White men are clearly responsible for most mass shootings in the U.S., but these three lies work to hide the blame – and hide what mass shootings are REALLY about.
Lie #1: Mental Health
While mental illness CAN play a role in violence, usually it's just white supremacy in action. In a 2018 study of 170 news articles about mass shootings, white killers were 19 times more likely to be described as having mental illness – while Black killers were usually just called “thugs."
Lie #2: “It Wasn’t About Race”
These aren’t just coincidental incidents – mass shooters and white supremacy go hand-in-hand. The recent Buffalo grocery store shooting was an intentional attack on us. The shooter wrote a long manifesto full of white supremacist rhetoric detailing his hatred!
Lie #3: Victim of Society
The media frequently portrays white mass shooters as victims suffering from financial issues, tough childhoods, or failed relationships rather than calling them what they are: violent terrorists. Portraying mass shooters as sympathetic characters makes them seem like innocent victims. Our society is difficult for many people – especially us – but WE don’t commit mass acts of violence. That’s just a bad excuse.
The U.S. rarely accepts the truth – white supremacy produces white terrorism in the form of mass shootings. We must reject these lies about white supremacy and mass shootings, and commit to the truth!