| September, 11, 2019 | Gunner Young | campus editor |
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If the U.S. government isn’t going to try to fix the domestic terrorism problem, then the least they could do is call it what it is. Terrorism.
There has been yet another act of mass violence in west Texas, and it is becoming more and more apparent that the race and circumstance of the suspect heavily dictates the narrative put forth by the media and politicians.
In order to shift the focus away from guns, politicians blame these acts of terror on mental health, broken homes, immigration, radicalized religion and political polarity.
While some of these things are valid concerns that could help reduce violence if the government stepped in, these issues seem to be a diversion method rather than something that actually needs fixing. There is one common denominator that Mitch McConnell and his Republican majority U.S. Senate refuse to address and that is the issue of common sense gun-control legislation.
One would think that after the El Paso shooting, that the gun debate would force its way onto the desks of politicians, but that isn’t what happened. If anything, the gun laws in Texas loosened with House Bill 1143 and others like it being passed.
While mental health and broken homes are legitimate concerns that need to be addressed, the mass killing of people in order to inflict fear or push rhetoric is domestic terrorism. Laws should be passed to solve that issue just as much as any other issue involving mass shootings.
This false idea of what is going on is reinforced by the media and the language they choose to use when covering these shootings.
They are often portrayed as misunderstood, lonely individuals with a mental health issue instead of heartless terrorists. This just appeals to those who feel misunderstood.
If the domestic terrorism issue is going to improve, there has to be some kind of precedent about the way issues are handled and what language is used.
It is more than mental health. It is more than broken homes. It is terrorism.
