We Must Not Look Away From White Supremacism

"As I write this, I am waiting for the final body count of the El Paso Wal Mart Shootings.

The last I saw, there were forty injured and nineteen dead, and one man in custody. His identity has been confirmed as 21-year-old Patrick Cruisus, and he allegedly left a white supremacist manifesto. Somehow, the police managed to take him alive and uninjured.

I greatly respect people who say we mustn’t share pictures, or say the name, or discuss the motives of the killer. I wish I could stop thinking about the killer entirely. The killer is a despicable coward who challenges my opposition to the death penalty. I’d far rather spend my time commemorating the victims and the heroic people who rushed to stop this.

But the fact is, those innocent people became victims for a reason, and it is in our best interest to understand that reason– out of respect for the victims, and in order to prevent further victims.

And the fact is, the El Paso Wal Mart Shooter was a 21-year-old white man who allegedly left a white supremacist manifesto. The manifesto refers to immigrants as “invaders” and contains a line about a supposed “Hispanic invasion of Texas,” where Spanish-speaking people have lived since before there was an official state of Texas. Sure, it’s possible that this whole manifesto is made up. Maybe it was a different Patrick Cruisus. Maybe he really did write that, but something else set him off"