I think Conor Friedersdorf is correct in everything except for the reason white folks don’t want to pay too much attention to the Wisconsin massacre. I don’t think it is because white folks fear that the organs of our security state will be turned on them. I don’t think that white folks identify with the shooter unless they are also in the white power movement. White folks probably should worry, but they have different reasons for not caring too much about this particular story. And, in any case, it’s not clear why fearing the implications of a story would make that story less compelling rather than more.
The real reason the Wisconsin massacre isn’t creating the same demand as the Batman massacre is actually identified by Friedersdorf in his piece.
…Robert Wright wonders if the disparity is due to the fact that most people who shape discourse in America “can imagine their friends and relatives — and themselves — being at a theater watching a Batman movie,” but can’t imagine themselves or their acquaintances in a Sikh temple. “This isn’t meant as a scathing indictment; it’s only natural to get freaked out by threats in proportion to how threatening they seem to you personally,” Wright says, adding that the press ought to give much more coverage to the incident.
Just take me for an example. I have two teen-age stepsons who go to movies on a regular basis. But they have never yet taken the car and wound up at a place of worship. I don’t even know where the nearest Sikh temple is, and neither do the kids. So, the Colorado massacre struck fear into me in the “that could have been us” kind of way. The Wisconsin massacre just made me sad and angry. Whatever fear it generated was abstract, in that it made me fear for people of color all across our country. But it didn’t sit right down in my family. It wasn’t as personal. There was zero sense that, but for some random chance, my family could be grieving right now.
On another level, though, the Colorado story was more compelling on its own merits. Houses of worship are attacked every day. Someone burned down a Mosque in Tennessee just this week. Read the newswires from Iraq and attacks are constant. It happens all throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. We have seen the Wisconsin story before. But no one had ever seen anything like what happened in Colorado. It was completely novel. So, it wasn’t just about the color of the victims or the race of the shooter. The crime aroused a lot of curiosity. Add in the guy turning his apartment into a trip-wired bomb, and there’s really no comparison.
But what ought to concern people is that there isn’t too great of a chance of some superhero-junkie shooting up another movie theatre, but there are a LOT of white supremacists in our society who are one bad day away from creating the next massacre. That’s the most important story. Colorado is over. Wisconsin is not.
If it had been a Sikh gunman, or worse a Muslim gunman, shooting up a Christian church and killing people, it would have been a major story, possibly even exceeding the Aurora in coverage.
This country loves talking about shooting killings and dissecting them unless the victims are “them”, whomever the them might be (as long as they aren’t white.
But that’s also because a great majority of people in this country can imagine their families at a Christian church in a way they can’t imagine themselves at a synagogue or mosque or Kingdom Hall or other non-mainstream-Christian place of worship.
The Colorado Batman shootings didn’t strike fear into me. It is one of those freak occurrences that happen. The Minnesota bridge collapsing some years back was a lot more frightening because I can see bridges and overpasses with great gaping cracks. I don’t see people walking around public places with AR-15’s (BTW the gun enthusiasts I know say it is a real crappy weapon, better to buy one of the AK-47’s that are awash in the world market or even a WWII vintage M-1 Garand like the DCM used to sell to the public).
Consider the odds. How many theater showings are there annually? For how many years before an incident. You are MUCH more likely to die during your daily commute. You are even more likely to be shot during your daily commute, although I guess that depends on where you drive.
Speaking of collapses, I still remember the Northridge Quake quite vividly, even though its been nearly 20 years.
I’m sure he did kill himself, kinda like the guy who shot a woman in a Detroit church on Easter Sunday morning in 2006 killed himself by shooting himself in the chest with a shotgun; not the sawed-off variety.
Nobody will question this suicide just like nobody questioned the 2006 suicide…
They call it suicide by cop. Happens more often than most people think.
On the FBI domestic terror most-wanted list are left-wing terrorists such as communists, members Animal Liberation Front (AFL) and even the Last Fugitive Vietnam Era [pdf]. Right wing groups criticize FBI’s attempt to criminalize them, see discussion in 2009 – Why is homeland security calling US vets ‘terrorists’? There was a FBI undercover operation which helped overthrow two domestic-terrorism groups in Central Florida.
