June 17, 2015, a young white man walked into an African American Church and after some conversation, executed the members of the Bible Study group. The nation was stunned and shamed.

The murders and media frenzy threw us so far back in time, it was difficult to figure out where we were. In an attempt to avoid any awkward discussions about race, the media, politicians, etc tried to described the crime as an “isolated” incident, “not related to racism.”

The “isolated incident” theory started to crumble when news stories eventually appeared about five or six other mysterious church fires that occurred days later.

According to one account, electrical wiring was identified as the culprit. But that story was soon squashed by the Church’s minister who was also an electrician. Yes the Lord does work in mysterious ways!

Denial remains the recurrent theme in US history. It gives our daily lives that ‘groundhog day’ quality.

Speaking of which, did you know that Amber Roof, Dylan Roof’s sister was to be married on June 21, 2015? She cancelled the wedding because of all bad press. But not to be deterred by murder of 9 people, she set up a Gofundme page for donations to cover the expenses for her perfect wedding. The account was eventually removed.

Thought for the day: electing and re-electing a Black President doesn’t win you a place in heaven.

 

Janet Cormier is a painter, writes prose and poetry, and performs comedy. JC prefers different and original over pretty. She loves collecting stuff, but cleaning not so much. Janet also talks to strangers…a lot. Her column appears regularly in Oddball Magazine.