Posted Courtesy of Wright Enterprises Community Spotlight~~~
AMERICANS MUST STOP MASSACRES
BY ANH LÊ
When I first read the news headline on August 3rd that a mass shooting had occurred at a Walmart in El Paso, and not yet having read the details of it in the news article, my intuition immediately told me that the shooting was done by someone who wanted to target Hispanics and Latinos given the demographics of El Paso.
Prior to the mass shooting that day, I had been concerned that such a tragedy would occur, not only because such shootings and massacres have become more frequent in our country, but especially because of the increasingly virulent language and attacks from the White House against immigrants, people of color, Muslims, and four Congresswomen of color.
Such language and attacks foment hatred and divisiveness, perpetuate bigotry and racism, and instigate violence.
The person arrested in the massacre in El Paso told police that he wanted to kill Hispanics. The manifesto he posted on social media blamed Hispanics and immigrants for "displacing Whites," an extremely dangerous narrative of White supremacist ideology.
The killings of 22 people in El Paso are not just murders of our fellow Americans, but acts of domestic terrorism.
There is not another nation that has mass shootings, massacres, and acts of domestic terrorism which the United States has.
We must confront and address the causes of the massacre, including the bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, and White supremacist ideology which led to this massacre and act of domestic terrorism.
We must demand of our elected officials the enactment of laws which ban AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons, that were used in the El Paso massacre, and the other recent massacres in Dayton, Ohio and at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.
The tragedy of the massacre and domestic terrorism that occurred in El Paso is further compounded by the ghoulish photograph showing the occupant of the White House grinning and making a thumbs-up sign while his spouse is holding a 2-months old infant whose parents were killed in the massacre.
The infant, Paul Anchondo, was reportedly brought to the University Medical Center of El Paso by the White House for the photo op session, just a day after he was discharged from the hospital. His parents, Andre and Jordan Anchondo, shielded him to protect his life during the massacre.
The orphaned infant suffered two broken finger bones and the loss of his parents. The infant's two siblings, Victoria, 1 year old, and Skylin, 5 years old, will now also grow up without their parents.
Who will speak on behalf of the orphaned infant Paul, his siblings Skylin and Victoria, and their parents Jordan and Andre Anchondo?
Who will speak on behalf of each of the people killed in the El Paso massacre and their family members?
As Americans, we must learn to live as a people who care for each other, who uphold and respect the sanctity of human life, and who reject bigotry, divisiveness, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, White supremacist ideology, hatred, and violence.
We must not only ban AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons which mow down and kill our fellow Americans in an instant, we must also enact strict laws for background checks.
The blood of all those who were killed in El Paso, Dayton, Gilroy, and all the previous massacres in our nation, stain and rest on our collective national conscience.
ANH LÊ is a writer and independent journalist.
COPYRIGHT ANH LÊ, AUGUST 24, 2019