How many more lives will be lost in the racist conflict in the United States?
Saturday (May 14) at 2:30 pm local time. A supermarket in Buffalo, New York's second-largest and blackest city in the United States, was suddenly shaken by the sound of gunfire. A 18 year-old man started firing indiscriminately with a semi-automatic assault rifle. The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a police recruiting center. Not only that, the young man was also using a camera to broadcast his bloody violence live online.
Photo: The Print
International Desk
Read in 4 minutes
Describing the aftermath of the attack, a local police officer told Buffalo News that it was like walking through a horror movie set. But everything was real. It was a battlefield.
Thirteen people were shot in that attack in Buffalo. 10 of them were killed. Police later said 11 of the 13 people shot were black. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said the attack was a "violent act of extremism."
Stephen Belangia, an agent in charge of the FBI's Buffalo office, told the BBC: "We are investigating whether it is hate crime or racist extremism."
Soon after the attack, local police arrested the gunman, identified as Payton S. Gendron. He was charged with first-degree murder late Saturday (May 14th). Then the investigation came out more sensational
Read more: Cannes women protest half-naked against rape
It is learned that the young man had posted a 160-page 'manifesto' online in support of the white supremacist belief. In his hate speech, he also described immigrants and black people as "substitutes" for whites. And with that comes the issue of racism in the United States.
The idea that whites are being "replaced" by blacks in the United States has recently shifted from the country's far-right political ideology to the politics of the mainstream Republican Party. And many American media personalities are helping to popularize this ideology, which is being further influenced by the rhetoric of the Republican Party. The group even described the arrival of immigrants on the country's southern border as "attacks" for entering the United States as asylum seekers.
Peyton Gendron, the young man who attacked Buffalo, has tried to justify his demonic attack by highlighting the ideology that whites are weakening in the United States for immigrants. And his manifesto was full of racist remarks about black Americans.
In the past six months, the word "immigrant" has not been mentioned much in the posts made on the messaging platform Discord. Instead, he wrote insultingly racist articles about blacks.
In the posts archived since 2021, the young man has used the word 'immigrant' 12 times, 'replacement' 18 times and the word 'transplant' 22 times. But he has used the word 'black' more than a hundred times.
Buffalo attackers claim to have been inspired by the killing of 51 worshipers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. His claim is similar to the incident. Brenton Tarant, the attacker in Christchurch, was using the camera to broadcast the attack live online. He also published his own manifesto before the attack.
But the attackers in Buffalo were as much influenced by indigenous discontent as they were by the Christchurch massacre. He searched through the zip code for people living near him so that he could ‘kill as many blacks as possible’. And his research led him to a supermarket next to Jefferson, east of the city.
According to the U.S. Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 200 shootings in the country since last January. In addition, a recent report states that between 2019 and 2020, the death toll from firearms attacks in the United States increased by about 35 percent overall.
But the Buffalo killings differ not only because of the number of casualties, but also because of the political nature of the attacks. Analysts say the incident should be seen in the context of the growing normalization of racism and political violence in the United States.
The Buffalo attackers wrote in their manifesto that blacks are the most privileged nation in the United States and in many Western countries. But even then they say they are the most persecuted. His remarks are similar to those of former US President Donald Trump.
During his tenure, Trump slammed white supremacists for his anti-black rhetoric. Many believe that his outspoken racist attitude has alienated the Republican Party from mainstream political ideology.
According to Education Week, an independent US-based news outlet, 18 states have recently signed into law "critical racism" or bans or restrictions on racism and sex education, and 12 more are considering similar legislation. Discussions are also underway to remove some books that could spread racist attitudes.
But the combined efforts have also created ridicule about the history of American racism and xenophobia. In some cases this has made the effort impossible. Discussions on the racist history of the United States today focus on a wide range of issues, including the country's existing poverty, unemployment, and social deprivation.
According to many sociologists, over the ages, contempt, neglect, and lack of opportunity have pushed a large segment of blacks in the United States to violence. As a result, many whites in the country feel insecure. And hatred is born out of that insecurity.
Read more: Russia bans 963 Americans, including Biden
In addition, the number of gun attacks in the United States is constantly increasing. According to local media reports, at least 200 people have been killed in gun attacks in the country so far this year. In this situation, experts including lawmakers demanded the reform of personal arms control law.
They say gun attacks have become a serious social problem in the United States and cannot be stopped. This requires strict legislation and its implementation.
No comments