On Sunday night an anti-Muslim white nationalist allegedly walked into a mosque in Canada and shot and killed six people and left at least eight others critically wounded in a hail of gunfire. All by itself, that news is utterly devastating — or at least it should be — but something truly despicable is going on.
For nearly a full day, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of conservatives all over the internet blamed the shooting on Muslims. The words "Allahu Akbar" were the top trending topic in the United States as the rumors spread that multiple Muslim gunmen screamed this as they shot worshippers in the mosque.
Alexandre Bissonnette is charged with killing six people in a mosque in Canada.
(Facebook)Even right now, when I just Googled the words "Allahu Akbar," the top links were news stories from all over the world declaring that multiple gunmen were heard chanting this as they shot and killed those six people.
But the initial reports weren't accurate. The shooting had one lone gunman — not two, as officials initially said. The suspect was not a Muslim. He was not from Morocco. He was not bearded or wearing Muslim garb. He didn't speak Arabic. Yet, 24 hours later, Fox News still has not retracted or addressed their widely shared tweet that it was a Muslim Moroccan who did the shooting.
French-Canadian man charged for 'terrorist attack on Muslims'
Instead, the suspected shooter was a bigoted 27-year-old white man known to many as a conservative online troll and white nationalist who voiced support for Donald Trump. Perhaps this is why Donald Trump has not personally mentioned this mass shooting even though it was the deadliest single incident in North America since he was inaugurated?
What I know is this — had the shooter actually been a Muslim who walked into a quaint little Baptist church full of white folk singing Amazing Grace, not only would Trump be genuinely outraged right now, the entire conservative machine would be mobilizing against what they call radical Islam. It appears that radical whiteness simply does not bother them.
People stand with a sign for peace near the Québec City Islamic cultural center after a shooting killed six people on Jan. 29.
(ALICE CHICHE/AFP/Getty Images)But you know, and I know, that had this shooter been a Muslim, who killed white Christians, tens of millions of people all over the world would've changed their profile picture to the Canadian flag. We'd be hearing harrowing tales of the survivors and seeing emotional reflections on those who lost their lives. The coverage would be non-stop.
That's damn sure not our reality right now though. A Muslim life taken by a white bigot clearly does not matter as it would if the roles were reversed. And that's just gross. It gets to the root of what I really think happened here — now that conservatives, including Donald Trump, learned that the shooter was a white conservative, they aren't outraged, because they really don't mind what he did.
Shooting at Quebec mosque leaves at least six people dead
Even when they thought the shooter was a Muslim, the surge of conservative energy was not being expressed as grief for the victims, but a big "we told you radical Islam was dangerous" to rub it in everyone's face. Otherwise, where's the grief? Where's the concern? Where are the fundraisers? Where are the interviews with families of victims?
University professor Khaled Belkacemi was one of the six who died in Sunday night's shooting at a Quebec City mosque.
(Université Laval)Where is the compassion from Trump? Yet here we are, with another incident of an angry white bigot walking into a place of worship and slaughtering people at will and people are still speaking like this shooting and the mass shooting by the white nationalist Dylann Roof in Charleston are unrelated.
They are deeply connected. Dylann Roof was radicalized online. This much has been proven. He admitted it openly. The Canadian suspect, Alexandre Bissonnette, was also reportedly known for his online obsession with white nationalism and the leaders, like Donald Trump, who he thought advanced it.
Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was radicalized online.
(CHARLESTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE/EPA)Dylann Roof and Alexandre Bissonnette were not lone wolves. They are a part of a dangerous white nationalist movement that is actually growing around the world.
Pope Francis 'firmly condemns' Quebec mosque shooting
And here's the thing — this act of terror would not have been stopped by Donald Trump's ban. Neither would Charleston or Orlando or Oklahoma City or Columbine or Sandy Hook or San Bernardino or 9/11. Because Trump's ban has nothing to do with American safety — nothing at all. Trump's ban is about bigotry and who he could discriminate against the most to appeal to his bigoted base without actually disturbing his personal business interests.
I grieve for the families of the victims of this mass shooting in Quebec City. And I also grieve for how obviously bigoted the lack of concern we see from our government is.
This is America. 2017.
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