Although poor white southerners had little to gain from a system that mostly benefited a wealthy aristocracy, they bought into the notion that slavery was just a part of the natural order of things. Instead of aligning themselves with other marginalized groups denied economic and social mobility, the poor, white descendants of the Confederacy continue to support a system that works against their best interests because they cling to the notion that their whiteness makes them superior and therefore entitled. They have been manipulated into believing that Black success comes at their expense, which makes them the perfect patsy for today’s ruling class that believes in nothing other than consolidating wealth and power. They make great enablers.

As to the moral superiority of the North, this is what John wrote:

But the North wasn’t any more morally evolved than their sibling; the North just happened to make the right choice at the right time, albeit not for long. The North, it should be noted, patted itself on the back and spent the rest of the century merrily bringing immigrants and other marginalized people to heel.

See? No argument there.

Why is it that when Black people bring up America’s long history of racism, White people tell them to just get over it — it happened a long time ago, but these same White folks can’t seem to just get over the war they lost 155 years ago?

Dylan Roof is simply reconstituted bacterial DNA cultured in a petri dish of deeply embedded racist beliefs. The victims of his carnage may have been able to forgive, but that doesn’t mean they are in denial of the culture that spawned him.