I’m sitting here, as first reports of yet another mass shooting surface, and waiting for the inevitable.
The inevitable blaming of the shooter’s parents. His doctors. His political party. His church. His place of work. His mental illness or lack thereof.
The inevitable victim blaming. Blaming the shooting on their
religion, and other on Sikhs. Blaming it on Christians, on Muslims, on Jews.
Blaming of Indians, Indian-Americans, whites, Republicans, and Democrats.
Blaming the incident on gun laws, gun manufacturers, and the
availability of weapons.
It’s only a matter of time before a cable news talking head,
an anonymous person on a web forum, a Youtuber, a commenter on a newspaper’s
website, begins with the blaming.
Blaming anyone, or anything, for this latest tragic, heartbreaking
mass shooting.
Except the shooter himself.
No one made the decision to pick up the weapon and tear into
these innocent people at their place of worship, except the gunman. No one
forced his hand, as far as we now, and no one made the decision on his behalf.
No one deserves blame more than this disturbed individual.
And yet, over the course of the next day or two, you and I
will be subjected to speculation and heresy at every channel flip, and every
Facebook refresh. The 24 hour cable news networks will strive to fill every
second of programming with this most recent shooting, whether the garbage their
spewing is true or not. And politicians, no matter their party, will be happy
to help them do so, using this event to spur their own personal political agendas…
which, mostly likely, is to get elected again.
We may not be able to stop CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News. We can’t
silence their vitriol-spurting, bickering politicians. But we can stop them
from allowing US to think that every single tragedy is a chance to espouse
one’s political beliefs.
Don’t be the newspaper commenter, or Facebook poster, or
blogger, who parrots what you’re being told by these networks, your local
Senator, or your favorite talk radio host. Think for yourself. Look within, and
stand by your fellow Americans both in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and in Aurora, Colorado.
The shooting in Wisconsin is not a political event. It is a
real tragedy wherein people lost their lives.
This shooting has hit me particularly hard. I think it’s the
image of these women, courtesy the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal.
To them, this shooting is not a chance to get
ratings, to try to push gun control, or to get one’s name out there. Their friends and family were inside
the temple, and they will suffer the ramifications from this event the rest of their lives.
I may not have the same name for God as the people who worship
at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, but I plan on praying for
the victims and their families nonetheless. I urge you to join me. If you don’t
pray, perhaps you can volunteer for something in their name. Donate money, perhaps blood is needed. Maybe the temple would even appreciate letters of support from
their fellow Americans. (Here's the contact info for the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.)
Anything but writing another hate-filled, polarizing comment, no matter
who it’s directed at, on Facebook or your favorite TV network’s website.
