“El Paso in Dayton, Ohio: A Brief Word.”
With the recent gun violence in El Paso in Dayton, Ohio, the previously unacknowledged pervasiveness of white domestic terrorism has now been given national attention. So much has been focused on Islamic extremism and the so-called invasion of our country by Hispanic people through our Southern border, that little attention has been paid to white domestic terrorism. Which has been an issue we Black people have been faced with for over 400 years in this country.
Do we honestly think it’s going to get any better? White privilege and white supremacy are rooted into the very institutions of this country. Indeed, they partially fuel the whole opposition to gun control legislation. There are many white people who see gun control as a way to disarm them and making them vulnerable to undesirable people. What else can explain such strong opposition to gun control? Who exactly do gun owners fear so much that they’ll even oppose background checks and national gun licensing? Other white people?
Whatever the case, what happened in El Paso in Dayton were tragic. And my heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families. It’s so sad that our country is reaching a point we must fear just to go out shopping. I mean, this is America, people. In 2019, and we still are dealing with white racists who seem unable to accept the fact our world and country are changing. Killing other Americans who don’t look like you isn’t going to work.
This is Dontie S. Mitchell, better known as Mfalme Sikivu, reporting to you from Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Comstock, New York. Follow me on Facebook @FreeDontieMitchell. Thank you for listening and God bless.
(Sound of a cell door closing.) These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
