I think this shooting might actually help race relations

I'm actually not trolling. This is NOT a case where you are going to have a Cop/Black Victim split. I do not think you are going to see a single rational person voice any support for the shooter's actions. Yes, there will be some manufactured outrage at how he was taken alive, or because his dad gave him the gun, or whatever twitter comes up with, but you will not see average everyday people taking separate sides on this. My social media feeds on all sides of the political spectrum are destroying this dude, and there is a surprisingly low amount of conflict.

The thing that caused the tension in Baltimore, Mizzouri, Florida, and other places was the fact that a sizable portion of the country didn't see anything wrong with the cops actions. In this case, I think you would be hard pressed to say the same.

The trick will be whether the media and leaders let this process work as a healing process, or if they will drum it up to levels higher than anything we have seen previously. So far the people from the various parts of the SC government have said the right things, on both sides of the aisle. Maybe this is the issue that gets an actual healthy discussion about race and violence started, without the tension provided by previous instances.


Edit: People started fighting about the police shooting issues on the first page. I think I have too much faith in humanity.