The strange American ritual where everyone other than straight white people pray the shooter isn't "one of our own"
It happens every time. Let me explain.
Articles like the one you are about to read are really why I became a journalist. What I am about to tell you was just the reality for MILLIONS and millions of Americans but you won’t hear a word about it on the mainstream news. Because those outlets really only tell a narrow sliver of perspectives. If you support independent journalism, and want this work to continue, please click here to become a member today.
Early this morning in Utah, something I would not wish on any parent happened. A father turned in his 22 year old son, Tyler Robinson, pictured above, for shooting and killing the conservative leader, Charlie Kirk, earlier this week at Utah Valley University.
First, let me say this…
From all of the evidence I have seen, I believe Tyler Robinson is the shooter. I believe it was him on the roof, I believe it was him in the videos jumping off the roof, and I believe it was him in the videos fleeing the scene. I have matched up dozens of photos, as have countless others, and it’s him. Earlier reports are that he confessed to his father, and that his father turned him in.
Today I am not here to talk about Charlie Kirk.
Or even Tyler Robinson.
Today I am here to talk about how everybody in America, other than straight white men, were praying and hoping that the shooter was not “one of our own.” What do I mean?
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, was literally going on any news station that would have him to blame Muslims for the murder of Charlie Kirk. Like WTF?
Conservatives all over the Internet were blaming trans-people because someone lied and said the bullets had some kind of “trans marks” on them. I don’t even know what that means, but LGBT people were in a literal panic over being blamed for this shooting.
Donald Trump yesterday talked about how he was going to crack down on people on the far-left - and started blaming liberals for the murder of Charlie Kirk.
Immigrants were nervous. Black people were nervous. Basically - everybody other than straight white men were nervous.
WHY? Because when anyone other than straight white men commit an atrocious crime the ENTIRE GROUP IS BLAMED, but when it turns out to be a straight white man - no such thing happens.
In essence, the race, religion, ethnicity, and nationality all seem to be a HUGE DEAL in mass shootings or targeted killings until it’s a straight white man.
I don’t know Tyler Robinson’s politics. I know his father is a Christian minister. I know his family went on hunting trips. I know they are white and lived in Utah. I know he had two parents at home that truly seemed to love him.
And suddenly, the race of the shooter no longer matters.
The religion of the shooter no longer matters.
His nationality now means nothing.
These factors only truly matter in as much as white people can use them to victimize a group of people they already didn’t like. And now that the shooter was determined to be from their own, every person that was going on the news to blame everyone other than white men has disappeared.
It happens like clockwork. After every single shooting, bigots get online and blame someone other than a Christian white American man, then it turns out to be a Christian white American man, and his whiteness and his religion and everything else are all eliminated as factors. Why?
You have no idea the stress it causes ENTIRE groups of millions of people as they wait, on pins and needles, hoping and praying that some horrible person that did something atrocious was not one of their own. I’ve seen it my entire life - alongside the strange sigh of relief that follows when we learn, that yet again, it was a white man.
It’s not OK.
And what’s wild, is that after we find out it was “just another white man” - white men don’t pay any collective price like Muslim men would’ve had to pay if the shooter was a Muslim. In fact, the only people who don’t pay a collective price for a crime like this are white men.
And you know I’m right. This country is so exhausting.
My work exists to drag these truths into the light.
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Love and appreciate each of you.
Your friend and brother,
Shaun
Here are a few of my most recent articles for FREE with no paywall.
My thoughts on the assassination of Charlie Kirk
I won’t keep saying this, but I had surgery to repair nerve damage in my right arm and hand on this past Monday and I’m just now able to begin using the fingers on my right hand. And the doctors asked me to not type much for these next few weeks.
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EXTREMELY WELL SAID.
And this is how a genocide of a WHOLE group of people, the Palestinians is justified. With this racist, discriminatory lens.
I would add the war on Iraq. Iraq was destroyed because of September 11th. And guess what, the alleged perpetrators weren’t even Iraqi. So then… America destroys Iraq with frankly NO RELATION to September 11th.
They just use the hearts and minds of ppl to twist facts and destroy any group they want. And it seems they are targeting the Catholics now (in addition to all other minorities - which we know).