Sunday, June 21, 2015

This Week with George Stephanopoulos – June 21, 2015


Host: Martha Raddatz
Reporters:
Steve Osunsami
Guests:
S.C. State Rep. Rev. Carl Anderson
Fmr. Rep. Barkari Sellers
Joe Riley – Mayor of Charleston
Waltrina Middleton – cousin of shooting victim Depayne Middleton
Malcolm Graham – brother of shooting victim Cynthia Hurd
Michael German - Fmr. FBI agent
Dan Abrams
Charlayne Hunter-Gault
Jelani Cobb
Rick Santorum


Raddatz: wow I'm coming live

from a church service in Charleston

Raddatz: it's a holy city with many churches

Osunsami: the city has a message
hate wont win

Osunsami: law enforcement authorities
are trying to determine if the killer 
was a racist

Osunsami: the killer wrote that blacks are
the biggest problem American faces and
that he meant to kill black people and
since the town has no KKK or skinheads
he had to kill the black people

Audience: so it's inconclusive

Osunsami: also he was outraged that
Trayvon Martin got away with stealing
George Zimmerman's bullets

Killer's Black Friend: the church
wasn't his primary target!

Audience: define 'primary target'

Osunsami: the families are forgiving

Family member: hate won't win!

Raddatz: the whole nation was
relieved when the families
forgave the murdering white
guy for killing black people

Raddatz: tell me about your sister

Graham: she was an angel who
loved her family and her community

Middleton: she was an inspiration
and was the voice of reason and
she loved her children

Raddatz: what do you tell her kids?

Middleton: that I love them

Raddatz: but white people all
want to hear about your forgiveness

Middleton: yes we said that –
but we are also angry and hurt
and are seeking justice

Graham: I'm not forgiving –
this was hate and I want justice

Middleton I know white people 
want to hear all about forgiveness 
but you also need to acknowledge 
marginalization and oppression of black people

Raddatz: how can we get past this?

Graham: you'll see us in the Emmanuel
church come together because we have to

Raddatz: thanks

[ break ]

Raddatz: welcome State Representative Reverend Carl Anderson

Anderson: good morning Martha

Raddatz: you're a pastor and legislator
what would you say to the congregation?

Anderson: we're praying for you

Sellers: today we're thinking about
families going without their fathers

Raddatz: if Senator Pickney were 
here instead of being murdered in 
a terrorist attack what would he say?

Sellers: if Pickney were here
he's say stand up and celebrate

Raddatz: so how about that Confederate flag?

Anderson: I hope we can take
that flag down in a bipartisan way

Raddatz: how fragile is racial progress?

Sellers: my father was shot in a
racial massacre and I'm only 30 years old

Raddatz: so pretty fragile

Sellers: Senator Pickney will be
lying in state in the Capitol and yards
away will be the confederate flag flying high

Raddatz: I take your point

Sellers: it is a banner under
which this racist murderer acted

Raddatz: thanks for coming

[ break ]

Raddatz: where does
racial hate come from?

German: they have hate and
anger and they look for any justification

Raddatz: are lone wolf 
white supremacists new?

German: no they're not

Raddatz: is this a hate crime or terrorism?

Abrams: South Carolina has no hate crimes

Raddatz: oh how nice for them

Abrams: but he'll probably be charged
with murder in South Carolina
and get the death penalty

Raddatz: do you see any defense?

Abrams: well he can forget 
the insanity defense Martha

[ break ]

Raddatz: Welcome Mayor Riley

Riley: it was wonderful to offer our help

Raddatz: he's been mayor since 1975

Riley: if the murderer thought
he was going to divide this city he failed!

Raddatz: powerful stuff

Riley: we had black and white
together which is just so Charleston

Raddatz: but a recently a white
cop murdered a black guy

Historian: Charleston was
built on kidnapping and murder

Raddatz: that's disturbing

Historian: there are still
institutional leftovers of racism

Raddatz: why target that church?

Historian: that church resisted slavery

Raddatz: that church was closed
down and was burned down but
they always came back better than ever

Activist: you hope you people 
will get over racism

Riley: we're going to help
those families and that church

[ break ]

Raddatz: Jelani you said 
language matters – why?

Cobb: this wasn't an accident or a
natural disaster or just a tragedy
it was terrorism

Raddatz: good point

Cobb: remember when Republicans
were obsessed with language over
Benghazi and calling it terrorism
or your were weak on terror

Raddatz: that rings a belligerent

Cobb: darn right – well this is the same

Raddatz: you say he wasn't just a loner

Cobb: correct – we've have terrorism
in America against African-Americans
for 300 years

Raddatz: you wer the first African-American
at UGA – have we made progress?

Hunter-Gault: we have made progress
but this young man wasn't even
born during apartheid or when
Rhodesia existed so how did 
get obsessed with them?

Raddatz: what should young
African-Americans be thinking?

Hunter-Gault: I want to know what
the hell young white people are thinking!

Raddatz: thanks for coming

[ break ]

Raddatz: was this terrorism?

Santorum: no question – and pure evil

Raddatz: what charges should be brought?

Santorum: it doesn't matter as long as
we show how precious life is by killing him

Raddatz: with so many mass
shootings do we need so many guns?

Santorum: we need to forgive
our mass shooting terrorists

Raddatz: of course

Santorum: the way to overcome
terrorism is through reconciliation
with terrorists

Raddatz: of course – but does
America have a problem with racism?

Santorum: they key is to forgive the racists

Raddatz: what about the confederate flag?

Santorum: oh I have no opinion
on that – that's a state issue

Raddatz: so are abortion and
gay marriage and you won't 
shut up about those issues

Santorum: yes but gay people are bad

Raddatz: so should the flag
fly on Capitol grounds?

Santorum: that's a private matter
between a racist woman her flag provider

Raddatz: but you're running for President

Santorum: but that's a federal office
like postal carrier or national park guard

Raddatz: you must have an opinon

Santorum: yes I do – it's my opinion that
pandering to un-American racists would
be good for my campaign

Raddatz: what about Donald Trump?

Santorum: I like him and he's a good man

Raddatz: he's also a racist

Santorum: well nobody's perfect

Raddatz: thanks for coming and
dodging all my questions Rick

Santorum: thanks Martha