Hate in America -- people killing people

This was posted on HuffPost by two of its writers:   Andy Campbell and Sebastian Murdock.

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"A man executed two black people at a grocery store, but didn't engage a white man outside because [he said] 'whites don't shoot whites.'   A Donald Trump supporter and apparent anti-Semite who looked up to white supremacists sent bombs in the mail to the president's opposition [all liberal Democrats].   An avowed anti-Semite walked into a synagogue and killed 11 people after screaming, 'All Jews must die!'

"This was one week in American hate. . . . The only difference between this week and the last is that a few of the angry, hateful people under that banner decided to go out and act on their hate. . . . 

"Initially lost in that news cycle was a shooting at a Kroger in Kentucky on Wednesday.  That two people died in a shooting at a grocery store wasn't a huge surprise -- 96 people are killed by guns every day in America and hundreds more are shot -- but later it became clear that this particular shooting was a little different.

"Gregory Alan Bush allegedly shot a black man in the back of the head at the grocery store, shot him several more times as he lay on the ground, and then walked outside, where he shot and killed a black woman.   There wasn't an official motive on the books as of Saturday, but a witness who was armed at the time told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Bush uttered 'whites don't kill whites' as he passed by 'nonchalantly.'   Later it was revealed that he'd tried and failed to enter a predominantly black church minutes earlier.

"Suddenly, this regular American shooting story because a regular American hate story too.   And then on Saturday, American hate came full circle.

"An anti-Semite named Robert Bowers allegedly walked into a synagogue in Pittsburgh, screamed 'All Jews must die!' and then shot and killed at least 11 people and wounded more.

"Scans of Bowers' social media activity -- mostly on Gab, a hub for the likes of violent neo-Nazis -- reveal that he despised Jews and subscribed to various conspiracy theories about a migrant caravan in Mexico.   His anger and anxiety, fueled by the idea that Jews were bringing immigrants into the country to displace white people, ended in what's being called the 'deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the history of the United States.'

In his last social media posting, just before entering the synagogue to kill Jews, he himself drew the parallel of the Jews-as-outsiders and the "invading hordes" from the South in the rhetoric from President Trump and others.   It was clear from his last statement -- "I'm going in" -- that he felt called to this mission as a duty.

"Bowers' hate was the same as the others.'  It was blind;  it was given tacit endorsement through violent rhetoric coming from our pundits and our president;  and it had a strong community in which to fester and grow.   His act capped off a week in which hate showed what it is truly capable of in America."

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There's a little more to the stories that tie all three together.   According to the right-wing conspiracy theory. the supposed wealthy Jew who is funding the "caravan" of Central American people who are about to "storm our borders" is none other than the wealthy donor George Soros.

George Soros was the intended recipient of the first bomb mailed by the Trump supporter who sent all the bombs to Trump's opponents.    And now -- as Trump's pre-election 'October surprise' to scare his base into turning out to vote -- President Trump is sending 5,200 U.S. troops (in addition to legions of national guards) to secure the southern border against these "hordes" of "terrorist" and unknown "Middle Easterners" to terrorize our land and spread disease (Laura Ingraham suggested smallpox and leprosy) amongst us.

What rubbish.   The people in the caravan are mostly women and children, running away from violence in their own Central American countries.   There is not one scintilla of evidence that they are being paid to do this.   Maybe some liberal groups have provided some humanitarian aid, like food and water.    But the George Soros-paid horde is a complete fiction.

Well, at least Trump's October surprise wasn't a nuclear attack on North Korea.   Now, if we can just survive these next seven days . . .   what?   The hate will go away?   Not likely.  Not with Donald Trump sitting on the golden throne.

Ralph

PS:   As I read back over this, the level of conspiracy theory is rather arcane -- which makes me think that it's not far-fetched that this same mentality might come up with a conspiracy with Russians to help him win the election.