I read an article on how two white supremacists planned to kill Barack Obama and black students, they were arrested in Tennessee recently. The names of the two charged are; Daniel Cowart, 20, of Tennessee, and Schlesselman, 18, of Arkansas. They planned to drive their vehicle as fast as they could towards Obama and shoot at him from the windows. The killing of 88 people and beheading of 14 African Americans was also in their plan, 88 stands for "Heil Hitler" (H is the 8th letter in the alphabet), and 14 represents a 14 word white power saying. Personally, I feel very sad for anyone who believes in "white power", mostly because it was simply the way that they were raised. Almost everyone whos parents spent a lot of time with them in their childhood begins to mirror their views. For example, if your parents are part of a certain religion, you are most likely part of it too. The only possible way someone could believe in something as horrible as "white power" and the idea that all races not white should be exterminated must have been strongly influenced early on or simply be mentally sick. So even though it might seem crazy to not totally blame them and feel sorry for them, I dont blame them and am very sorry for them because it is not their fault that thier mind is severly screwed up.
Work Cited:
Lichtblau, Eric. "Arrests in Plan to Kill Obama and Black Schoolchildren." NYTimes.com. 27 Oct.
I could not indent the second time for some dumb reason and could not put brackets cuz of the html thing.
5 comments:
I completely agree with you on the fact that people with ridiculous beliefs most likely inherited those beliefs because of the way in which they were brought up. Although it may not seem very obvious when events like this come close to occurring or do occur, their up-bringing is the really the only explanation. One may call them fools and scorn them, but the truth of the matter is they think they're doing the right thing. I am also in agreement with you that completely blaming them would be wrong and that feeling sorry for them would be appropriate.
This interesting article tells me that theirs someone who takes it a step farther in "hate." This goes back to racism. Although many don't take racism another step farther like this, it is still evident in our everyday lives. As for the students who believe in this, their views are probably too extreme and have developed over time. I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure I see racism around everyday, just not as severe as wanting to kill people, but its still evident. As for the ones who just believe in killing for fun are just completely psychotic. I can't believe that anyone would want to kill anyone else just for fun. I believe that the people who plan to kill Barrack Obama and 88 minorities may just be psychotic or have been made psychotic over time by the view of racism or just what they experience in their regular lives.
I agree with Campbell that these people's beliefs stem from their up-bringing and undoubtedly from their families' beliefs. However, I think that this ignorance and bigotry is something that can be combated with education. I wonder what type of school these people went to, because they obviously didn't even learn basic concepts such as the equality that the United States promises everyone and the fact that hatred and violence don't help anyone. The worst part of the whole situation is that people with similar, if less extreme, views factor their opinions into their vote for president and may affect the outcome of the presidential race. I respect it when people don't vote for Obama because they disagree with his opinions, but I don't respect people who vote based on his race.
It's really horrible to think there are people such as the "white power" out in America. I agree that anyone with a mindset like the people who were arrested inheret their way of thinking from their parents and their education. The worst part is that they do believe they are doing the right thing. I am disgusted by and pity anyone who believes that a massacre is ever good.
People are often illogical and see the world the way they want to see it. They blame groups for their problems and this leads to discrimination. People want to feel better than others and they act like they are. These two obviously aren't brilliant. It isn't some massive underground organization. People are going to react to Obama. If you go back a generation before your grandparents and then you'd see a much more active attempt to suppress his candidacy.
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