There have been plenty of interviews with friends of shooter and family and friends of family. New stories and accounts posted on these websites continuously.
Sounds like he was bounced around based on the schools they list, but lots of them were really good schools. There is no record of him graduating in either school district. So drop-out with nothing to do but (IMO) find someone to blame for his life going nowhere and finding “support” from internet or in person from sick group of people. Again, my opinion.
There is one way to vote on the confederate flag without being in the legislature. SC is not getting any of my money as long as that flag flies. It belongs in a museum. I have had that position for a while now. We drive through the state to get where we are going and do not stop.
“That needs to be evaluated”
Evaluated? Why evaluated? What is there to evaluate?
The flag should come down. The “historians” can no longer deny what it stands for.
@frazzled1 Thank you for your post and kind words. The legislation to remove the flag from atop of the dome to place it on the grounds by a confederate memorial happened in 2000, 15 years ago. Our state, as well as our country, has experienced many changes in those 15 years. Will the legislation pass now? I’d like to think so, but am not able to say with certainty that it would . Is that sad?Very much so. Is it political ? Probably so with both parties being equally guilty . Unfortunately, politicians are people and are not always able to put aside their own opinions to represent their constituents( that could be another whole post ) Hopefully it will be resolved shortly. And as an aside, the confederate flag is not our state flag . Our state flag is a navy blue flag with palmetto tree and moon.
@emilybee " evaluated" because it is part of legislation and there are steps that need to be followed to enact new legislation. Not evaluated for the appropriateness .
I would bet good money that the strategy with removing the confederate flag will be to drag the legislation through committee hearings, through amendments, long enough so the public furor over this shooting has died down, then it will quietly go down to defeat, probably with the same tired excuses, the flag is about history, it represents our ‘culture’, all the crud that has been thrown around for years (leaving out, of course, that until the 1950’s and 60’s, the flag was a museum piece). @carolinamom, it might be a different world since 2000, but the fact that in 2015 something like the confederate flag is flying officially says a lot about what hasn’t changed, it should have been flying in 2000 either. The flag is about history, but it is modern history, one where we had a society in the 20th century that had legal apartheid, and there is nothing to be proud about that, not where that was the law, and not the rest of the country that allowed that to happen. Flying that flag would be like people in northwest NJ wanting to fly a Swazstika for historical reasons, because there were German Bund groups operating in the area in the 1930’s, they had camps up there and more then a few locally prominent families were members.
I would hope that the state as a whole can use this to move forward, to make casual racism and celebrating both slavery and jim crow as socially acceptable as smoking in an elevator. And if people really want to show that, they need to pressure the legislators to stop catering to the racist morons by overwhelmingly demanding the flag be taken down, but I am not holding my breath. Some of the people who sincerely want the flag taken down and recognize what it represents will probably not bother, and more than a few of the people saying the right things in reality don’t want it taken down.
@musicprint I wouldn’t begin to speculate what would or would not happen. Hard to say . We’ll have to see what happens. I do know that cynicism will not help to solve this problem in SC or around the country. I wouldn’t begin to speculate about New Jersey or another state that I haven’t visited or assign the opinions of a few residents of that state to the majority of the population. Hopefully this horrific situation will open eyes throughout the country. The hatred that caused this event is not isolated to SC and unfortunately no state or country is immune.