[This was posted on Facebook by my friend Peter Goselin, a Connecticut-based lawyer and activist, who gave me permission to post it here.]
In the case of the Charleston shootings, we are told that the terrorist entered the church and was there at a prayer meeting for an hour before he began to kill people -- telling them as he did so that he was killing them because they are black, and telling one woman that he was sparing her so that she would tell others what had happened.
There are things that you do not have to have witnessed in order to know. These are things that I know:
Some of the people that he killed had greeted him personally. They might have felt a little bit of surprise at a young white man coming to their prayer meeting, but they would have felt responsible for ensuring that he felt welcomed. Some might have felt that he was there because he was feeling troubled and they would have prayed for him,hoping that he would be comforted. Some might have felt that he shared their beliefs and they would have prayed for him, feeling happy to share that sacred moment with him, Some might even have wondered if he was up to something, and so they would have prayed for him, hoping that he would be moved to turn away from any kind of mischief.
None would have thought to call the police to have him removed. None of the women clutched their purses and none of the men sized him up to decide whether or not they could take him down. None would have hated him.