I originally wrote this post on August 4th, 2019. On that date, I was going to talk about religious iconography again, but woke up to the horrifying news that there was a mass shooting in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio in my old stomping grounds, The Oregon District. So, today we are going to talk about Thoughts and Prayers. 

As many of you know, thoughts and prayers are offered after a mass shooting. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas who survived the mass shooting at their school were some of the first to say, “Fuck Your Thoughts and Prayers.” However, this post has nothing to do with gun policies. This is about Small Acts of Racism. 

The El Paso shooter, Patrick Crusius, who killed twenty people in a Walmart on the same day as the Dayton Mass Shooting, stated that he was motivated by “his objection to Hispanic immigrants.” Remember Arizona Lawmaker, Sylvia Allen, who stated that if the country isn’t careful, we could be overrun by little brown babies. There were many who defended her and stated that her comments were just in opposition to open borders. GTFOH with that BS. She was using dog whistle politics by associating the color of a person’s skin with the concepts of intrusion, infestation and taking over this land from White people. She was quietly indicating that brown people aren’t Americans, too, so we must stop the invasion!

Lest us not forget, Rep. Steve King’s comment regarding returning to civilization can’t be done with “someone else’s babies.” 

Do you think those ideals weren’t running through Patrick Casius’ head when he chose to shoot up a Walmart near the border that draws customers from Mexico? 

Many well-meaning White people have fallen into the trap of supporting this ideal with comments like, “there’s a right way to come into this country” and “if you hate this country, then leave.” I can guarantee that half your ancestors didn’t come into this country “the right way,” either. So, GTFOH with your dog whistle racist thoughts and prayers.

(You can refer to my previous posts regarding subtle imagery and policing black hair and bodies.)

From what I can tell, Connor Betts killed his sister in the shooting early in the morning of August 4th, 2019, in Dayton, Ohio. However, the majority of his fatal victims were African-American. He learned everything I talked about in all the previous posts. On top of it, he appears to have lived in a predominantly white, insular environment in which dog whistle politics inform opinions about people of color. It has since been suggested that his sister, being friends with a Black man, upset him. 

It is now the summer of 2020, and while there have been no recent mass shootings, there have been at least four high profile deaths and/or of Black people at the hands of the police. Elijah McClain, who was quite possibly on the Autism spectrum, was killed on August 24th, 2019, when police answered the call of a Black man acting “sketchy.” He had his earphones on and did not immediately respond to commands. He was killed for listening to music and waving his hands.

In February of 2020, Ahmad Arbery was murdered for jogging in a predominantly White neighborhood by three White men claiming they were protecting their neighborhood. They, too, claimed Mr. Arbery looked “sketchy.” Apparently being Black, male and exercising is enough to get you killed.

Breonna Taylor was killed in her home on March 13th, 2020 just as stay-at-home orders were issued due to COVID-19. The police entered Breonna’s home using a “no knock warrant” for which they didn’t have to identify themselves. Breonna’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker let off one round from his legally owned gun, when he thought his home was being robbed. The police let off in excess of 40 shots hitting Breonna eight times. They arrested Mr. Walker, calling him “cop killer” as they took him into custody. They already had the gentleman they were looking for in custody.

The murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020 set off months of civil unrest as the country deals with another reckoning on race amidst police violence primarily reserved for Black citizens. The racial disparities were highlighted and difficult to ignore as people hunkered down due to COVID-19. Mr. Floyd was killed after David Cahuvin pressed a knee in his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds as he plead for his life all caught on video. The graphic sight of Mr. Floyd’s death was seen around the world and the world responded with, “ENOUGH!” The protests highlighted the deaths at the hands of police of Elijah McClain, Breonna Taylor and the February death of Ahmad Arbery at the hands armed vigilantes.

On June 12th, 2020, Rayshard Brooks was killed after he fell asleep in a Wendy’s drive-thru holding up traffic. Now mind you, the employees could have walked out and tapped on his window to awaken him. But, NO! In the current climate, it appeared to make more sense to call the police. SMDH. When the police arrived, they spoke to Mr. Brooks for a while before attempting to place him under arrest for a DUI. He offered to walk to his girlfriends house, but was denied. At some point a taser was discharged. Mr. Brooks ran after wrestling the discharged taser away from an officer and while running was shot in his back. Point in fact: the taser would not have fired again after being discharged. The police knew this.

On August 23rd, 2020, Jacob Blake was shot 7-times in his back after breaking up a fight between two white women. He rounded an SUV that held three of his children, when an officer tugged on his tank top and discharged his weapon 7 times into the back of a living person. Jacob Blake was shot in front of his children. Let that sink in. He will be paralyzed from the waist down most likely for the rest of his life. Peaceful protests and some rioting broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Four days later, 17-year old Kyle Rittenhouse of Antioch, Illinois drove 20 minutes to Kenosha with an AR-15 assault rifle. He had to drive around barriers to get in because Kenosha had been closed to incoming traffic. Kyle went, ostensibly, to join an armed militia to protect property, not living beings, from destruction. Early in the day, the police, of the same police department that shot Jacob Blake, thanked the White people with guns and gave them water. Again, let that sink in. The police were more afraid of an unarmed Black man than they were of a GROUP of armed White people. 🧐 Later that night, Kyle went on to kill two protestors and injure a third. Afterward, Mr. Rittenhouse walked toward the police with his arms up, with his weapon displayed, and was allowed to pass, even though the crowd was yelling that he had just shot people and needed to be arrested. He was arrested the next day, peacefully, even the the police knew he had access to weapons and the ability to accurately use them. This is Amerikkka!

It seems the police and vigilantes picked up where mass shooters left off. The FBI has concluded that white supremacists have infiltrated law enforcement around the country. What better way to feed the need to kill Black people than to do it uniform with sanction from your local government.

I have been told that I see racism in everything and that I am a miserable unhappy person. No. I am a realistic person who has said ignoring Small Acts of Racism is a life and death decision for people of color in this country. The US history of of mass shootings and police violence has been a case study in point. So, GTFOH with your thoughts and prayers!