Sorry but identifying the problem and shining a light on the underground of hate groups on the web in this country is not a bad thing to do. People need to be aware of the danger. Parents need to know that there are sites out there poisoning the minds of kids, some of whom may turn to violence. Pretending they dont exist and not talking about them wont make them go away.
And in this particular instance I think the connection to South Carolina's official embrace of the Confederate flag and this particular hate group is a salient point.
But you just published a part of a killer's manifesto. Can you not shine a light without furthering his goal of getting his message out?
You hear pundits talking about how ISIS attracts followers in the West by convincing them they'll have greater opportunity and a better life if they join ISIS. Why can the same not be applied here? Clearly this man was radicalized by the bullsh*t talking points on Fox News about white persecution. Can we not have an open discussion about this growing problem in the United States?
We are dealing with sick minds who want attention.
When someone jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge there is no nationwide discussion (indeed, local papers give minimal coverage to the event) because it is known that this will only encourage copycats.
When a drunk runs onto a football/baseball field the cameras are immediately averted because it is known that showing these people will only encourage others.
Copycat killers are a known and studied phenomena. Have you not seen how many times one mass shooting follows another?
Some killers place their manifestos where they will later be found because they know they may not make it out alive to tell their story and that their acts will ensure their story receives the widest possible audience.
Surely we can have this conversation without publishing manifestos and giving these people what they so desperately want, what they kill to achieve, attention.
