[Reader-list] Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns & Madness by Rinku Sen ColorLines August 6 2012

[Venugopalan K M]

Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns
& Madness

by Rinku Sen

ColorLines August 6 2012



"..the link between violence, masculinity and
whiteness is well-established. White men seem to be in
deep crisis, and white people would do well to deal
with it, as Tim Wise points out again and again. I
implore of my white friends, when your nutty uncle or
classmate goes off about some set of foreigners, you
must make a fuss, cause a family crisis, become
unpopular, speak up. We cannot do this for you.

I despair for our country on days like these. How long
before paranoia and fear, recast in the language of
moral fortitude (stand your ground!), cut too deeply
into the beautiful American friendliness,
open-mindedness, and generosity that I have grown up
with? How many Trayvon Martins, Brisenia Floreses and
Balbir Singh Sodhis must there be before white folks
question whether suspicion of brown skin is justified?
Must I arm my mother and send her to the shooting range
if she wants to wear a sari in public? In two weeks, 20
families have lost a beloved member. Are we going to
have 20 more every month for the foreseeable future?

There are things we need to do.

We must limit gun access. Gun proponents recite "guns
don't kill people, people kill people" as fluently as
immigration opponents cry out "illegal means illegal."
Gary Younge pointed out on July 20, after Aurora, that
it's never a good time to talk about gun control in
this country, and people are dying while we refuse to
act. That has to change.

Americans need a real education about the world. If our
public schools aren't going to provide it, then it
needs to take place on TV, in churches, in the
newspaper.

We need to make sure that the mental health system is
well funded and progressive enough to provide support
wherever it is needed.

But none of that will be likely unless, in our grief
and fear, we also muster up clarity and outrage. Right
now - before the public debate is recaptured by
questions of which politician said what to whom.

*A previous version of this post incorrectly suggested
that only Sikh men grow their hair to show devotion to
God.

[Rinku Sen is the President and Executive Director of
the Applied Research Center (ARC) and Publisher of
Colorlines.com.

A leading figure in the racial justice movement for the
last twenty years, Rinku has positioned ARC as the
movement's national home for media, research and
activism. She has extensive practical experience on the
ground, with expertise in race, feminism, immigration,
economic justice, philanthropy and community
organizing. Over the course of her career, Rinku has
woven together journalism and organizing to further
social change.

Rinku is the Vice Chair of the Schott Foundation for
Public Education, and is a Boardmember of the
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. She is the
Chair of the Media Consortium and sits on the boards
for Restaurant Opportunities Center-United and Working
America. Additionally, she is a Prime Movers fellow
through the Hunt Alternatives Fund.

Rinku is a highly sought-after speaker on a broad range
of racial justice topics. She is the author of The
Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the
Age of Globalization and Stir It Up: Lessons in
Community Organizing. Rinku has regular columns at
Colorlines, the Huffington Post, and Jack and Jill
Politics. Additionally, her commentary and work has
been featured in Forbes, The San Francisco Chronicle,
Market Watch, International Business Times,
TomPaine.com, AlterNet, Racialicious, The Root, the
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and the Windy City Times,
among other media outlets.]

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/08/how_long_before_islamophobias_toxic_spread_destroys_america.html
-- 


You cannot build anything on the foundations of caste. You cannot build up
a nation, you cannot build up a morality. Anything that you will build on
the foundations of caste will crack and will never be a whole.
-AMBEDKAR



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