Most people refuse to believe racism is a prevalent problem in today's society, when in reality it is more prevalent than ever before. In the past year, one of the most heated topic was the Ferguson shooting which caused several violent uprisings and protests. Another account of a racial dispute in the past year, is the issue with Eric Garner being choked to death by the police. There are many more events similar to these but they have been building up over time resulting in many writers to voice their opinions, specifically Roxane Gay. Her essay, "Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof" explains how there is a line of forgiveness. There are two sides to the argument: one side believes that Dylann should be forgiven and the other side believes he should not be forgiven. In her opinion, some crimes simply cannot be forgiven but Martin Luther King's "Loving Your Enemies" says otherwise. Gay should be able to forgive Dylann Roof because "darkness can not drive out darkness, only love can do that" (King, Loving Your Enemies).  

Even though Gay believes that Dylann should be labeled as a terrorist, Martin Luther King's philosophy is that she needs to find room in her heart to forgive him. Fighting hate with hate will not bring change only love will. The news headlines are forgetting to label Dylann Roof as a terrorist. When you label him as a terrorist there is no reason he should be forgiven for his actions so easily. It does take time to forgive this man and it will not come easily but it should happen eventually. The media repeatedly finds ways to warp the story to their liking. For example, news articles and videos used the word "allegedly" when speaking about Dylann's actions. Gay believes the media "vigorously embraced the notion of forgiveness, seeming to believe that if we forgive we have somehow found a way to make sense of the incomprehensible" ("Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof"). Gay constantly refers to Dylann as a terrorist throughout her work because that is what his actions prove to her. Most news articles only refer to him as a young man or white male. According to "Terrorism in Charleston", "what happened in Charleston was nothing less than an act of terror". The articles refers to the Patriotic Act which defines domestic terrorism as "to intimidate or coerce a civilian population". In a recent interview one of Dylann's friends said that Dylann wanted to start a race war. Dylann Roof obviously had intentions of shooting the church which is the exact definition of a terrorist. Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar, the bombers of the Boston Marathon, were labeled as terrorists and they killed less people than Dylann did in the Charleston shooting. This raises the question as to why he was not labeled as a terrorist as well. If the media labeled him as a terrorist, it would decrease the amount of forgiveness in our society. Whenever terrorism is mentioned, the United States gets a sense of defense and it is an unwritten law that there is no room for forgiveness of a terrorist.  Terrorism is an inexcusable act and allows people who forgive Dylann Roof a reason not to.  

Historical events that lead to her writing were "slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, lynching, inequity in every realm, mass incarceration, voter disenfranchisement, inadequate representation in popular culture, microaggressions and more" (Gay, "Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof"). All of this build up led to the reason for racism today. As a country, the United States was moving forward, but now they have regressed. Gay believes the black community cannot forgive anymore injustice. They have gone through so much oppression and need to stop forgiving acts such as Dylann's. On the other hand, Martin Luther King is the founder of Lutheranism which is the belief that you can only fight hate with love. Hate only tears the victim down and it lets the oppressor win by making the life of the victim miserable. In a way, Martin Luther wants the victim to be the bigger person and to not give the oppressor the reaction they want. In the case of Dylann Roof, he wanted to create a race war. If the victims did not forgive and acted out violently, that would give Dylann what he originally wanted. By forgiving his actions and having mercy on his soul, Dylann did not accomplish his goal of creating a war. He now has to sit in prison for many years and committed that crime with no satisfaction. Knowing Dylann has been put in prison is a better solution than continuing to dwell on the past. There is nothing the family can do to bring back their relatives. They can choose to mourn and move on or they can continue thinking about what Dylann did to their family. 

Forgiveness is a reoccurring point in Gay's writing. Her childhood greatly contrasts with her beliefs. She grew up a Catholic and was taught to forgive everyone but her writing states otherwise. She cannot simply forgive the actions of the terrorist, Dylann Roof even though he is being put into jail for hopefully a lifetime. She has no connection with the shooting except that she is black and a human. Based on her faith she should be able to forgive this man because that is what her religion taught her. That is the reason for the comments of the people on the website of her writing. An anonymous comment was posted on the web page of her article and it reads "Forgive always. Forget never" (Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof). This suggests that Dylann Roof should be forgiven for killing 9 innocent people in their time of prayer for their people "taking over the country"(Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof"). Another comment says that family members of the victims can forgive Dylann Roof because justice is being served. Both of those comments appeal to the two sides of the argument of whether or not anyone should forgive Dylann for his actions. Being able to forgive is one of Martin Luther's most famous teachings that is argued in "Loving Your Enemies". King says "the darkness of racial injustice will be dispelled only by the light of forgiving love" which relates to the situation of the affected families. ("Loving Your Enemies"). 

Gay's words contradict Martin Luther's teachings of forgiveness. Martin Luther is not saying that forgiving is forgetting. Instead it means that forgiving is "lifting of a burden or the canceling of a debt" (King, Loving Your Enemies). This shows how racism has taken a toll on the black community. Dr. King explains how "we will wear you down by our ability to suffer" (King, Loving Your Enemies). Time and time again they have dealt with racial issues. This has gone on for hundreds of years and our society still has not come together to eliminate it completely. Gay believes love is not enough. Some crimes cannot simply be dismissed with love. Martin Luther King is ultimately correct. Violence has not and will not get anyone anywhere. Violence may be a temporary fix to a small problem but it is not necessary for a massive social change. 

The other side of the argument is that this act cannot be forgiven. According to Audra Gilespie, we as citizens of the United States need to "interrogate the systems, institutions and practices that taught Dylann Roof that he should be superior to blacks because of the color of his skin" (Gilsepie, 1). She is right in saying that we need to fix the education system but that is not the only issue here. Dylann grew up in a society where saying racial slurs is accepted and not reprimanded. 

All in all, Roxane's "Why I Can't Forgive Dylann Roof" stated a very unpopular opinion within the South. The South is known to be more Christian on religious spectrum and with that being said they are all about forgiveness. This is the reason for the negative comments on her page stating that she should find forgiveness since justice is being served. Also, Martin Luther proves a point in saying "there will be no permanent solution to the race problem until oppressed men develop the capacity to love their enemies" (King, Loving Your Enemies). One day our country, the United States of America, will overcome this race epidemic that is poisoning our world. The only way that can happen is with forgiveness. 