The Colorado story made me think of Columbine and then think, “what is in the water out there that makes people do this?” I’m not even remotely interested in most Hollywood films these days.
The Sikh temple incident struck home with me though. It happened just up I-94, 90 minutes away. I’m part of an extended E.Indian-American community though and viscerally “those were my people” in Oak Creek.
When I first heard of this, I remembered in a flash the Sikh man that was killed in Mesa AZ just after 9/11. I also remembered how when I broached the Mesa incident with a co-worker at work the only response was a cold, apathetic shrug of his shoulder.
I keep thinking about the kids hiding in the closets to stay safe, how they must have felt and how some families went home that day without a father, husband, mother, etc.
I’m also a member of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Replying to several comments above, in no particular order:
The AR-15 is actually an excellent weapon. Reliable, lightweight and accurate in trained hands. Weapon snobs have been poo-pooing the AR-15 (or it’s M-16 predecessor) for years. The AK-47 is indeed more available on world markets, though strangely enough harder to obtain in the US.
I can relate to the idea that the theater shootings hit closer to home than the temple shootings. I very seldom go to movies at theaters any more but my daughters do. On hearing the news in Aurora my thoughts were of my daughters, it did not even register with me that it could have possibly happened to me. And likewise the temple shootings made me pissed off and sad.
The burned Mosque was in Joplin, Missouri, unless there was another in Tenn. The Mospue had been damaged by fire a few weeks ago, and set afire a second time last week, which completely destroyed the building. Someone came back to finish the job.
Boo, agreed, we have not seen the end of Wisconsin type violence by a long shot. Though calling it terrorism will be resisted by the Fox news crowd at every opportunity. Not only are they heartless, they are complete buffoons.
not to be pedantic, but the M-16 WAS a piece of shit. Damn thing would jam on 3 grains of sand or one drop of water … not exactly a weapon you want to handle in jungle terrain. It was also too light for actual aiming. It’s strength was that is was very light and could put out an inordinate amount of lead in a very short period of time. It was still a piece of shit.
The AK-47 was slightly heavier and lot tougher. It would jam, but would also clear fast and did not need to be cleaned every 15 minutes. It also stayed cooler at firing pin.
The M-14 (the weapon replaced by the M-16) was heavy, bulky and not as lead throwing in rock and roll mode. You could, however, hit a rolling dime as far as you could see it. It was accurate up to 1.5 MILES if you knew what you were doing (Kentucky windage), and could be used as a club without breaking the stock. If you dropt it on the beach, one pass with a hankie would suffice to clear it. Drop it in the water and all you had to do was hold it barrel down until the water drained.
I know. I used both.
PS:
The AK-47 was a Russian weapon. It was adopted by the Russians around 1946 and by the Soviet bloc in 1950.
The AR-15 is the civilian counterpart to the M16.
I only mentioned the M-16 as that was the weapon with which I have the most experience. Your views are the most common description for the faults of the M-16, but from my personal experience it never failed me when I needed it. Not arguing the point, I’m just sayin’.
Since it never failed you, I must conclude that it was an improved model. God knows, you couldn’t make it worse.
People died. Heroes amongst them acted as shields and caregivers. The government lived up to the best of our ideals in its role to resolve the danger for the people it represented.
In both cases.
Mental illness fantasies enabled by the NRA vs the sheer hatred and organization of the White Supremists is night and day different. Ignoring that difference has proved deadly. Again. Thanks Boo for this post.
Colorado is most definitely not over. It astonishes me that you could state that with such assurance. We don’t even know yet what pushed this kid over the edge, but we know that he was brilliant, accomplished and privileged, certainly as compared to anyone else in his murderous fraternity (youth is a factor too).
We have a generation coming of adult age who were raised on psychoactive drugs like Ritalin and the like, trained on a steady routine of first-person shooter video games, Fox News, and a crappy diet. We have no idea what kind of social outliers those factors might produce; it’s never been done before. There are a ton of stressors resulting from familial and societal changes that I can’t even begin to do justice to, but can at least barely perceive.
