Charleston massacre exposes hate crimes and their tools

Keel Hunt 11:17 p.m. CDT June 26, 2015

... Must we tolerate even more of the unhelpful, political blather of gun zealots who blame the victims for failing to arm themselves? ...

Surely now this symbol can go away, at least from our public institutions. If you want to honor Southern history, plant a magnolia, not a battle flag.

So should the public likenesses of Nathan Bedford Forrest be gone now. If you hear anyone defend his honor, ask if they know what happened at Fort Pillow, in West Tennessee ...

Like my father and his father, I am a son of the South, and like them I have been a hunter. Like them and most outdoorsmen, I don’t shoot people or hate any man. But I realize now that in my life I have been too tolerant of the historical symbols of oppression, too oblivious to how they can encourage a mean spirit, and of how the glut of guns makes crime too easy and fear too prevalent ...

http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/06/27/charleston-massacre-hate-crimes/29337409/