Last night, there was yet another mass shooting, this time in Illinois, where at the the moment, reports are 1 dead and 20 wounded.
On June 7th, one occurred in my home town of Richmond, Virginia. Two people were killed and another five were wounded. I'd actually begun writing this after that incident, but knew I wouldn't have to wait long for another one, making this a more timely entry.
May 23rd saw a mass shooting in Florida's Hollywood Beach that injured four.
There was a mass shooting (actually mass murder) on April 15 in Dadeville, Alabama that took four lives and wounded an astonishing thirty two others.
Each was quickly met with the standard outcries from the left of "we need more gun control" and "ban assault weapons now!"
Then, these shootings disappeared from the media and the minds of most people, except the victims, obviously. Hell, the one last night in Illinois didn't cause a ripple on social media today. I saw its first mention from fucking Gateway Pundit, of all places, and not until almost 1 p.m. In contrast, the shooting in Nashville, back in March, still has a fair amount of mindshare, for some reason.
This entry is about why the disparity exists.
First, it may be a good time to go back and review the definitions of what constitutes a mass shooting versus a mass murder. You can find my entry on the topic HERE, along with some spoilers for this entry. The short version is a mass murder is typically characterized by a lone gunman "lost boy", who wants the world to know he's important. These are exceedingly rare. While the Dadeville shooting was technically a mass murder, I'm calling it a mass shooting, for reasons that will become clear.
The mass shootings that have become all too common all tend to fit in a mold. The the shooter and intended victim know each other and have had some sort of disagreement or ongoing feud. The shooting takes place in a public place, typically during a celebration, with or without alcohol present. The shooter rarely owns the gun(s) used legally and they're always handguns. The shooters obviously can't take their illegal guns to shooting ranges, so they can't hit shit, resorting to spraying an area with bullets, which is why there are multiple injuries / fatalities. The shooters and victims are typically lower income. When a shooting happens, I'll make these predictions, then look like The Amazing Kreskin, when I'm proven right.
A lot more people are dying as a result of the these sorts of shootings, but why don't they receive the same amount of attention as mass murders? I've narrowed it down to two reasons; racism and inconvenience. Oh yeah, I'm going there.
These events are inconvenient because they don't fit a specific narrative. You see, there are people who believe semiautomatic rifles are the root of gun violence. It doesn't matter that they're only used in ~2% of all firearm homicides, these people want them banned. Because these events almost universally involve handguns, not rifles, they don't allow the assault weapon haters to further their agenda. In fact, because the shooters largely can't legally own a gun in the first place (they're typically stolen), there's no fodder for supporting any further measures to restrict the public's access to purchase guns.
One common factor I haven't mentioned is that these events are almost universally black shooters attacking black victims. To be blunt, I don't think many white people, or black people in some cases, care about poor blacks killing other poor blacks. Based upon my exposure to the far right, I think there's a non insignificant portion of our society that sees these crimes as either "that's what blacks do because they're animals" or "a couple more dead blacks is a good start". Yes, there are plenty of people who, in 2023, still view blacks as inferior and savages. Besides, it's not as though white people have much to be concerned about, in terms of being caught up in one these melees.
But why do these things happen and can those factors inform how we stop these horrific events from taking place? As I've considered these question, my mind has gone a few different places, opening up further questions. First, because these targeted killings take place out in the open, there has to be an expectation on the perp's part that he'll be caught and be punished with jail time. So, what causes them to still pull that trigger? In my opinion, there are two potential reasons. First, they see their lives as not having value in the first place; that their future seems hopeless, so going to jail is neither a bad nor a good outcome. The second is that black culture is similar to those who settled the South in that a perceived sleight is a sufficient and valid reason to kill someone. Your honor must be defended at all costs. Fixing these issues requires a societal change, something I'm not an expert on. Perhaps, someone who is can take the torch.
About the author: Sean R is a recovering conservative who owns a consulting firm specializing in strategic marketing. He's been a competitive shooter since the early 90's and holds a High Master classification in PPC and a Master classification in USPSA. Additionally, he's served as an instructor for gun safety and competition courses. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his overly vocal white dog, Sadie.
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