Ever since the Charleston shootings happened, there has been tremendous focus on the shooter and what could have done to prevent these shootings.
One movement that has gotten coverage in the medi is the flag flown at the state capital in Columbia, South Carolina. The state flies the confederate flag at the state capital in honor of their history.
Respecting this in my opinion the flag is a symbol that needs to be taken down. Although it shows the country's history, it is a racist symbol that reminds of a time that people of different races were not treated equally in society.
Saying all of this, one point that I have personally noticed on the media is while they have covered this story in addiction to President Obama saying the word nigger, which will be referred to as the n word, there has been very little coverage on how we prevent incidents like this. I have not heard much about this aspect of the crime.
Politicians want constituents to focus on smaller issues for a few reasons. One is that it is an easier issue for them to look into and focus on. Second by focusing on this, it allows bigger issues/problems a place might have to be ignored. Finally because these are the popular issues that people want to focus on, they are able to side with popular opinion which in turn can help their reelection prospects. In other words it's the smoke and mirrors effect.
I argue that in addition to the focus on taking the confederate flag down that we need to also focus on finding a solution to this violence.
The easy answer to this is saying that we need to tighten gun control, however it is much more complicated than just gun control regulations. The first point that we all need to recognize is that racism in America still exists. No matter where you are in this country, racists exist.
It is impossible to tell someone to change their point of view, however what each and every one can do is share their point of view to the world. I remember during my freshman year when someone said the n-word and thought that is a word that should not be used casually or at all. I had to correct him and said that it is a word that I would preferred he would not use. Ever since then, at least around me he never used the word again.
The second issue in this situation is in regard to mental health. Mental health is a serious issue that we in America do not speak about enough. In all of these killing situations, I truly believe all of these people have some sort of mental illness. We need to be open to speaking more about mental health and invest more in mental health in this country.
Overall, this killing was a terrible tragedy and right now we do not need another situation in which people kill others. Let's not let a flag define us. It needs to be taken down, there is zero doubt in my mind about this, however there needs to be a larger focus in addition to the confederate flag.