As Dana Loesch once said, the media loves a mass shooting. Despite their absolute outrage over it, the media continue to prove her right time and again. The moment reports begin to release on Twitter about a shooting going down, media figures, politicians, and activists launch into action like firefighters hearing an alarm. No facts needed, just action.
When the conditions are right, the media will take this shooting and make it a national issue. The criteria are simple. The shooter has to be white, male, and considered right-leaning. That’s about it, though the pot does sweeten depending on who the victims are. The darker the skin color the better, but sexualities other than straight are also acceptable.
If these criteria are met, you can go so far as to make it into a movement that dominates the headlines of every newspaper, online blog, and cable news network for weeks.
But these mass shootings are only good if they meet this criterion. If they don’t, then they get buried into the heap of news that is our 24-hour internet-driven news cycle.
The atrocity that was the Jersey City shooting is a perfect example of criteria not being met enough for this to be something worth commenting on.
When the news was first released about the Jersey City shooting of a Jewish community, it was a horrific occurrence according to the left. They geared up to go full-on about the dangers of white supremacy and the rising tide of antisemitism.
2. We don't know if there's a direct connection here, but what's troubling is that this shooting happened just two days after Trump peddled anti-Semitic stereotypes during a speech, portraying Jews as money-grubbing types who care only about their wealth https://t.co/kxWxtYv1cr
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) December 11, 2019
Rep. Rashida Tlaib even went so far as to tweet out that “white supremacy kills.”
Then it came out that the shooting was actually committed by a member of the “Black Hebrew Israelites,” an anti-semitic hate group, who had just killed a police detective investigating a homicide. The shooters moved into the Jewish market where three people were then killed before the shooters were gunned down, themselves.
As Alex Parker wrote, a video shows a group of black people calling the death of Jewish people “great” and that they need to “get the f**k out” of Jersey City.
This horrible shooting suddenly sank below the surface of the news cycle, and before you know it, the big news item everyone was discussing was Trump tweeting about Greta Thunberg.
Tlaib deleted her tweet and didn’t say another word. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose back yard is just across the river from where the shooting occurred, hasn’t said one word about it, but oddly enough has taken the time to endorse Jeremy Corbin of the UK Labour Party, which is currently caught up in its own antisemitic problems.
The mass shooting that took the lives of a Jewish community became shrug-worthy. The shooters were antisemitic, yes, but they weren’t white. They were black supremacists. Black people were on camera celebrating their death. This couldn’t be blamed on white privilege or toxic masculinity. This couldn’t even be blamed on Trump.
The story was useless. As such, it’s already faded into the background, kept alive only by people pointing out the hypocrisy of the news cycle and the left who were, just a minute ago, horrified by this shooting.
But let’s say this played out differently. Let’s say the anti-semitic shooters weren’t black but were white men. Let’s say that they weren’t members of the “Black Hebrew Israelites,” but were known Trump supporters wearing MAGA hats during the time of the crime.
The scene would be a much different situation strictly judging by how the media has treated past instances of shootings involving white people or scandals that involve people wearing MAGA hats.
For one, we know that this would have become a national conversation based on skin color alone. Not only would they have a smoking gun that they would scream to high heaven about needing to be banned, but they would also have gotten into a news cycle centered around the rise of antisemitism caused by none other than Donald Trump.
CNN, MSNBC, and all the alphabet networks would begin doing news stories and interviews with “experts” and other victims about the tragic causes of one of the most heartbreaking shootings in American history. CNN would host town halls where everyday citizens would ask pointed questions about how horrible things really have gotten since the election in 2016. Democrat candidates in 2020 would make getting Trump and his deadly influence out of office their central issue.
And the marches. Oh, the marches.
A hashtag would arrive on the scene on social media that would act as a rallying cry. It’d be something with a noble sound to it like “#nomorehate” or “#actonpeace” or “#uniteandovercome.” Then, the inevitable march would be planned with established leftist organizations at the helm. The day of the event would feature celebrities and bands, and speeches that feature family members of the victims and high-tier activists.
All of it would bear the message that Trump has to go for the safety and sanity of America, and the media would be there to soak up every second of it. Not only that, well after it’s all said and done, the media would be riding the incident as proof that Republicans are evil for years to come.
Anyone who wears a MAGA hat would be seen as promoting the shooting. Violence would erupt if anyone is caught wearing it and no matter who or what happened to cause the violence, the media would always make the perpetrator out to be the Trump supporter. It doesn’t matter the age, gender, or identity. The hat is a target and it’s open season.
It’s hard to say whether or not this would all sink Trump in time for 2020. Trump would, no doubt, denounce the shooters and make it clear that he doesn’t endorse killers and racists even if they endorse him. This wouldn’t matter to those already dead set on hating him, but anyone paying enough attention wouldn’t blame Trump for the shooting and stick with him. The real issue would be those who don’t make it a habit of staying informed and get their news from late-night show hosts, Now This videos on Facebook, and trending hashtags. I hate to say it, but there are quite a few people out there like that.
Arguments would rage within households and between family members. Friendships would cool if not break over the arguments. Unfriending would happen left and right and emotions would reach boiling points as the argument merged with the election.
No matter how 2020 would go down, the scars would remain in the public eye for decades…
…but none of that will happen because the shooters weren’t white. They definitely weren’t wearing MAGA hats. They didn’t fit the criteria.
You may, in some macabre way, be thankful that this didn’t go down that way, and you’d be right to. It’d be better if the shooting didn’t go down at all, but being thankful that the left didn’t get its wish about the shooting is perfectly reasonable, considering all that would have gone down if it did.
But it shows you something about the left. All of that would have been a political performance. Would the people pulling the strings, the activists, the media, and the politicians actually have cared that a shooting took place? Probably not. We know they don’t because they don’t seem to be bothered by it right now. This shooting just wasn’t useful.
And that’s a horrible thought. The left only considers you important if you’re useful.
Vote accordingly.
