General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBREAKING: 16-year-old girl arrested in plot to attack predominantly black church
A 16-year-old girl has been arrested after authorities discovered her plan to kill people at a predominantly black church in Hall County.
The teen, who is white, planned to attack the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, according to Gainesville police.Our investigation indicated the church was targeted by the juvenile based on the racial demographic of the church members, police Chief Jay Parrish said Tuesday in a news release. The church was immediately notified of the incident by Gainesville police to ensure the safety of our community and the current threat was under control.
https://www.ajc.com/news/crime--law/breaking-year-girl-arrested-plot-attack-predominantly-black-church/utQwDjPJRESUuZCVcvufhO/
Maraya1969
(22,441 posts)stopdiggin
(11,092 posts)of "focused" hatred and rage. Most teenagers (a generality to be sure) are much more focused on their immediate surroundings .. and the problems and conflicts they find there. (school, family, friends, etc) This kind of directed racial animosity .. usual manifests in older individuals. I'm speculating some (significant) mental issues?
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)then pulled out the "mental health" narrative which relies on bias against people who have been diagnosed with mental illness.
Response to loyalsister (Reply #5)
stopdiggin This message was self-deleted by its author.
stopdiggin
(11,092 posts)the "mental health" thing that is trotted out every time the right doesn't want to talk about access to guns. Or the toxicity arising out of 50 years worth of race baiting and dog whistles. But in this case .. it just seems that the behavior falls a bit outside normal parameters. I don't know how to (legitimately) talk about that .. while still avoiding the dangers of "stigmatizing" mental health. To be clear, and for the record .. the virulent racism that is bubbling to the surface all over this country have nothing to do with mental illness. It's just good old fashioned bigotry, prejudice and hatred. No excuses.
(it just seemed to me that this young lady represented something of an outlier. which, again, doesn't necessarily indicate an illness. but does represent a departure deep enough to arouse what was admittedly just speculation on my part.)
Dorian Gray
(13,469 posts)to grasp how it's possible to hate so much you'd want to murder a bunch of people. Especially in a 16 year old.
But I don't think it's necessarily mental health. Every human being is wounded in his/her upbringing. Vulnerable people are targets for online radicalization. The proliferation of online hatred and recruiting is a problem.
Vulnerablitily is different than mental illness, though.
The people targeting them could be using the teenagers loneliness, alienation, or curiosity against them.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)It is hard to explain how people become racist. It could be as simple of relying on Hollywood stereotypes I blame media for a lot of racism in this country.
stopdiggin
(11,092 posts)there is zero relationship (or causal factor) between mental illness an racism. The point of my post (probably poorly done) was that I thought this was a quite unusual expression, and focus, for a young teen female. It seemed off .. but that is admittedly only speculation on my part. For all I know this girl could be a card carrying member of the Dylann Roof fan club .. and just a stone cold racist killer.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)She may have made a different decision if she was over 21.
Mentally ill are more likely to be victims of violent crime so I worry when focus turn toward mental illness as a solution to violence (when I think RW white supremacist propaganda is a bigger problem for violence.)
You may see me make bad posts but I'm not violent at all.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)rather than traditional face-to-face moral and compassionate parenting. Being "connected" must never exclude the precious value of direct human interaction.
I feel the emptiness caused by that reduction in direct contact and conversation every day, particularly as an old-timer that does not use social media.
KY.....
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)Deplorable but its GA
Hate crimes and domestic terrorism have been on the rise for many years, but it is unfortunate we cannot have this perpetrator prosecuted on hate crimes in Georgia because there is no law on the books to address it.
At least she is in youth detention off the streets
Aristus
(66,093 posts)It's almost always a guy...
NCLefty
(3,678 posts)mnmoderatedem
(3,706 posts)that she has a MAGA hat in her wardrobe.