After twenty nine people were slaughtered in two different regions of the country within 24 hours of each other, Americans find themselves in a state of shock. Of course we know that the shock won't last, because mass murders have become the new normal here in America. Thanks to the powerful gun lobby, and the politicians in their pockets, guns and killings have become as American as apple pie.
But this post isn't about guns tonight, it's about why these angry young white men felt a need to take out their rage on innocent people.
We know why one of these young man did what he did. He told us why he did it in a manifesto that he posted just minutes before he went on his deadly shooting spree. He did it because of the immigrants "invading" his country, and, in his mind, they were taking jobs that belonged to Americans and browning up a country that should always be white. But this did not happen in vacuum. If you listen to what the president of these divided state of America have been saying for the past few weeks you will understand why this animal felt emboldened to act out his evil fantasies.
Republicans and those who support this president will deny it. They were on Sunday talk shows today blaming these racist malevolent acts on the video game industry, a lack of spirituality, and mental illness. (Why is it when young white men commit acts of evil we play the mental illness card?) They pointed fingers at everything else except where they needed to be pointed: The president of the United States. It is his divisive racist and angry rhetoric that has caused these young men -and others like them- to take up the mantle of hatred and division and act out in such a violent way. It is Mr. trump who has actually laughed when his supporters shouted that immigrants should be shot, that people of color --who were born here- should go back where they came from, and who encouraged his supporters to be violent to peaceful protesters. What now can the GOP say in defense of the indefensible? There is nothing that they can say, and so they have decided to gaslight us and trot out the mental illness talking point on cable news shows. This is sad on so many levels, because it stigmatizes those who have a mental illness as being violent (which clearly is not the case), and it promotes the narrative that certain types of people who happen to be evil must have a mental disease.
Mr. trump is supposed to address the country tomorrow. He couldn't do it today because I am sure that he was busy playing golf at his New Jersey course. It will be interesting to see what he has to say. He can't walk back all the evil and divisive things that he has said in the past (fine people on both sides), and the country will be looking for someone to say something that will unite us and give us hope that better days are ahead. It's hard to have hope and optimism for a more united America with this president delivering the message. He is the reason that we are in this dark place, and there is nothing that he can say to change that. Especially when we all know that he will lie and say anything in the moment to make himself look good.
Steve Scalise, one of those complicit republicans who is allowing Mr trump to destroy the country, and who himself has been a victim of gun violence in the past, tweeted the following:
"These events are tragedies. Reducing them to talking points and name-calling in support of narrow political agendas only further divides our country. Jennifer and I pray for the people of El Paso and Dayton. May God help us and heal this great nation."
Sorry Steve, God might be a little busy right now. How about asking the leader of your party to stop trafficking in hate and get off his ass and try to do something.
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