Sadly, fear and intimidation have been a recurring theme for African-Americans living in the United States, particularity the South. Among the forms of intimidation that members of this community have had to endure are lynchings and church arson. One would think that with the positive strides African-Americans have made in academics, politics and business, coupled with how far society has progressed in terms of tolerance, we would think we have moved past this sort of thing. But no, different people with the same ideology keep resorting to the same ineffective tactics of terrorism.
Church burning is as old as U.S terrorism. Wikipedia lists many terrorist acts of church burning. I know, I know, Wikipedia generally isn’t the most reliable source of information. However, this particular page does have a number of reputable sources including the Southern Poverty Law Center, New York Times and Washington Post.
Recently, Louisiana saw yet another round of arson aimed at predominately Black churches. Three churches were burned in a the span of about 10 days and authorities moved with speed in order to stop and apprehend the perpetrator. I wish to congratulate the excellent work of law enforcement in doing what they do, get the bad guy.
According to sources, the perpetrator was the son of a law enforcement officer. Apparently, when the officer heard that his son was the suspect, he felt as any decent father would have felt, heart-broken. Congrats to this sheriff’s deputy, because he did his duty and arranged for the peaceful surrender of his son. I know as a man, a father, that he was deeply pained by the choices his son made and the action he would had to take. I for one am grateful that he did the right thing and helped bring the young man to justice.
Now if we could just fix the irrational beliefs which drive some members of this society to commit acts of terrorism, then maybe we can all get somewhere as a collective civilization.