Reason First: How Many Mass Murderers Are Black Males?

Comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director Chris Rock suggested in August of 2019 that most if not all mass shootings deal with a white shooter. This racist and sexist statement even had a terrible joke attached to it. “Betty White!” (I bet that he’s white) which scorched its way through social media sites and news agencies alike. The deceased shooter in the Molson Coors Beverage Company in Milwaukee ought to go to serve that males of color can commit egregious crimes like mass murder, too.

Some may argue that the majority of these kinds of shootings feature men of the paler persuasion. But like the DC sniper and Colin Ferguson, black males have been behind the gun, destroying lives in their wake. Like a valve that hasn’t been properly fixed and continues to spew lies that take hold in the consciousness of the populace, many believe Rock’s poor attempt at a joke to be valid. For a black male to carry out this destruction is similar to a white man committing devastating acts. No matter the skin color, evil is evil.

The pathway to understanding and ultimately ending these kinds of crimes is paved with the ideas of reason and individualism. Reason would allow for the ability to not view this issue as black skin versus white skin but black and white in terms of the law. Without allowing any shades of gray, every episode of mass shooting should be weighed on the balances of justice.

Individualism would permit the ideal for the victims and survivors to gain a firmer grasp on just who the shooter is. People following the story should not be so quick to say the race or sex of a given shooter.

So, was Anthony Ferril a freedom fighter, one who stands on a cause and is willing to go down to prove his point? Like other mass shooters, he was scum that couldn’t properly face reality. He failed at life and decided to take his frustrations out on others. While it is common belief that blacks hardly ever commit these atrocities, what is uncommon is the common sense that ought to go with assessing mass shootings.

A freedom fighter should be someone who champions a cause and delivers life to those around them. Ferril is far from a freedom fighter because he held no reasoning behind being a disgruntled brute. The “Betty White” meme should include the idea that any person like Seung Hui-Cho who perpetrated against Virginia Tech students and staff and Nidal Hasan who opened fire at Fort Hood, wickedness comes in many colors. And as far as gender is concerned, Tashfeen Malik, a woman, gunned down fourteen people before being killed by police.

To continue on this racist, sexist path would be a supreme detriment to this country. Anyone irrational enough is capable of violence. While it is not illegal to lack reason, once that is coupled with ammunition and a loaded firearm, then the scale tips toward deadly. No matter the melanin count or genitals of a gunner, there will continue to be mass shootings until thought and action combine. Starting from preschool all the way up to a professional degree, the populace ought to be taught that life is precious—not that death is scary. Young students should be thought that it is in their interest to think for themselves—not be a second hander. All of the teachings of regressivism have led to these acts of the start of force. It is the way that children receive teachings that, mixed with their own mental makeup, that directs them on the path to righteousness or destruction.

If we take out Rock’s “Betty White” meme, there may be room for how to properly respond to these crimes. By saying, instead, “who did it and why?” we might be able to cease these killings for good.