Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement on Sunday addressing the racially motivated mass shooting that occurred at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida. She acknowledged the tragic impact of the shooting on the community. Harris also claimed that black people live in fear of becoming victims of racist mass shooters. It is a narrative that has been promoted by many on the right – but how accurate is it?
In her statement, Harris observed:
As we allow that investigation to proceed, let us continue to speak truth about the moment we are in: America is experiencing an epidemic of hate. Too many communities have been torn apart by hatred and violent extremism. Too many families have lost children, parents, and grandparents. Too many Black Americans live every day with the fear that they will be victims of hate-fueled gun violence—at school, at work, at their place of worship, at the grocery store.
Harris also used the opportunity to call for a ban on “assault weapons” and “other commonsense gun safety measures.”
Her comments came one day after Ryan Christopher Palmeter, a 21-year-old man, opened fire in a predominantly black neighborhood at a local grocery store. He killed three people before turning the gun on himself and ending his own life.
President Joe Biden also weighed in on the atrocity. “We can’t let hate prevail…silence is complicity and we’re not going to remain silent,” he said.
JUST IN: Pres. Biden calls for action "against this hate-fueled violence" in the wake of shooting at a Jacksonville Dollar General that killed three Black people. "We can't let hate prevail... silence is complicity and we're not going to remain silent." https://t.co/Q3X66W1KlT pic.twitter.com/0Dve89oUhB
— ABC News (@ABC) August 28, 2023
What happened in Jacksonville is a stark reminder that there are still evil people who are motivated to do evil things because they adhere to an evil ideology. This tragedy was reminiscent of what happened in Buffalo, New York, where a racist gunman carried out a mass shooting in a predominantly black neighborhood.
However, the notion that most black Americans are constantly looking over their shoulder for another Dylann Roof does not reflect the reality on the ground for most African Americans. When it comes to daily threats, for many, it is violent crime happening in the community. We are more likely to be victimized by gang violence than Nazis. This is the reason why gun ownership in the black community has been skyrocketing over the past five years.
More of us are recognizing that it is incumbent on us to be able to defend ourselves rather than relying on local law enforcement. Ironically, Democrats purport to solve the issue of racially-motivated gun crimes by disarming those who need guns the most.
In the many conversations I have had with other black folks over my 42 years on this Earth, crime comes up far more than racist mass shooters. The same is true about concerns about policing. African Americans talk far more about being abused and harassed by corrupt police officers than by people like Palmeter.
Black Americans are also highly concerned about inflation and other economic issues affecting their ability to put food on the table. They want jobs with decent wages and an education system that sets their children up for success.
This is not to say that racism and hate crimes are not a concern. Polling shows that black Americans, who are the most common victims of racially motivated crimes, want the issue addressed. I’m not suggesting that the issue should be ignored. But the reality is that racial animus, coming from people of all ethnicities, is not a problem that the government can solve. This is a societal matter that must be handled by the community. The reason why we have come so far as a country is because of the people, not the state.
People like Vice President Harris often seek to weaponize these tragedies to foment fear and racial tensions instead of trying to unify people against racism. The Jacksonville shooting, like several others, reveals deep-seated issues in the culture. But using the tragedy to fearmonger and push the narrative that this is the biggest threat to black Americans does not help anyone except the elites seeking to convince us otherwise.
