There really is a tragic predictability about the aftermath of yet another mass shooting.
Whether you agree or disagree with that first sentence, I’ll predict that by now, at least you’re not shocked about it. And that in itself is shocking – that we have reached a point where there can be no rational objection to the expression, “yet another mass shooting.”
What’s tragically predictable is two phrases that will be used. The first is, “Now is not the time to talk about gun control.” Of course it isn’t. It never is. The only time opponents of gun control feel is the right time to discuss gun control is not now, whenever “now” may happen to be.
The other phrase is, “Let’s not make this about race.” We can see why. The (alleged) killer is not a radical Islamist, nor black petty criminal – the kinds who make certain people call for racial profiling as a perfectly good idea. No, he is a pathetic young white male. Or, if I may say so, yet another pathetic young white male. It’s curious that this detail, which features in so many similar acts, is something that so many are asking us to ignore.
It turns out that white people are uncomfortable about being associated with horrific crimes just because of their ethnicity or cultural identity. It makes them feel resentful and defensive to have their background and culture mentioned alongside murder.
And that’s entirely fair enough.
Now let’s join the dots, shall we?
No comments:
Post a Comment