The murders do establish what everyone knows: that racism is still with us; but the reaction to them also establishes that it is a fringe of a fringe. No one came out in support of the attack; no one has tried to justify the murders, excuse them, or defend them. This horrible, indefensible crime has shown how in times of tragedy, human hope shines bright as all races and all political parties stand on the same side. However, we mustn’t forget that activists, through trying to “understand” past crimes, have excused race riots and terrorism. It is good they have not tried to justify the slaughter in Charleston. But, as mentioned above, the murders are being used to justify additional gun controls - even though the killer already illegally possessed his firearm. We don't understand how, if a criminal act involves the breaking of fifteen or sixteen laws, adding a seventeenth to the list will prevent any criminal acts.
However,there are things that beg to be discussed: the case could be made that the killer had committed enough offenses that he already should have been in jail, or that he was taking psychotropic drugs - prescribed in an effort to control his dangerous tendencies - and they obviously were not effective. Some think that criminals should be incarcerated as punishment, or so they can get rehabilitation, or to avenge the crimes they committed. We think the ultimate purpose of the criminal justice system should be to protect the innocent. It is clear that allowing the Charleston killer to be free did not protect the innocent - in fact, it endangered them.
Various people are using the murders to score points for everything from gun control to “gun-free zones,” from racial guilt to removing the flag of the Confederacy ,but the most appropriate response to this crime is to pay respects to the victims, to remember them and not their killer. We could all adopt the attitude of the families of the victims, whose grace under the worst type of pressure should be an inspiration to us all. If we must take a political issue from it, perhaps we should take steps to assure that drugs prescribed with the intent of helping disturbed people do not instead lull us into false security. We should be sure that people judged as threats or potential threats are removed in some way from their potential victims. There is a long, long list of horrendous crimes committed by people who were being "medicated" for their condition; and each of those crimes has a longer list of innocent victims who might be alive today if the prime motivation of the authorities was to protect the innocent rather than the rights of people who put the community at risk.