They are mad at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis again. This time, the left-wing chattering class is taking issue with the governor because of his remarks condemning the racist murderer who killed three black people at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida.
The reason they are criticizing DeSantis? He called the shooter a “scumbag.”
Yes, you read that right, dear reader.
MSNBC contributor Trymaine Lee discussed the shooting during an appearance on “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
You know, for so many folks, the issue with that language is it places the onus on one individual and the actions of one individual as opposed to a nationwide sickness of White supremacy in the country and the violence it fuels. As so long as he is a scumbag or as long as there’s a mental health issue you don’t have to engage with the idea that there are, you know, co-conspirators online, co-conspirators who create legislation that divide and other people.
Now they are mad at DeSantis for calling the racist who killed black folks in #Jacksonville a “scumbag.”
“It places the onus on one individual and the actions of one individual as opposed to a nationwide sickness of white supremacy in the country and the violence it fuels.”… pic.twitter.com/RFT42YSEQ6
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) August 30, 2023
Shortly after the shooting hit the airwaves and interwebs, DeSantis spoke with reporters and condemned the assault. “This shooting, based on the manifesto that they’ve discovered from the scumbag that did this was racially motivated,” he said. “He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis comments on the shooting at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Fl:
“This shooting based on the manifesto that they’ve discovered from the scumbag that did this was racially motivated. He was targeting people based on their race. That is totally unacceptable.” pic.twitter.com/3m3g1y1IjS
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) August 26, 2023
Lee continued his diatribe, noting that “other forces” are “contributing to this violence.” He said, “As long as the act of one individual is just a scumbag, then you don’t take the true issue head-on.”
Jacksonville pastor Jeffrey Rumlin expressed similar sentiments about DeSantis’ comments. “At the end of the day, respectfully, governor, he was not a scumbag,” he said. “He was a racist.”
These criticisms come as folks on the left are exploiting the people who perished by pretending the shooting was DeSantis’ fault, which makes these comments even more ludicrous.
Yes, that’s right, leftists. Let’s not call the racist wretch who murdered three black folks going about their business a “scumbag.” God forbid we actually heap all kinds of invectives on the piece of excrement who carried out this atrocity.
What is particularly silly about this whole affair is that DeSantis clearly acknowledged that the piece of filth murderer was motivated by racial animus in his remarks. This is probably the absolute dumbest thing they have criticized DeSantis for.
But we know what they are truly mad about, right?
What they wanted was for DeSantis to emulate Vice President Kamala Harris, who promoted the narrative that white supremacist terrorism is a constant threat against black Americans. They wanted him to cast the entire nation as irredeemably racist in its fervent hatred of melanated folks.
The bottom line is that the shooter was a scumbag, and there is nothing wrong with referring to him as such. Instead of nitpicking political opposition, perhaps progressives would do better to seek actual solutions that might curb these types of racially motivated atrocities instead of trying to score cheap points.
