It seems these days, we are seeing more and more headlines about tragic shootings around the country. Within just one month, we saw the loss of nine innocent lives in Charleston and four more in Chattanooga. The saddest part is that these people did nothing wrong, but just happened to be born a different race or religion than their shooter.
This is not okay.
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You would think by the 21st century, our society and people would have outgrown the ideas of race and religious supremacy and righteousness. Unfortunately, that's not the case. And that's not going to change until we amend the way we think and talk about these tragedies.
I absolutely love the Daily Skimm. I think it's a great way to get a concise summary of the news every day. But let's take a look at how they described each of these events the day after they happened:
On June 18th, the day after the Charleston shooting:
"Last night, a gunman opened fire at a historic black church there. Nine people were killed, including the pastor, and at least one was wounded. The shooter is still at large. Police believe he’s a white man in his early 20s, and that he attacked during a prayer meeting inside the church. Officials are describing this as a hate crime. The FBI is helping with the investigation."
On July 17th, the day after the shooting in Chattanooga.
"Yesterday, a gunman killed four Marines at a military facility there. The gunman first went to a military recruiting center and shot at glass doors. Then he went to a nearby naval reserve center and shot and killed the Marines. The suspect was also killed, and is being investigated for possible ties to terrorist groups."
Before I go any further, I want to emphasize that I am in NO way condoning the actions of either of these shooters.
My intention is to point out how different these cases are reported. There was an incredible amount of hesitation before more than a handful of people were willing to label the lone white man's crime a hate crime, and no media outlet would describe the Charleston shooting as an act of terrorism. But mere hours after this lone Arab man's actions, we are immediately searching for "possible ties to terrorist groups." Why was Mohammad Abdulazeez's family detained in Jordan to investigate terrorist ties while no one even questioned the family of Dylan Roof or his upbringing? Why is the country so willing to accept this white American's actions as those of a single, unaffiliated actor, while the Arab American's actions are assumed and expected to be a part of a bigger agenda?
Do we not see that this "agenda" already exists in America? We just don't let ourselves recognize it. Actually, let me rephrase that. As a brown girl born and raised in the South, I see it every day.
I see the stares my mom and I get when we stop by the grocery store in more traditional garb on religious holidays. I remember my 7th birthday when my best friends approached me at recess to tell me my religion was wrong and that I should convert when I'm 25. I know what it's like to miss countless school events, tests, and assignments to celebrate a religious holiday because it isn't recognized nationally -- even worse, I know people who haven't been able to observe their important religious events because of work or school. I have, albeit jokingly, been called a terrorist and other degrading names without ever lifting a hand to anyone.
I am not saying everyone in the country is racist or close-minded. But you cannot deny the privilege and ease that comes with being white and Christian in America. For one, as the majority in the population, you have control. Look at how hesitant we are to admit the white shooter is a small part of a larger picture. This white man is not expected to represent the rest of the Caucasian population, but the Arab man is automatically tied to and considered the same as the Arab and Muslim American populations. How sad is it that it is so easy to point to that group's flaws, to accuse them of being racist and religious supremacists, to blame them for violence -- but it is so hard to recognize the flaws of the majority population in America?
Days after the Charleston shooting and the young man's conviction, the whole country turned to the debate of the Confederate flag. "It's a symbol for violence and hatred and racism!" They said. And it is. But criticizing and getting rid of a symbol is not enough to address what that symbol actually represents. And yet, the conversation seemed to change so quickly. Rather than actually talking about what made Dylan Roof think his actions were "justified," the whole country blamed it on a piece of fabric that stands for Southern pride or racism or whatever the person you talk to at that moment believes it to be. Attacking a collection of threads and the pattern they form does nothing to the underlying threads of society waiting to be pulled at and unwound.
When events like this happen, we change the conversation as quickly as we can, out of fear of offending the majority of the population of our country. When a white man murdered three Muslim students in Chapel Hill, NC, earlier this year, it was referred to as the results of a "parking dispute." The federal government refused to get involved and label it as a hate crime for as long as possible. The Charleston shooting got even more attention at first, sparking an intense controversy when Roof and his actions were labeled as "mentally ill" instead of the hate crime and act of terror that it was. But when the Arab-American commits the same wrong deeds, there is no hesitation.
His family, community, and people that may look like him are punished. They will feel the backlash for one person's actions. The young girls adorning hijabs and the young boys with Middle Eastern features will continue to be on the receiving end of glares and the butt of terrorist jokes. They will constantly feel on edge, never completely comfortable in the country they still continue their own -- always anxious about when the next ungodly act of someone of their race will be blamed on themselves. But those with fairer skin will not think twice when someone of their own pigment makes the same transgressions. They'll take days to admit the existence of hate crimes rooted in the society's institutionalized views and treatments of race. They may scold the actor or sympathize with the victims. But they will not be blamed. They will not be linked to or accused of being terrorists. They will not have this dark cloud follow them in whatever work they pursue because of the actions of one person.
Their actions and thoughts will not be assumed to be a cause of their race or religion.They will not be forced into a category based on the color of their skin. They are allowed to be their own individuals, instead of a part of a darker whole.
