Blood is on the ground while people scream and flee in panic, scrambling in every direction while others crouch behind anything that could possibly protect them from the bullets. Chaos erupts as more gunshots echo through the desert night, lights glaring in the distance in the city of sin. In a room, in a hotel, a man with over 10 weapons fires a semi-automatic weapon from his hotel window. There is no known motive as of yet and both the police and the FBI have begun investigating the situation. He’s a killer, a millionaire, a white man and — what some news outlets have yet to acknowledge — a terrorist.

It is no longer surprising when a white man takes up arms and fires into a large crowed. We have seen it before all too often: Newtown, Aurora and Columbine to name a few. What is a surprise — though not if you are a person of color — is that people still refuse to admit that these atrocities are and will always be acts of domestic terrorism. Although there are no specific laws against domestic terrorism, the definition has led many to believe that it must be politically motivated. Why? That is a question for the congressional body to answer and deal with as our president reads scripted lines from a teleprompter as he addresses the nation. The lack of empathy and sincerity from him is nauseating.

America has a problem, among a host of others that are too numerous to mention, with how white terrorists are treated. They are deemed mentally ill, lone wolves, misunderstood, troubled, and so many, many other adjectives. What is missing is the true classification: terrorist.

While people bicker about the 2nd Amendment and gun legislation, people are dying. People of color are dying. Queer and trans people are dying. And they continue to die. Every time these killers are given excuses by the media or politicians or by friends and family, we — minorities — die. Every breath is a bullet in the brain to the people who would, were the tables turned, be labeled immediately as terrorists with little remorse if any.

This is our problem, this is our failure, and it is not a failure we can continue to allow.

While people on social media call this incident a tragedy, I rebuke this.
A tragedy is something that we cannot control. A tragedy is when a hurricane destroys communities; a tragedy is when an earthquake causes cities to crumble; a tragedy is when a loved one dies of cancer. It is tragic, these losses, but they are inevitable. All we can do is hope to prepare better the next time around, to commit to science for tools to help the sick and dying. What is not a tragedy is when a gunman shoots people up and the responsibility is shifted to some uncontrollable force: mental illness, isolations, etc.

In this day it is completely and totally possible to prevent acts like what occurred in Las Vegas from happening. Things such as limits on ammunition, firearms, and the types of weapons civilians are allowed to own are just some of the few. But it is more than that. There is so much more to be done. Stop praying and sending tweets about how the victims are in your hearts and thoughts. Your prayers, thoughts and good vibes won’t bring them back. They won’t stop another white terrorist from following suit. In truth, I believe we are beyond that point. It has become ingrained in American culture to expect these kinds of attack and that to prevent them we must ourselves take up arms. In doing so we open the gates for anyone to commit another mass shooting.

The first step of changing that culture is to call these killers what they are: Domestic Terrorists.

I am tired of seeing my brothers and sisters die in the streets. I am tired of seeing the media — of which I am a part of — whitesplain the motives of these killers while people of color are labeled terrorists. I am tired of seeing fake news sites distracting from the facts and creating more confusion amongst the panic. I am tired of feeling like it is just another day in Amerkkka.

I am done, and I am calling it out. I am working to ensure that the facts shine through the shit littering the blogosphere. I am going to work my ass off in every way I can to change this culture. What are you doing, liking a post?
Go do something. Advocate. Protest. Be heard.