America has become fairly accustomed to gun violence. There’s been a constant stream of shootings, whether mass shooting or a singular victim. Families aren’t getting enough time to grieve, and citizens are being increasingly desensitized to the violence. There has been a pattern I have noticed on how these incidences are portrayed by the media. Non-white ethnic groups, whether victim or perpetrator, are brutally attacked by the media. They are portrayed in such a negative light, yet white shooters are not. Of all the mass shootings, or even those who killed one at a time (e.g. police officers), do not face the same attacks. In the case of white mass shooters — we are going to be discussing Dylann Roof, who killed nine churchgoers in South Carolina, and Adam Lanza, who was responsible for the Sandy Hook shootings — these gunmen are never described as what they really are — terrorists.

Now, the word terrorist is normally reserved from a foreign threat, someone who does not fit into the normal “American” image, read as Caucasian, whether they are from here or not. The reality is, terrorism can be executed by anyone able to exhibit hate and violence; it can be from your neighbor; it can be from an American. Labels and media portrayal are incredibly important since they can shape the public opinion. In the case of the Orlando shooter, he is easily labelled as a terrorist. Omar Mateen is Muslim and a sworn member of ISIS, basically fitting the American description of what a terrorist is. However, that's the kicker: he is a terrorist because killed almost 50 people for their sexual orientation and wounded almost the same amount. He is not a terrorist because he is Muslim. The media focuses on his past connections to ISIS and possible links that people he is associated with have to ISIS. He is being portrayed as a criminal, and rightly should be seen as such. He committed a horrible act, which is officially the worse shooting in U.S. history.

Now, let’s take a look into the media coverage of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter. Lanza shot and killed 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newton, Connecticut, as well as his mother and himself in December 2012 — a total of 28 people. Before the Orlando shooting, Adam Lanza committed the most heinous act in American history, with the most innocent victims. Once identified, the airwaves and internet were bombarded on the person behind the gun. Who was Adam Lanza? What caused him to wreak havoc in an elementary school? Before long, the public had an insight on who Lanza was, from friends and families and neighbors. When it was discovered that Lanza used to go shooting with his mother, suddenly she was blamed for her son’s actions. People claimed that since it was her gun that was used and she taught him how to shoot, she should be partially responsible for the massacre. In addition to being a teacher at the school, she was the first victim. She is responsible for nothing.

Dylann Roof is the Charleston shooter. On June 15, 2014, Roof attended a Bible study meeting at the historic Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopalian Church in Charleston, Sout Carolina, and then shot nine Bible study goers to death, intentionally leaving one survivor. While Mateen was killed on sight, Roof was apprehended alive. The media delved into his history, with testimonials from friends and families who just couldn’t believe Roof killed all those people. They explored his family history, and the root of his troubles stemming from his parents’ failed marriage. This was his scapegoat, while Lanza’s was his mother. There was extensive coverage of how the failed marriage was the catalyst of him getting in trouble with the law. Yet, despite this, all the people who knew him couldn’t see him doing the shooting as an act of racism since he had black friends and lived in a predominately African-American neighborhood. Roof himself declared the shooting as a hate crime, and was inspired by George Zimmerman who killed Trayvon Martin in Florida just a year before.

So we have three murderers who felt that it was their duty to a kill groups of innocent people out of hate: a school, a black church and an LGBT nightclub. The media relentlessly covered the shootings, with the shooters getting notoriety. It can be mutually agreed that Lanza, who targeted the children, would be the most malicious. Children is a low blow, for anyone. Yet, he, along with Roof, were relieved of full responsibilities, with the excuse that somehow along the way, they became a product of their environments — Lanza was in the influence of his mother, who taught him how to use a gun; Roof was the victim of a failed marriage that led him to act up and skirt the edge of the law. Mateen’s scapegoat is ISIS, but he is fully responsible for his own crimes, according to the media. Whether he acted on behalf of Islam or on the behalf of ISIS, both the organization and Mateen are responsible. There is no relieving of Mateen of responsibility of his crime. Now, this is absolutely just, but it can’t go unnoticed that the other two shooters didn’t face the same responsibility, even though they are all equally guilty.

In addition to having scapegoats, Lanza and Roof received character testimonials from friends, family and neighbors. Keywords are always used for cases like theirs: “quiet,” “nice kid,” “shy,” among other countless soft — read as useless — descriptions for the perpetrators. Roof’s stepmother described him as “a loner, quiet and very smart too,” according to CNN. In addition to being “extremely bright,” the Washington Post says that a neighbor reported Lanza as being “a socially awkward kid … shy and quiet … just kind of a weird kid.” When Mateen’s past was being highlighted, ISIS and Muslim were used to shape the public’s perception about him. They discussed how he worked at one of the world’s largest security companies and how that tied into the atrocity. They talk about how he was previously investigated by the FBI but released since they didn’t have evidence against him then.

To really reiterate my point, I have to include rather laughable character reports on Roof by those who knew him. From a neighbor who knew him in seventh grade, the person reported that Roof “saw black as he saw white.” It was also noted that Roof, who lived in a predominantly black neighborhood, had black friends growing up (shocker) and that he did not exhibit racist qualities as he was growing up. Joseph Meek, who was friends with Roof when he committed murder, knew that Roof had racist views. The person who Roof was as a kid, the one who was nice and not racist, at some point grew up and stopped existing. This is the person the media should have focused on. This is the Roof that the media should have exposed since he can provide details, motive, state of mind, motivation that led up to the fateful day on June 15, 2014. No one from his childhood could ever describe the real man who killed those nine people.

I am not vouching for anyone’s innocence, since it is clear that they are all equally guilty. What I am calling for is equal representation by the media for the public. The media needs to acknowledge that all three of these shooters are terrorists, inflicting terror on those who did not deserve it. These acts were done out of hate. One can note that there is unequal representation of these terrorist since Roof actually has a Facebook support group who can justify his actions. Lanza will never get that because he killed children, but Mateen won’t get that either because he was Muslim and an ISIS member. The media has a powerful role in keeping the public informed, but when they are spewing bias, how informed can the public actually be? How can the public make their own opinion when the media has made one for them?