And we have a whoooole bunch of combat veterans who know nothing of adult life but kill or be killed, returning to a largely indifferent nation, often with traumatic injuries and/or no job or any other future prospects.
And the weather’s getting shitty. That adds pressure, too.
Nope, Colorado’s not over. Neither is Wisconsin. No, sir.
Both stories are as over for the general public as every other mass shooting incident of the past couple of decades. They just become part of the fabric of “our way of life” and that is not something the majority of Americans have any interest in changing.
Only 9/11 “changed everything” in the consciousness of Americans. That was a change “we believed in” and were willing to avenge regardless of the financial and human cost that is now in excess of $4 trillion and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of lives.
see, while I wouldn’t be going to a Sikh temple,
folks go to WORSHIP EVERY SUNDAY.
Because it’s not a YOUR religion, you can’t see yourself?
I guess cause he’s WHITE.
Because, as a Black person, I could easily imagine that White Supremacist rolling up on First Shiloh Baptist full of Black folks on a Sunday Morning.
that’s all these folks were doing on a Sunday Morning…they were going to worship.
Hell fucking yes, it could have been you..unless you’re an athiest.
I know a few atheists who go to Unitarian churches. Not I, of course, but who knows? When I move to where I want to live, I might join one to get involved with the community.
Because, as a Black person, I could easily imagine that White Supremacist rolling up on First Shiloh Baptist full of Black folks on a Sunday Morning.
It’s very easy for those who have any sense of history. White Supremacists have been doing it for ages. How many black churches in the South were bombed back in the 50’s and 60’s?
right. but I don’t attend any religious services. And, if I did, there’s no way that a skinhead would show up and kill me.
If I were black, I’d feel exactly like you do, whether I went to church or not.
What if you were at a mall, like the Gifford victims were? You go to malls, presumably, so would that make you feel more related to those folks? Doesn’t make sense to me.
Gunman was a Neonazi/Supremacist and they don’t like anyone unless they are white (Aryan race).
See my diary – Gunman’s Neonazi/Supremacists Views Likely Motive [Update]
I can’t say this is new.
What about that dude that opened fire on the ong Island Railroad in the 1990s? or the dude at the Gabby Giffords shooting, wasn’t that in broad daylight at a super market?
the rest of it is 100% though.
I don’t go to first-run movies or religious services. Setting up a dichotomy like this puts one in the impossible position of implying that Tragedy A was more tragic then Tragedy B.
That said, Wisconsin disturbed me more deeply. It was essentially a random act of a kind we’ve gotten used to in a culture full of lone crazies, um, law-abiding Americans with easy access to weapons of all levels of mass destruction. It was one nutcase with more firepower than anyone should have, and we’ve seen it all before and will see it again. The odds for any individual being a victim are far less than being killed by a car or a gun wielded by someone you know.
Wisconsin was apparently not a conspiracy, but it grew out of a subculture dedicated to destroying the “other”. Just as crazy as Holmes or Loughner or Chapman, perhaps, but acting on the basis of organized intent to murder. To me this is by far the more ominous threat to our society and to every individual in it. The WI massacre also makes me more profoundly ashamed of my country, a reminder that we never really seem to leave our murderous racist/jingoist past behind us.
I think the Wright theory is disturbing on its own. He’s basically saying that whatever empathy we have doesn’t extend much beyond “people like us”. Even I am not quite that cynical. I think the difference in coverage comes from the ease of covering a crazy guy shooting up a place for no reason vs a crazy guy killing people for a very specific reason that would demand thoughtfulness along with the “human interest” stories. Plus, the WI victims were just not as media savvy as the CO ones — the cultural cues were different than what you’d see on some reality show, and so less able to provoke the instant empathy that CO victims did. So, not so much race as culture and class is what made the difference.
While I have no knowledge of why the skinhead chose Sikhs to murder, there are two elements to it. It was a religious setting and they were not white. My best guess, based on the fact that he was a racist skinhead, is that the key element was their skin color and not their religious faith.
