America needs to hold Trump responsible for his racial insensitivity and demand he respect the victims.
Nichole Shaw
The Waffle House shooting on April 22 was yet another bloody massacre of four innocent people of color with two others injured through the use of an AR-15-style rifle. Naturally, we turn to those in a position of authority to speak on events such as this, to give the families of the victims condolences and to address what can be done to avoid more bloodshed in the future.
That did not happen. President Trump blatantly turned his back on the victims of these families, while openly giving his condolences to Canada for a mass killing of 10 people by a van. Could his ignorance of the bloodshed at the Waffle House in Tennessee be tied to the race of the victims? I think so.
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Trump’s lack of concern contributes to racist ideologies we’ve seen from him before, from consistent racist comments on media platforms or speeches. African nations and Haiti have allegedly been referred to as “shit-hole countries” by Trump, an obviously racially charged and offensive statement. He has suggested former President Barack Obama is a liar by questioning his American citizenship, an ignorant implication as Obama has well-established his authenticity and accountability. He said, “There was fault on both sides” after a white nationalist drove into the Charlottesville rally and killed an anti-racist protester, even though the deadly violence was provoked by white nationalists.
Statements such as these showcase Trump’s unabashed racial insensitivity. Therefore, it’s not a far stretch that this kind of ingrained discrimination and unequal treatment of people of color could be the primary reason for his silence on a shooting that targeted them.
If Trump cannot even acknowledge the despicable actions that took place at that Waffle House, simply because of their race, how can we trust his character as our leader? The politics of gun violence are no excuse for turning one’s back to the fact that four people were killed in your nation by a gun. The concern of race and skin color should never be an excuse for intentional disregard of four innocent people who were killed in your nation.
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As a country, we have come to expect acknowledgment by the president of mass violence, if not direct condolences to the families of the victims and vehement intolerance of the culprit. However, that is not what we saw from our leader in this past shooting, which is alarming. Trump has definitively chosen to stay silent about not only the fact that a shooter used a military-grade AR-15-style weapon to target people of color in a public place, but also about this person being stopped by a brave customer — James Shaw Jr., a “Tennessee Hero,” as dubbed by state lawmakers, for stopping the deadly carnage at this restaurant.
Perhaps, his indifference about the event stems from the fact that our president is afraid to speak out on gun violence in such a politically charged and chaotic time. But most likely, Trump has stayed quiet because of his history of ignorance toward people of color. This overt negligence is shameful as president of the United States, and we as citizens should demand that he give respect to these victims as he has for previous victims of gun violence.
