(Photo: Dare*2*Dream/Flickr/CC BY-SA)

At about 7 a.m. Tuesday, a man strolled into the Hartford Distributors in Manchester, Conn., with a .223 caliber semiautomatic and opened fire, killing nine people and leaving several others injured. According to the New York Times, the recent Connecticut shooting spree claimed the lives of union representatives, truck drivers and a relative of the owner who worked there.

Was the Connecticut shooting influenced by racism?

The suspect in the latest Connecticut shooting spree was an employee of the Hartford Distributors, a beer and distributor business. Omar S. Thornton, 34, worked for the company as a warehouse driver. He was allegedly caught on a surveillance camera stealing beer and was asked to resign from his post as he awaited a disciplinary hearing. According to ABC News, however, those close to the alleged gunman believe the Connecticut shooting may have been sparked by racism.

Joanne Hannah, mother of Thornton’s girlfriend of eight years, said Thornton had complained about racial harassment at work, saying he “found a picture of a noose and a racial epithet written on a bathroom wall.” Thornton, a black man, had apparently brought up the issue to his supervisors, but no one responded to his complaints. “Everybody’s got a breaking point,” Hannah said.

Connecticut shooting and other cases involving disgruntled workers

The recent Connecticut shooting spree that took place at Hartford Distribution is the nation’s deadliest rampage since the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting that occurred last November, an event that also involved a disgruntled worker. A military psychiatrist entered one of the largest military bases in the United States and killed 13 people and left 30 others wounded.

On Friday Nov. 6, just 24 hours after the Fort Hood shooting, gunman Jason Rodriguez walked into the offices of Reynolds Smith & Hills in Orlando, Fla., and killed one person and wounded five others. He was a former employee of the firm, though he was fired two years prior to the incident. After being let go, Rodriguez began working at Subway and has since filed for bankruptcy. According to CNN, when asked why he committed the terrible crime, Rodriguez replied: “Because they left me to rot.”

This story is still developing as of this writing. Visit ABC News for more updates.

Related Video: Connecticut shooting at Hartford Distribution

From a March Tea Party rally. Image from Flickr.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Tea Party have begun a brouhaha.   The two sides are bickering over several things.   The NAACP says the Tea Party is directing racist rhetoric at the president and other government officials.   The Tea Party says the NAACP is covering up for racism and criminal behavior in the New Black Panther Party.  Pundits on both sides of the political aisle have weighed in, casting aspersions and making accusations of the other side.

What the NAACP said

Demonstrators outside of Tea Party rallies have been photographed with signs that many, including the NAACP, say are racist.  Of course, the people in the photographs don’t represent the entire Tea Party, but the NAACP is assigning guilt by association.  The heads of various Tea Party organizations have routinely denounced, and even barred people from, promoting racist materials or messages at Tea Party events.

What the Tea Party said

The Tea Party’s counter-claim is that the NAACP is helping cover up an incident involving some members of the New Black Panther Party.  A few members of the NBPP were acting suspiciously outside a voting station in Pennsylvania, during the election in November 2008, which the U.S. Attorney’s Office caught wind of and started prosecuting for voting abuses against several individuals and the NBPP itself.  The case was dropped, and accusations of a cover-up at the behest of Obama appointees began immediately.

Which one is the villain?

This controversy gives MSNBC and Fox News something to talk about so they can sell commercials for TV and talk radio shows.  But while this is going to amount to more ad revenue for political pundits, the bickering back and forth doesn’t do anything to advance the cause of either side, and doesn’t do anything to combat real racism.

This is Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas' 2nd District. She wants a "Great White Hope" to counter Obama's black ways, apparently (Photo: commons.wikimedia.org)

Ever heard the expression “Great White Hope” before? The phrase entered popular culture when boxing promoters in the early 20^th century where desperately searching for a white fighter who could defeat African-American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. Yet it has so many other applications.

If you squint hard enough, it could mean nothing more than holding out for a great hero to ride in and save the day. However, appropriating the image of heroism and purity and permanently attaching them to the color white is bound to set people on edge. When it comes to politics in America, it’s painfully obvious that such an image is closely tied to the racism that runs rampant in this country. Such racism’s origins are partly religious in nature, but secular circles are no less guilty when all things are considered.

Cultural poverty

I see it as no mere coincidence that a Caucasian Republican politician who is admittedly “upset” over the Democratic control of Congress and the health care reform package President Obama (who is not Caucasian, incidentally) would call for a “great white hope” to counter that dragon on the doorstep. The politician is Rep. Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, and racism is alive and well. It is a kind of cultural poverty that a fax payday loan could never revitalize. Such a paucity of spiritual funds requires boatloads of paradigm smashing and empathy training.

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However, if your problems are merely budgetary in nature, click the button to apply for a fax payday loan now.

Does she think it’s OK because Glenn Beck paved the way?

Yes; Glenn Beck has made the statement that Obama hates white people. Beck labeled him a racist and has stood behind his statements. He’s lost a bevy of high-level sponsors because of it, too. I wonder if that makes him cry at night like a little sad-faced clown?

The Christian Science Monitor points out that such political foot-in-mouth disease runs rampant through this country. Virginia Senator George Allen called a man from Indian a “macaca,” which could mean either a monkey or a city in South Africa. Guess which one people chose to go with? Joe Biden said this of Obama in 2007 when he was an opponent in the presidential race: “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.” A dream only a believer in the great white could come up with, eh Amtrak Joe?

Now comes Lynn Jenkins

Clearly she is another Republican who is unhappy about her party’s lack of power lately. She wants someone to step up and go toe-to-toe with Obama… a “great white hope.” She draws that racial line as many unthinking racist clones have done before. If I were a Caucasian conservative (I only meet half the requirements), I’d be disgusted by Jenkins’ reference. Even if she didn’t intend to sound racist, she should know a bit more about incendiary rhetoric, particularly since she’s an elected official who holds a high office. If I were one of her constituents in Kansas’ 2^nd District, I’d wonder if I’d made the right choice in electing her. Such language is political anathema. If she didn’t understand that, then Lynn Jenkins isn’t educated enough to be a political official.

Throw it in reverse, Lynn

Now she’s backpedaling. Apparently she doesn’t have the star power of a Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh, so she has to play by the rules of intelligent discourse. Damage control has begun, but Ms. Jenkins is not doing it herself. Oh no, that would be much too dangerous for a graduate of the Sarah Palin School of Interviewing. Jenkins’ spokeswoman did the apologizing for her. Not a moment worthy of praise. There’ll be no fax payday loan waiting for you!

Related Video:

(Just to show you stupidity isn’t color blind)