‘Dayton and El Paso won’t change Trump because he’s bet his re-election on division, cruelty and guns...’
Don’t expect meaningful gun control in wake of weekend’s mass shootings, the President will go right back to stoking racial tensions
ONCE again, America has surpassed itself in the unthinkable. With two mass shootings in 13 hours in El Paso and Dayton that killed at least 31 people at the weekend, thoughts and prayers were all America had to offer.
Since moving to the States six years ago, it feels like there have been as many mass shootings as there have been days for me.
From the Washington Navy Yard massacre to the San Bernadino attack, the Orlando Nightclub shooting to the Las Vegas atrocity, throw in the Sutherland Springs Church, Parkland School, and Virginia Beach, I’ve covered them all.
What unites them, other than the gun, is the pathetic lack of action by America’s politicians. But when you consider that it was still the case after 20 young children and six adults died at Sandy Hook in 2012, there is no hope for this country. At the time, President Barack Obama called for new legislative initiatives. “Surely we can do better than this,” he said, but nothing happened.
In deciding between its children and its firearms, America had decided the gun was more valuable.
But under Trump’s watch, there is even less hope of reform. Only on Monday, he sparked outrage after linking gun control to immigration reform despite both shooters being white Americans.
The President, fearful of upsetting supporters, made his shock call despite one of the murderers saying he wanted to kill Hispanics because of an “invasion”.
“We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain,” Trump said, referring to the massacres.
He then added: “Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform. We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events.”
Imagine though, if one of the killers who carried out the two mass shootings had pledged their allegiance to radical Islam before their attack. The might of the American government and its allies would today be swinging into action.
They wouldn’t hesitate to deny future terrorists access to weaponry, money and forums to spread their ideology. Spies would be dispatched. Informants would be gathered. Places of worship watched. Programs would be established to de-radicalise people.
No American would settle for “thoughts and prayers” or accept laying the blame for such an attack on video games or the internet as Trump did.
But when the problem comes from those very supporters of the President, everything else is to blame, apart from his racist rhetoric and the guns.
Unfortunately, Trump will continue to recklessly play on the bigotry and hatred that emboldens mass killers. You only need look to the manifesto El Paso shooter Patrick Crusius published before driving 11 hours to “kill as many Mexicans as possible” and the language Trump has used, to see the correlation.
“More troops being sent to the Southern Border to stop the attempted invasion of illegals through large Caravans into our country,” Trump tweeted earlier this year.
Before opening fire in El Paso and killing 22 innocent people, the 21-year-old shooter wrote: “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
Last month, the President said: “Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was, and I don’t mean that in a positive way.”
Crusius wrote: “The natives didn’t take the invasion of Europeans seriously, and now what’s left is just a shadow of what was.”
There are many examples which show the President’s words have profound consequences.
When he smears all Muslims or Latinos, announcing walls or visa bans to keep them out; when he denounces the news media as “enemies of the people,”; when he says four congresswomen of colour should “go back” to the countries they came from – this spreads fear and hatred.
The President blames video games and the media, everybody but himself.
Rest assured Dayton and El Paso won’t change Trump. Why? Because he’s bet his re-election on division, cruelty and guns.
Imagine... if one of the two killers... had pledged their allegiance to radical Islam ...No American would settle for “thoughts and prayers”
Trump tries to blame video games