Photo Source: Flickr: 08KKKfamilyPortrait Author: Image Editor http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en A man by the name of Frazier Glenn Cross, an alleged white supremacist, shot five people yesterday at a Jewish Community Center and at the Village Shalom Retirement Community in Overland Park, Kansas. Three of the five people shot were killed. One of those killed was a 14 year old boy. The case could be labeled a hate-crime, but authorities are still investigating.
This kind of shooting should make people aware that the Jewish and minority communities are still being targeted by hate groups across our country. I am sure that there will be a lot of people saying that this was an isolated incident, but these hate groups are growing in significant numbers in this country in recent years. It boggles my mind that someone could carry such hate for the Jewish people that they would take a gun and start killing people randomly.
Frazier Glenn Cross was known to the Southern Poverty Law Center, who said Cross posted several anti-semitic messages on some on-line forums. One of his messages called Jewish people "swarthy, hairy, bow-legged, beady-eyed, parasitic midgets." Cross had a history of white supremacy. The Southern Poverty Law Center states that Cross founded a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980's called the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. This group was forced to shut down because he was sued by the SPLC for operating a paramilitary organization and intimidating African-Americans. Cross then started another whites supremacist group called the White Patriot Party.
For those of you thinking this is just an isolated incident by a crazed individual with mental problems, you need to think again. This man is crazy and probably has some sort of mental issues, but he is not alone in his thinking. There are white supremacist groups all across the country, armed with guns and ammunition just training and waiting to strike innocent people just because of their beliefs or the color of their skin. The government should be tracking these people and shutting down these groups so that these kinds of acts of violence don't happen. Although this country has come a long way regarding racism, the hate is still out there and is growing everyday. If you would like to view the map of Active Hate Groups in the United States, click the link below:
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
My heart goes out to the families affected by this senseless tragedy, and I hope Frazier Glenn Cross is sent to prison and never allowed the freedom to walk the streets to harm and kill anyone else.
Sources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/14/us/kansas-jewish-center-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews
http://news.yahoo.com/supremacist-idd-suspect-kansas-attacks-041939028.html?vp=1
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