DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Three Black Churches Burn Down in 10 Days

Three historically black churches have burned in less than two weeks in one south Louisiana parish, where officials said they had found “suspicious elements” in each case.

They have not ruled out the possibility of arson, or the possibility that the fires are related.

“There is clearly something happening in this community,” state fire marshal H Browning said in a statement. “That is why it is imperative that the citizens of this community be part of our effort to figure out what it is.”

The three fires occurred 26 March, Tuesday and Thursday in St Landry Parish, north of Lafayette. A fourth fire, a small blaze that officials said was “intentionally set,” was reported on Sunday at a predominantly black church in Caddo Parish, about a three-hour drive north.

“But just as we haven’t connected the three in St Landry, we haven’t connected the one in Caddo,” said Ashley Rodrigue, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal.

Local officials said they were still investigating the fires, and did not say if they knew of any suspects, a motive, or whether racism was an element.

“There certainly is a commonality, and whether that leads to a person or persons or groups, we just don’t know,” Mr Browning said at a news conference on Thursday.

The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are involved in the investigation, said Jeff Nowakowski, a spokesperson for the ATF’s New Orleans field division.

The reverend Gerald Toussaint, pastor at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas, Louisiana, was driving to work on Thursday morning around 4:45am when his wife called him to say she had seen on social media that their church was ablaze.

Mr Toussaint was aware of the two other fires that had been set at nearby houses of worship, St Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre, and Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas. He rushed to the scene.

The church, which was founded in the 19th century, had undergone extensive remodelling two years ago. Now it is nearly gone, he said, except for a brick wall and corridor in the front.

“I’m trying to find out who did it, why they did it, did it have anything to do with me,” said Mr Toussaint, who drives trucks for a living. “I don’t know none of this.”

He also said he did not want to speculate, for fear of angering potential arsonists or prompting copycat crimes.

St Landry Parish is a rural area studded with crawfish ponds and bayous in the heart of Cajun and Creole country. It is 56 per cent white and 41 per cent black. Mr Toussaint said that relations were generally good between black and white residents.

Since the 1950s, black churches across the South have been the targets of numerous racist attacks, from arson to bombing to armed assault. In 2015, a white supremacist shot and killed nine people at a Bible study at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2006, a string of arsons at Alabama churches, some predominantly white, some predominantly black, proved to be the work of three college students that officials characterised as a “joke” that had spun out of control.

Last month, a black member of a predominantly black congregation, Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to burning his church. The church was spray-painted with the words “Vote Trump” in an effort to make the attack seem politically motivated, a Mississippi official said.

At the news conference on Thursday, sheriff Bobby Guidroz of St Landry Parish said that law enforcement officials would do “whatever it takes” to protect churches and churchgoers.

“We’re doing everything we can, collectively, to solve this crime,” he said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...h-a8857711.html

Churches.
Who does heinous crap like this?

Obviously it was those Jew hating Democrats.

As much as it pains me to say it....

Probably people who go to other churches. <SMDH>

I'd rather see who uses it for political gain or accuses first.

You would rather see how it is used politically than finding out who actually did it?

These days it can be anyone who is overwhelmed with hate and other mental/emotional issues.

Mississippi caught their problem...

Member Charged in Arson of Black Church With ‘Vote Trump’ Scrawled on Side

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/us/mississippi-church-fire.html

A new low for you sir.

Jussie Smolette paid some arsonists.

SMH

I hope this is why God created hell. So folks like this can spend some time there

That’s the ticket. The arsonists will be totally exonerated for their part in this hate crime.

Just on this board or in the media.

you just had to ask that. Stirring the ole pot.

I hate it.



It isn't a political issue. It is a crime issue.

I stirred nothing. Unless it's someone driving through a town and burning a random church, they almost always catch them.

Most white supremesists got out of the church burning business after it started invoking sympathy.

Damn well should be. I don't care who it is. Catch then, incarcerate them, make them pay.

obviously we need more bibles in schools....

I don't know you well enough to understand your intentions. Would you elaborate?

Btw---------I have tried to articulate my feelings on this topic three times and deleted all three w/out submitting them. It's just too painful and horrific. I don't care if you are religious or not, but committing acts of violence in places of worship is so terribly wrong.

The ignorant racists that carry-out such crimes are hurting innocent people, but they are also hurting their own cause due to the ugliness of their crimes.

