In the aftermath of mass killings--most recently in Virginia Beach, 12 killed May 31; in El Paso, Texas, 20 killed Aug. 3; and within hours of that slaughter, nine killed in Dayton, Ohio--the lone gunmen who perpetrated the unprovoked attacks were said to have been motivated by supremacy.

But what is white supremacy? 

In opening this discussion yesterday, Leid Stories found that definitions were both broad and imprecise, although most understood white supremacy to be a lopsided power arrangement specifically designed to benefit whites over all other racial groups. 

Many callers said they believed the mass killings were linked to a deep resentment by ultranationalist white Americans that they have been losing social, political and economic ground to nonwhite racial groups, thereby threatening what they see as their longstanding dominance or supremacy over all others in all aspects of American life.

The conversation continues.