Charleston Gunman's Sister Solicits Donations… For Her Wedding

The sister of Dylann Roof—the man who walked into a black church in Charleston, South Carolina and gunned down nine people during their bible study—is soliciting funds to pay for her wedding that was postponed following the tragedy.

Apparently the gross loss of black lives made Amber Roof’s wedding day a little too messy for her taste, so she and her fiancé cancelled. Now that the bodies of the victims have been cold for two weeks, they’ve decided to get this show on the road and set up (via NY Daily News) a Go Fund Me to pay for “A Fresh Start For Michael and Amber.”

I hope I speak for everyone when I say: fuck this wedding. Amber Roof writes:

As many of you know Michael and I had to abruptly cancel our wedding day, due to the tragedy that occurred in Charleston. June 21st was suppose to be the happiest day of our lives. It is the day every girl dreams of, it was the day we dreamed of. We had each other, we have the perfect venue, and we had our vows ready to be read. We were ready! We had planned out every detail for months and months. It was going to be the PERFECT day!

First of all, the tragedy didn’t “occur.” A mass murder was committed by your brother. Secondly, fuck your perfect day. Fuck the entitlement that led you to believe you deserve a perfect day while the families of the victims continue to mourn. Fuck the bullshit ideals of our society that led you to believe that a wedding day is the pinnacle of a woman’s time on earth and that because you decided to throw a big party, everyone around you must bend to your wishes.

Nobody is entitled to a “perfect wedding,” much less when it is conceivably a slap in the face to mourning families.

The Charleston Massacre took place and our lives were forever changed. The media abused our privacy and published all of our wedding information and destroyed our dream day. Destroying the first day of Michael and my life together.

We cancelled our wedding to protect our family and mourn the lives of those lost. Many friends and family members came into town and took time off of work to be there for us. We could not ask you to do that again.

The notion that “the media” ruined their wedding is truly batshit. Your brother destroyed your wedding. The idea that the day was ruined by “the media’s” invasion also seems to suggest that they might have considered going on with the wedding if they hadn’t been so inconvenienced. It should go without saying how sickening that would have been.

Semantics, while sometimes nitpicky, do matter. To put the victims as the second bullet point for the cancellation of the wedding is telling.

We would like the chance to start our lives on a postive note. Therefore, we have decided to start a Go Fund Me account. We know money cannot replace the wedding we lost and our perfect day, however it will help us to create new memories and a new start with our new family.

The relationship many white people have with history and nostalgia is actually rather magical in its obtuseness. Yes, nine people were gunned down by a close family member but we should really try to move on.

Despite the fact that their wedding day will forever be tied to the shooting in Charleston, they’re really hoping to redo things on a positive note. We lost our perfect day and nine people lost their lives and many people lost close friends and family, but boy would it be a shame to look back at our wedding and have all that yucky stuff hanging over our heads?

Money raised will be used to cover lost wedding costs, to pay bills, and to send us on our dream honeymoon. 10% of all funds raised will be donated to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. We thank you for any contrabution you can make.

Amber Roof is asking for $5,000—so ten percent comes out to $500. How generous of them. Fuck this lazy, egotistical attempt to not like monsters by feigning concern for the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Sorry girlie, but sometimes life comes at you fast and you don’t get to have all the nice things you hoped for. Her insistence on having this wedding despite all that has happened is childish at best and displays a complete lack of regard for the black lives lost at worst.

Look, I understand that this young woman and her fiancé did not decide to walk into a church and gun down nine black people. And it is unfortunate that they will forever he tied to an abominable act that they had no part in. However, tough shit. We may not be responsible for the actions of our loved ones, but unfortunately we must often pay for the consequences of their actions. It ain’t fair but that’s why family is such a bitch.

The insensitivity, obtuseness and self-absorption of publicly asking for money for this wedding is staggering. Perhaps what’s most revolting is that Amber Roof can see what happened in Charleston and then go on and plead for a “fresh start.” I’m sure the victims would like a fresh start as well—one that doesn’t include them being buried. How about the families of the victims? Where is there fresh start? If only they could move on so easily with $5000 and a honeymoon suite in Hawaii.

Fuck this disregard for black lives, fuck the utter selfishness of this ask, fuck Amber Roof and fuck this goddamn wedding.

Image via Amber Roof’s Go Fund Me.