To take that a step further, I always encourage my minority friends to not become what you hate because hateful opinions always alienates the other side. Don't mimic the ignorant and hateful.

Most of us know what evil, loathsome creatures they are. Don't become them or we will think the same of you.

For the most part, I agree with you.

But, you, and most people, myself included - instantly think 'racist' in this situation - hey, 3 mostly black churches burned? I mean, the headline leads us to race, doesn't it?

If it was some white supremacist and they get him/her? Good. If it was someone else, and they get him/her? Good.


Just get the person/people responsible.

I really don't think that that would be a viable answer.....but I'm sure there is some yokel out there that thinks like that....I'm just being facetious...

In reality, the problem lies in people's inability to accept other people and other people's beliefs....they form resentments and prejudices that inevitably lead to things like this....

I agree w/you, but I also don't think it is fair to cast wide-ranging stereotypes on other groups of people, such as those who are religious.

How about we judge people as individuals? The exception would be those who willingly belong to hate groups who perpetuate acts of hate and violence.

If you burn down a warehouse you own to collect the insurance it's a crime... if you burn down a house to kill your girlfriends new boyfriend, it's a crime..

but if you burn down multiple churches and your motivation is purely race (assuming that is the case) then it's hard to deny or not talk about the socio-political aspect of it...

those that voted for trump I guess

It's crap like this that keep the divide growing. You have no evidence that this is politically motivated, or that the suspect identifies as a Trump supporter, or that any of that had anything to do with the crime. Much less that the crimes are connected.

I thought you were better than this Daman, don't let your hatred control you.

Yep, especially with the near constant amount of hoaxes coming out of the left, to be this obtuse is sad. This is absolutely tragic and using it as a club to beat your political opponents when you have absolute no proof is sick. They literally listed one such hoax IN THIS ARTICLE to try and dissuade this partisan hacking.


My heart goes out to all involved, just infuriating and senseless.

I didn't create the divide, Trump and his minions did. I'm merely fighting against what I see as a NAZI type leader (that's kind of a joke, because he's not really any kind of leader)

Beating your Trump drum in a topic about burning churches just shows you may have less class than the man you seem to hate so much. /smh

Let's not forget the lies that come out of Trump and his minions

Some of the most heinous acts committed against Mosques, Synagogues, etc in the name of Trump have already been proven to have been perpetrated by the left in order to get people to jump to the exact conclusion you just jumped to. And jumping immediately to that conclusion, whether you want to admit it or not, is contributing more to the problem than it is to the solution.

Whether it is a black, white, or mixed church it is still a despicable act ...

I think people can quickly see why I posted this in the political forum.

What cracks me up is the immediate accusations and deflections from both sides.

But first and foremost let me address those who blame the left for perpetrating such acts. The man who attacked the Pittsburgh mosque was not from the left. The man with the Trump van who sent many bombs to many top Democrats was not from the left. It was a white racist that murdered nine people in 2015 at a black church. There are hoaxes and then there are either the murders and attempted murders of what you consider your enemies to be. Let's not confuse the two or try to compare them.

Now I have no idea who committed these crimes or what their motivation was. But let's all take a step back and deal with the reality of what's going on in our country. From both sides.

There are people who profit tremendously (both financially and with power) from keeping us divided and angry so they are playing that game.. and they are winning because we are letting them.

The one that concerns me the very most was hand picked and elected to do just that.

j/c:

I do not like Donald Trump. I hope he is voted out. However, hate crimes began long before he took office. Let's stop playing games here. Hate crimes have long been a huge problem for society.

Hmmmm..........I am going to move the rest of what I was going to say to another thread because it fits better there and I don't want to take anything away from the poor people who are directly suffering due these hate crimes.

You can have a fire in your back yard. While it's burning, it's getting smaller and progress is slowly being made to help contain it.

Then somebody comes along and throws gas on it.

I'm not arguing that, Pit. I have a much bigger message. Check out the Korver thread. I put some of my thoughts there.

J/C

Violent acts are despicable, church or not. Burning down the home of family, or burning down a church - one is not more horrific than another IMO. Both acts are equally despicable.

I hope they catch these idiots and face the full extent of the law.

I'm not sure it's our place, as the majority, to explain to a minority how to act.

Much like how men shouldn't explain to women how to act, or how men shouldn't try to explain concepts to women in a demeaning tone.

Pretty sure men don't do that because the claws come out.