BY JEANETTE LENOIR
The El Paso Mall shooter’s manifesto is a carbon copy excuse fearful white supremacists use to justify their intolerance of the changes America has been going through since her discovery. From the stories of the Arawaks, Cherokees and Sioux people, slavery, the Civil War, the Mexican war, industrialism, the Gilded Age, Women’s Suffrage and the Civil Rights movement to the abomination that is Donald J. Trump … America has been steadily changing, usually for the better in spite of the Trump family detour. Our Constitution makes it plain too as it states, “All Men are created equal.” And yet here we are facing another senseless attempt to destroy the fabric of our nation by white nationalists who terrorize people they claim for preservation of country and culture. The irony is they’re so-called “defending” a country they hardly know beyond their own neighborhoods. The shooter even resembles the people he supposedly loathes; Hispanics. Apparently the fog between hate-filled ears is very thick.
As the country absorbs this latest homegrown terrorism rooted in racist dirt, I’m reminded of what Medgar Evers once said, “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea,” and that includes the idea of America. These cowards will never shoot their way into the America they want to create for white people. It’s never going to happen. America has never been a white country. Native Americans still hold the moral deed to these sacred and hard fought for grounds.
What perpetuates this white nationalist ideology is the media business. There’s always a softer spin to the carnage committed by these white supremacists. Not only are they usually apprehended alive and peacefully, some get special treatment like a meal from McDonald’s after brutally gunning down 9 black people worshiping in a church. They’re even referred to as, “good people” by our dear leader who also exhibits racist views and tendencies, promotes violence and intolerance of people of color and those with disabilities during his rallies.
The terrorizing of non-white American citizens is not a phenomenon. Ask any person of color except HUD Secretary Ben Carson, HUD NY/NJ head Lynne Patton and former sheriff David Clarke. They don’t yield for truth and common sense, just squirrels. Politicians from all sides of our government are pressed to speak and answer questions we know the answers to. Their words ring hollow in an era of madness fueled with guns and indiscriminate violence. It’s deplorable that even after the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2013, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shamelessly chooses to protect the NRA and his Party’s throne by denying passage of bipartisan and common sense gun laws like the Background Checks Act, (H.R. 8).
The days of political thoughts and prayers are gone. Our country is facing a pivotal moment in human history and we don’t need politicians to confirm what is clear as day: we have a gun crisis in America and handing out condolences like Halloween candy will no longer suffice. And, we certainly don’t need a reckless president at the helm of this growing chaos among white nationalists, Nazi sympathizers and white supremacists. McConnell tweeting how “the nation is horrified” is just more disingenuous lip service from a man whose state inhabits some of the poorest people in the country according to the U.S. Census. Most of them are white. And yet Kentucky, with a nearly 15-percent poverty rate, continues to send McConnell to Congress where he fights to protect rich corporations instead. And please don’t hold your breath on healthcare Kentuckians because he’s still diligently working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare … named after a president your senator worked overtime to sabotage.
The Civil War was the answer to those who wanted to protect the institution of slavery and white supremacy. Perhaps the answer to our current turmoil is another revolution. Either way, the average American is paying the ultimate price for the gun crisis in the country, as we mark the 251st mass shooting this year, according to Gun Violence Archive. The most recent massacre just happened in Dayton, Ohio, a state without background check laws. And as expected, when it comes to domestic terrorism to preserve the ideology of white supremacy, Trump needs more time to adequately offer his thoughts and prayers. Evidently he’s too busy crashing wedding parties to be the leader America needs in these crippling moments of senseless gun violence.
