On August 5th 2012 a known white supremacist —Wade Michael Page— entereda Gurdwara(Sikh temple) in Oak Creek, Wisconsin where he shot and killed 6 people and wounded 4 others. Page ambushed the first responding officer shooting him several times before a second officer shot Page in the stomach. After being shot Page killed himself with a shot to the head. It should also be noted that Page had large visible tattoos denoting his white supremacist ties, and that his weapon, a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, was purchased legally. The FBI has classified the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism. In the wake of this recent tragedy many have commented on the seeming apathy presented by the media and general public. Why was CNN the only news network providing decent coverage? Why weren’t there more Facebook statuses or tweets of condolences from non-South Asians? Articles have been authored speculating why the shooting in Aurora for example, clearly received more media attention and public sympathy than Oak Creek. Innocent American lives were lost in both cases, so why are these events treated so differently? To compare the Oak Creek shooting with the Aurora shooting is somewhat of a false equivalency. Yes innocent lives were lost in both, but, to an extent, there are pragmatic reasons that explain the disparity in coverage and public anguish. When released, “The Dark Knight Rises” was an extremely popular movie— one which many were planning to see. The people shot in Aurora were random members of the public. They were not of any particular race, religion, or political affiliation. In terms of perception this tragedy gave off a stronger, “That could have been me, or this could happen to me,” vibe. This feeling broadly resonated with the direct personal safety of the average individual. However, even though I believe this reasoning explains some of the apathy towards the Oak Creek shooting, it most certainly does not explain all of it. Furthermore, and this is important, it does not excuse it. Speaking legally and to some extent morally, the shooting in Oak Creek was made more tragic because it had the added layer of being a hate crime. For whatever deluded reason Page targeted and killed members of a specific ethnic/religious group. Now, rather than comparing tragedies, let’s conduct a hypothetical analysis on the Oak Creek shooting by changing 2 variables: the race/religion of the victims, and the race, religion, and ideology of the shooter.
1. All Muslim leaders and representatives would have to, in the strongest terms, distance themselves from the attacker and denounce him. They would have to explain that their religion was peaceful, and that the attacker was an extremist with ideologies that had no place in their community. Did Page’s actions cause white Americans to suffer under that burden? Did they have to publicly distance themselves from Neo-nazis and the KKK? Of course not, that would be ridiculous. We all know, and rightfully so, that not all Caucasian Americans are white supremacists. They’re good law abiding citizens, and the hate organizations I’ve mentioned above are not at all a fair representation of their community. | Just as Muslims must constantly distance themselves from terrorists, Sikhs were faced with the option of distancing themselves from Muslims. I’m proud to say that the vast majority of the Sikh community honoured the tenants of their religion by publicly refusing to distinguish themselves from Muslims (the affirmative implication would imply that it’s ok to harm Muslims). 2. It would be inconceivable that a known Taliban sympathiser could get his hands on a 9mm semi-automatic handgun. We would be stunned that he purchased the weapon legally. How could they not predict what he was going to do with it? Why wasn’t his background checked more thoroughly? Of course a neo-nazi white supremacist getting a hold of a semi-automatic weapon with large rounds of ammunition doesn’t raise an eyebrow. Few people really ask how a person like that could have made the purchase legally. Although, to be fair, the issue here is more about progressive gun laws than it is about racial hypocrisy. 3. The media, in particular one specific “news” channel, would cover the story round the clock for weeks. This wouldn’t be considered an attack on Americans; it would be considered an attack on the values and principles upon which the country stands. After the shooting in Oak Creek journalists and bloggers had to remind us that the people inside the temple were American citizens. The public actually had to be reminded of the nationality of the people in a state in their own country in order derive an adequate level of sympathy. Does that not signify something is wrong? I should note that in my hypothetical situation I made Page Muslim and not Sikh because I’m of the opinion that he didn’t know difference. In years past 9/11 many Sikhs have reported an increased incidence of hate crimes and abuse. It is obvious that this happens and continues to happen because they are confused with Muslims. It would be false to assume that the current level of islamaphoibia in America is strictly due to the 9/11 attacks. September 11th simply provided a base on which hate and propaganda were perpetuated against innocent American citizens. The demonization of a religion does not happen over night. It is a slow, inch-by-inch process that creeps its way into the hearts and minds of rational (and irrational) people. At its worst it can cause the mass murder of innocent temple goers, and at its best it can paralyze the heart of a nation into apathy. Most of the articles, videos and blogs I’ve come across analyzing this situation usually end by saying, “I know this article isn’t going to make a difference but…” or “I know my message is obvious but…” If you take only one thing away from my article let it be this:There is genuine value in standing up for a just cause no matter how small your platform (Tweets, Facebook statuses, relevant links etc) especially when that cause is not specifically relevant to you. When I write articles (satires) in favour of Gay South Asians, it helps that I’m a Straight South Asian. It shows that group of people that they’re not alone in their struggle. It demonstrates that there are human beings that care about them simply because they care about principles like equality or the alleviation of the suffering of their fellow homsapiens. You are the counter balance to the hate and propaganda that you despise. Please do not devalue yourself by thinking that your support is redundant, unimpactful, or irrelevant. A subjectively small gesture carries with it the potential to make a massive impact. If the hand of hatred comes upon one of us, may it better be prepared to take on all of us. |