But his intent is largely irrelevant to how people reacted to the news that this event had occurred. For me, I am used to seeing shootings or bombings or arson at churches, synagogues, and mosques, so the only real novelty to it was that they were Sikhs. Some people wondered if he mistook them for Muslims for this very reason. An attack on Muslims would make more sense to people because they’ve seen that before.
Of course, attacks on blacks and black churches are obviously familiar in our history. A couple of years ago, a guy shot up a church in Tennessee because he thought the membership was liberal. We had a guy attack the Holocaust Museum.
But we have never seen a guy dress up like a supervillian and shoot up the premiere of movie before. His victims were entirely random. All the shooter knew about them was that they shared his love of Batman movies. He didn’t kill them because of who they were but because of who he wanted to be himself: The Joker.
That is weird and far harder to explain that the shooting of a congresswoman who had brushed off someone’s question at some previous encounter. It’s harder to explain than someone who flies his plain into the IRS building.
It’s the pure randomness of it that makes is stand out. At least, for me.
Here’s an additional angle related to the Sikh temple shooting. There are a couple of indicators that it maybe wasn’t juat a case of one guy going over the line on an isolated incident:
I am looking forward to hearing from the FBI on possible ties of Page or related organizations to these other crimes against Sikhs in the area.
There have been no threats on the Sikh community in Milwaukee South side. State Rep. Josh Zepnick has very close relationship with the Sikh leaders of the Temple – see video at scene of the shooting. His concern for racial tension most likely linked to last years attacks of black mobs on white people after 4th of July and the end of July State Fair event.
“There have been no threats on the Sikh community in Milwaukee South side.”
Hmmmm. How do you know that? The article you posted references two areas completely different than Oak Creek: the state fair grounds at West Allis and Riverwest.
So, I really don’t think so. The details of the reported facts aren’t even close. In a similar article to what I posted before:
In the many articles and interviews I had scanned in writing my diaries on the Sikh Temple shooting, I took note of a calm community living in peace. In responding to your article, I couldn’t find the specific meeting of Josh Zepnick, the DA and President Satwant Singh Kaleka. Just now I got the article of last year’s visit and not recent as the LA Times article wrote.
Their skin color and their religious faith would be the same thing to a white-power wackjob — they both identify them as the Other, moving in where they don’t belong, destroying pure American culture. This guy doesn’t know Muslim from Sikh from Hindu — they’re all undifferentiated towelheads, sand niggers, and all the rest of the Fox/Limbaugh vocabulary.
I guess I just don’t see the CO massacre as different in kind. Whatshisname shot Reagan to impress an actress. This guy identified as a movie character. Nuts is nuts, but is more threatening when it’s ideological, to me, at least.
Your post made me very sad. Really? People can’t see themselves in the Sikh congregants’ shoes but the theater attendees? Must the capacity to empathize be dependent on solely literal equivalents of circumstances? Both groups of victims were sitting ducks in sites that operate on the basis of societal trust/communion (You should read Richard Wrights short story “The Man who Lived Underground” which features both a movie theater & a church as pivotal nodes in modern society’s reconstructed communal acts of self-delusion. I teach it)
The reason the Sikhs were ignored by the media is precisely because the Sikh community members who came before the cameras were NOT willing to play along the shallow candle glow pablum that the corporate media wanted them to spew. Immediately the story broke spokespersons like Mr. Rajwant Singh and Armadeep Kaleka, son of the slain President of the Temple started speaking on CNN & MSNBC uncomfortable truths about the overt & “soft terrorism” that members of the community had been facing since 9-11. CNN promptly cut them off.
That’s because to retain the spotlight on Sikhs would mean Americans had to admit to escalating White violence towards minorities as a REAL problem, and to do some soul-searching. Americans don’t wanna do that. So the lack of interest and subsequent coverage is symptomatic of our ostrich strategy. There are many of us in this country who see the picture most clearly.
Exactly. It’s so much easier to go on and on about some lone crazy, and “what we must do about it”.