As details begin to emerge about the identity of the man who carried out the single deadliest mass shooting in American history, a debate raged over social media concerning what was to blame for the atrocity: was it homophobia, radical Islam, loose gun laws--or some toxic cocktail of all three?
Amidst all the noise, and more than a little Islamophobia, there were many intelligent voices that made themselves heard, offering common sense and astute observations about the attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando by Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old American security guard.
Jeet Heer, a senior editor at the New Republic, noted that Mateen was reported to have made racist comments in the past, and tweeted this: "A picture is forming of Omar Mateen. He was a hater first, and then glommed on to ideology to justify it."
A picture is forming of Omar Mateen. He was a hater first, and then glommed on to ideology to justify it. https://t.co/mCzNim7bNO
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) June 12, 2016
Washington Post columnist Fareed Zakaria weighed in with some common sense in response to the polarized debate regarding whether the shooting should be blamed on lax gun laws or on radical Islam:
Orlando attack appears to be about radical Islam and guns. You don't have to choose, it can be both.
— Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) June 12, 2016
The Palestinian public speaker who calls himself Abbas Sarsour said the obvious thing that no one seemed to be saying: Muslims are humans, and thus each one is different from the next.
Understand this:
— Abbas Sarsour (@iFalasteen) June 12, 2016
As a collective, we are Muslim.
As a collective, we follow Islam.
As individuals, we are individual.#Orlando
Here are some others:
This man was arrested on his way to LA Pride today. But by all means, keep talking about Islam. pic.twitter.com/d2kHPsUDsS
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) June 12, 2016
If your first reaction to the #Orlando terror attack is, "Oh no, this will make Islam look bad," you're part of the problem.
— Ali A. Rizvi (@aliamjadrizvi) June 12, 2016
Why do we only discuss mental health when the shooter is white? Muslim dude that did this must be mental unstable to justify this. #Orlando
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) June 12, 2016
Those fanning flames of Islamophobia consider this: Largest Muslim org in US is asking 4blood donations for Orlando: https://t.co/dpiFzbOWxr
— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) June 12, 2016
A similar debate raged after the shooting in San Bernardino by a married couple who had sworn allegiance to Daesh, aka Islamic State, before killing 15 people. Americans seemed unable to decide whether Islam was to blame or the assault was just workplace violence--or some mixture of the two.
In Mateen's case, it's clear that he wasn't 100 percent sane. His ex-wife said he was mentally-unstable and violent, and would beat her often when he came home from work.
Mateen had reportedly been on FBI watch lists, but still was able to legally purchase firearms.
Mateen was born in New York to Afghan parents, and reportedly swore allegiance to Daesh during the deadly assault on Monday.
--HS
