August 10, 2012

While the shooting of a gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) in Oak Creek, WI, has forced the nation to deal with safety in our places of worship, coverage of the horrific incident has forced us to question how much media attention is given to certain crimes based on how relatable it is.

In a climate of increasing fear-based rhetoric by public officials, we have seen a rise in hate crimes against American Muslims and Americans perceived to be Muslim. It's certain media outlets that are playing into the paradigm of ignorance and hate.

Just this past month alone, we have witnessed violent acts from Colorado to Wisconsin and Missouri. Whereas reports on the shooting of innocent Sikh Americans at their local gurdwara have waned, media coverage on James Holmes movie theater shooting continues to this day. The Atlantic’s analysis on why the coverage and reactions to the gurdwara shooting are different from other violent attacks on Americans comes down to Americans being able to “imagine their friends and relatives -- and themselves -- being at a theater watching a Batman movie”; however, they can’t imagine themselves or their acquaintances in a Sikh temple.

Have we really strayed so far from the vision of E. pluribus Unum (out of many, one) that an attack on one of our nation’s family members is deemed less horrifying because of the way they look, as if there is only one look to being American. The sad reality is yes — with people who control the bully pulpit espousing hate and ignorance against segments of our country, people who are inclined toward violence take words to actions. Politicians such as Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Lynn Westmoreland (R_GA), Thomas Rooney (R-FL) and Trent Franks (R-AZ) have created a climate of hate against a specific community in America – American Muslims. These representatives need to be held responsible for the divisive claims they hurl against hardworking Americans.

When a white supremacist decides to murder innocent Americans in their place of worship, we have to stop and think: have we created an environment where violent people think it is acceptable to carry out such heinous crimes against a minority community and subsequent media coverage is minimal? This is not a difficult concept to understand: When the national discourse is heavily negative about certain communities, there is a trickle-down effect in treatment to the community by others. Without making the assumption that because the Wisconsin victims happened to wear turbans and have long beards, that media coverage was less extensive. We should shift our attention to the fact that an attack on one American is an attack on all of us.

We must realize that we are stronger as a nation when we are united. Accusations hurled at people questioning loyalty or guns pointed to innocent worshippers because they look different are all things that lead to the demise of our national strength. Playing into ignorant and fear-based rhetoric by a vocal minority stagnates our country from moving forward at best and sends us into a divided nation at worst.