Dylan Roof Social Structure Theory

Social structure theory says that the social and economic forces operating in deteriorated lower-class areas are the key determinates of criminal behavior patterns (Siegel, 2015). On June17th, 2015, Dylann Roof a self-proclaimed white supremacist walked into the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and murdered nine of its members (Charlson Church Shooting, 2015). Social structure theory would suggest that due to the social and economic aspects of Roof’s life are the reason as to why he committed this mass shooting. His parents had divorced but were temporarily reconciled at the time of his birth. When Roof was five, his father married Paige Mann in November 1999; they divorced after ten years of marriage. Bennett Roof was allegedly

verbally and physically abusive toward Mann (Dylann Roof, 2016). Roof also in a nine-year period went to seven different schools in two counties until finally dropping out and resorting to recreational drug use and playing video games.

Roof ended up moving around a lot never getting a solid social structure. At one point he lived in the Florida Keys before moving back to South Carolina and living on the couch of friends and relatives. One of the first major concerns for Roof’s wellbeing came from his maternal uncle who was concerned about social withdrawal because Roof didn’t have a job or other things a normal then nineteen-year-old would have (Dylann Roof, 2016). All these things are talked about in the social structure theory and suggest that based on the theory it was only a matter of time before Roof was going to commit a heinous act. Unfortunately, no one could have guessed it would result in the loss of life for nine people sitting in

church.
Social Structure theory can be used to explain Dylann Roof in many ways from his anti-social behaviors, his poor upbringing, divorced parents and lack of friends that he openly admitted to having its not hard to see that Roof was a troubled child and that something dark and evil was growing inside of him. Roof had been investigated by police prior to the church shooting but nothing done about it. He also had two other run ins with police that turned out to be nothing. Roof had personally bought the hand gun that he used in the shooting with birthday money from his father and he was able to get past the background check because of a problem with the FBI database. All these things seem to eerily like that of the recent parkland Florida shooter who also had many of the same traits that Roof did. Looking at both incidents from a criminological point of view sows a problem that could be fixed but that would be easier said than done. Just because someone is poor, anti-social or bad at school doesn’t mean they will be a mass shooter. One idea of the social structure theory is social disorganization and in that there is a suggestion that even though people may have the same type of bad social structure with family, school, religion and other areas, that most youth will age out of delinquency, end up marrying and raising families but some end up converting to a life of crime such as Dylann Roof (Siegel, 2015).
Roof’s father was an abusive man both physically and verbally to Roof’s then step mother. Roof learned that fear could get him what he wanted and if done correctly was a good ally. Prior to the attacks on the Charleston church roof had at one time gone into a shopping mall dressed fulling black and began asking people unnerving questions. When the police arrived, they found a bottle of suboxone which was used to treat chronic pain. This drug use also applies to the social structure theory in that the people he learned about these drugs from would of been bad influences to most people but, due to Roof’s parents and the way he was raised he view them as role models. Roof was often noticed looking into white supremacy pages and beginning to grow a new hatred for anyone not hire. Although this was not how he had been his entire life in interviews with childhood friends of Roof and of his teaches of which most where black in Charleston and one of his childhood friends was of mixed race it seemed that prior to the attack on the church Roof had said he wanted to start a race war and see it through (Dylan Roof, 2016).
Although not all parts of the social structure theory apply to roof such as being economically disadvantaged the things that did apply to him fully applied. Schooling issues, and family issues being the two major ones. As aforementioned Roofs father was abusive, schooling was impossible with all the moving around from school to school and friend groups didn’t exist due to the anti-social personality that Roof had. One thing that did make Roof feel something and feel apart of something was when he was on white supremacy pages and although after the attacks the president of the CCC said they had no obligation to take responsibility as their website had been shut down but people still wanted answers as to why this 21 year old white male had just killed 9 innocent African Americans in cold blood and was claiming he wanted to start a race war. What Roof did would end up changing the course of American History. In the months following the attacks road names were changed, confederate battle flags torn down, confederate memorial statues destroyed, and everyone had their own opinion of whether that should or should happen. Roof had finally got the attention that he wanted from his parents and the social acceptance he had been yearning for even if it was for some of the sickest reasons. Although most people do not condone what he did there are some people that stand by him and support him, and those people contribute to this social acceptance that he had been looking for since his parents divorced.
“I did what I thought would make the biggest wave,” the white supremacist wrote in a journal while he was held in custody, “and now the fate of our race is in the hands of my brothers who continue to live freely.” (Dylan Roof, 2016).

Roof believed that what he had started was the beginning of the change that he wanted to see. He thought that by killing those African Americans that other white supremacy groups such as the KKK would finish what he started and begin killing African Americans like it was the 1950’s but most of the groups issued statements after he was arrested saying that they did not condone the actions that he was taking. Social theory suggests that Roof did this as a way for him to fit in and grow into some sick and twisted type of family that he felt he didn’t have as a child but that he was striving for. This also explains how and why he was so easily coerced into believe that any one not white was the problem with America. Three days after the shooting took place, federal investigators uncovered a website with 60 images and a 2,000-word manifesto that delved deep into Roof’s troubling racist beliefs, outlining why he chose the Charleston church with the intent of inciting a race war (Dylan Roof,

2016).