Hi, this is Alonzo Bowden, and I'd like to welcome you to episode 108 of my podcast, who's paying attention.

It is Thursday, June 18th, and obviously the big news as I record this, the sad news as I record

this, is the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

Yes, it is tragic, and I hate to say this, but it's not a surprise, you know?

And when I say it's not a surprise, anyone who listens to me regularly knows that I've said before,

we're back in the 60s, right? Voting rights being taken away the police violence and killing of black people and other minorities,

the marches in the streets, the riots.

So why would we be surprised when there's a massacre at a black church?

And I don't mean to sound callous or uncaring because, you know,

obviously I and everyone else, our hearts go out to the victims. And, you know, I'm not going to

get into that whole false level of, I don't know, the attempt by so many in the media to say, I care more than you.

I'm not going to get into that.

We obviously, we all care, and it is a tragedy, but not a surprise.

The kid who apparently did it, this kid, Dylan Roth, is what you'd expect, right?

He has the Confederate license plate.

He has the South African apartheid jacket on.

He said something about, you know, you're taking over our country,

raping our women, et cetera, et cetera. 21 years old, giving a gun for his birthday. There's all

kind of news that's trickling out about this. But again, not a surprise. I don't know. I honestly, I don't know what to think.

I don't know where we are as a society. And when I say we, yeah, we're all part of this.

You know what I mean? Like this is the country that we've developed with our, with our separation, with our continued racism and hate, with our utterly ridiculous lack of gun laws.

You know, now everyone's talking about, you're talking about justice. Keep in mind, Charleston,

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