After the shooting in Las Vegas, which has become the deadliest in modern American history, the discussions of how it could have been prevented have sprung up, with everything from gun control to mental wellness help to even hotel security. But it's far too late for fixing the problem, because, let's be real, nothing has been done about it after any shooting, no matter how deadly the attack was. This time was different – the shooter was a white man in his sixties, religion and political beliefs unknown as of the time of writing this. No note was found, and family has decided to stay out of the spotlight, and for good reason. But we need to look at the reactions from the government agencies taking care of the investigation, the news media (specifically the right-wing news), and the people of this nation to see what the larger impact will be going forward after an attack that leaves close to six hundred people dead or injured, all by one man with weapons.
The FBI has come out and said there is
not enough evidence to consider this a domestic terrorist attack, as
“terrorism” requires political or economic gain. However, we
cannot deny that if the shooter was from the Middle East or otherwise
nonwhite, he would already be considered a terrorist no matter where
he was born or what his political beliefs were. In most other
countries, an attack of this scale would immediately be considered
terrorism and the proper authorities would be involved to find out if
there is a larger cell planning more attacks like this – but this
is not most other countries. ISIS took credit for the shooting as
well, but that was quickly pushed aside by investigators, as ISIS
basically will claim they did anything that caused injury or death to
Americans (if they could report themselves to OSHA over causing
accidents in the workplace, they would). But that didn't stop many
sources from automatically assuming he was Muslim, because nobody
wants to admit that terrorists can come up from American soil as
well.
Fox News' coverage of the event has
generated enough controversy, with hosts questioning whether or not
we can “hate him yet” because we don't know his background
(seriously, they said that, look it up), or trying to tie in the NFL
protests into the shooting by saying that law enforcement saved all
these people and protesting law enforcement is protesting America
which is wrong. On the first point – as The Daily Show
so perfectly captured – Fox News and their hosts just could not
deal with the fact that the shooter looked just like one of their
target audience, and questioned whether or not to hate him without
knowing the motive. They also tried to turn it back on “the left”
for disrespecting Trump, and that this was a reactionary attack. Yes,
an “antifa” group did claim responsibility – but that group was
proven to be a fake troll page months ago, and no actual group has
spoken up in support of the shooting, so there goes Fox's usual
point. And he was a white, older, middle class American citizen,
which as I just said, they couldn't understand that the people who
watch their programs could snap just like he did.
Lastly, and on a much better note, the help flooding in after the violence shows us what
it truly means to be American. It's not respecting the flag or the
president or even taking a side on an issue. Rather, as with
hurricanes and other tragedies, people came out in droves to donate
blood, help with victims, or donate to local charities. At the
festival where the shooting occurred, even as bullets rained down on
the crowd, people were helping each other escape, some even
transporting the injured to hospitals in their own vehicles. We all
come together in times of horror and violence, and unity is what
makes us win over those who wish to cause us harm. From first
responders to hotel staff to concert goers to the people providing
first aid, we put aside our differences because everybody needs help
to survive. Together we are one country, one people, no matter our
race, creed, religion, music tastes, or political party. And nobody
can take that from us, because once that happens, then we have become
lost as a nation.
In tragedy comes the usual calls on
who's to blame, what we can do, and stories of people helping each
other become rampant. However, we cannot let the only times we have
discussions on gun control or mental health, or the only times we all
join together, be only when violence or other disasters strike.
Rather, we must always stand united, so that the next, because it's
only a matter of time before there is a next, won't be able to strike
fear of leaving your home – no matter what, we are all humans
living in the same country, and nobody can stop that, not even a
crazed gunman. The Las Vegas shooting will forever be a tragic event,
but as with 9/11 before it, the stories of America rising back up
will be just as important. Finding a group to blame only makes the
situation worse, and instead, focus on what we can all do better to
prevent more loss of life and fear.