The president's silence after an attack in Kansas speaks volumes about his priorities.
Fans gathered at Austin's Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, to kick back and watch the Jayhawks secure their 13th consecutive Big 12 basketball title. But their good mood was interrupted by gunfire.
Adam Purinton, 51, allegedly opened fire in the bar Wednesday night, killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old engineer. Kuchibhotla's friend, Alok Madasani, 32, and Ian Grillot, 24, were severely injured in the attack.
Left to right: Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasani, and Ian Grillot. Photos via Facebook.
That night, according to witnesses, Purinton told Kuchibhotla and Madasani "Get out of my country" before being asked to leave the bar. He left, only to return with a gun. After shots were fired, Grillot intervened. Purinton was arrested in Clinton, Missouri (about 75 miles southeast of Olathe), after he allegedly told a bartender he needed a place to hide out because he'd "just killed two Middle Eastern men."
Kuchibhotla and Madasani are Indian — not that it would be any better if they weren't.
Photo by Andres Gutierrez/41 Action News, used with permission.
Here's what President Trump said regarding Wednesday's act of terror in Kansas.
That's right. He hasn't said a word.
He hasn't tweeted. He hasn't released a statement. His press secretary hasn't raised the issue in briefings. The silence is deafening.
This attack comes less than a month after the Trump administration announced plans to focus efforts of the Countering Violent Extremism program (CVE) solely on Islamic extremism.
Currently, the Department of Homeland Security uses the CVE to administer grants to schools and nonprofits that counter potential extremist violence. Narrowing the group's focus is seen as a win for white supremacists, as it could limit funding for groups that aim to prevent terror attacks led by right-wing extremists.
Ku Klux Klan members and counter-protesters argue at a Klan demonstration at the Columbia, South Carolina, state house. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.
That's exactly what this attack in Kansas was: terrorism.
The shooter allegedly came to the bar that night to harm, kill, and instill fear in pursuit of his political aim. No one is asking who radicalized him or calling for a ban on middle-aged suburban white men until we "find out what's going on." He didn't need explosives, detailed plans, or the financial backing of a faraway clandestine cell. He had the tacit approval of an entire administration. This one-man army "took his country back." And the president said nothing.
Jaganmohan Reddy shows a picture of his son Alok Madasani in Hyderabad, India, after Alok was injured in the shooting. Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images.
I don't expect the president to respond to everything, but I do expect him to respond and condemn acts of terror and hate — especially those happening right here at home.
On an average day in the U.S., 93 people are killed with guns. Targeted attacks against African-Americans, Muslims, and Latinos have gone largely unchecked by Trump's team since the election. In 2017 alone, Jewish Community Centers across the United States have received close to 70 bomb threats, causing chaos, fear, and confusion.
Heather Lindsay and her partner Lexene Charles at their Connecticut home that was vandalized with a racial slur. Lindsay said their home has been vandalized multiple times. Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.
After JCC bomb threats on Feb. 20, Trump broke his silence and spoke out against the tele-terrorism, saying, "The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil."
Photo by Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images.
He's quick to remind the press of his Jewish grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law. He boasts about being the "least anti-Semitic" person we've ever met. But the self-described "law and order" candidate has yet to present actual plans to crack down on anti-Semitism or violent white nationalism.
No plans to remove Steve Bannon, whose former website is a haven for anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiments. No plans to root out right-wing extremists online, where many radicalize and push their violent agendas. No plans to help local law enforcement support and assist the synagogues, mosques, and community centers under attack or to help bring the perpetrators to justice. Again, the silence is deafening.
President Trump at Ben Carson's exhibit at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.
I don't want to think about what it will take to get Trump to actually do something about white supremacy.
Instead, all of us can do our part. We can stand up for victims like Kuchibhotla, support individuals and groups targeted by right-wing extremism, and take to the streets and the ballot box so our representatives know that white supremacy has no place in our communities or government.
Men try to read the most disturbing comments women get online back to them.
If you wouldn't say it to their faces, don't type it.
This isn’t comfortable to talk about.
Trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault and violence.
in 2016, a video by Just Not Sports took two prominent female sportswriters and had regular guys* read the awful abuse they receive online aloud.
Sportswriters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro sat by as men read some of the most vile tweets they receive on a daily basis. See how long you can last watching it.
*(Note: The men reading them did not write these comments; they're just being helpful volunteers to prove a point.)
It starts out kind of jokey but eventually devolves into messages like this:
Awful.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
These types of messages come in response to one thing: The women were doing their jobs.
Those wishes that DiCaro would die by hockey stick and get raped? Those were the result of her simply reporting on the National Hockey League's most disturbing ordeal: the Patrick Kane rape case, in which one of the league's top players was accused of rape.
DiCaro wasn't writing opinion pieces. She was simply reporting things like what the police said, statements from lawyers, and just general everyday work reporters do. In response, she received a deluge of death threats. Her male colleagues didn't receive nearly the same amount of abuse.
It got to the point where she and her employer thought it best for her to stay home for a day or two for her own physical safety.
The men in the video seemed absolutely shocked that real live human beings would attack someone simply for doing their job.
Not saying it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Most found themselves speechless or, at very least, struggling to read the words being presented.
It evoked shame and sympathy.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
Think this is all just anecdotal? There's evidence to the contrary.
The Guardian did a study to find out how bad this problem really is. They combed through more than 70 million comments that have been posted on their site since 2006 and counted the number of comments that violated their comment policy and were blocked.
The stats were staggering.
From their comprehensive and disturbing article:
If you can’t say it to their face... don’t type it.
All images and GIFs from Just Not Sports/YouTube.
So, what can people do about this kind of harassment once they know it exists?
There are no easy answers. But the more people who know this behavior exists, the more people there will be to tell others it's not OK to talk to anyone like that.
Watch the whole video below:
.This article originally appeared nine years ago.