Charlotte and Harriet Childress are two researchers in social issues who have come up with a startling conclusion or two about who's responsible for gun violence in America.
Imagine if African American men and boys were committing mass shootings month after month, year after year. Articles and interviews would flood the media, and we’d have political debates demanding that African Americans be “held accountable.” Then, if an atrocity such as the Newtown, Conn., shootings took place and African American male leaders held a news conference to offer solutions, their credibility would be questionable. The public would tell these leaders that they need to focus on problems in their own culture and communities.
But when the criminals and leaders are white men, race and gender become the elephant in the room. ...WaPo
And white men in America -- who are "not used to being singled out"! -- will surely indicate that this attention is making them uneasy.
Each of us is programmed from childhood to believe that the top group of our hierarchies — and in the U.S. culture, that’s white men — represents everyone, so it can feel awkward, even ridiculous, when we try to call attention to those people as a distinct group and hold them accountable. ...WaPo
But there it is. They are being made accountable. As the Childress researchers point out, the protests from the NRA and the tea party are, effectively, protests from two organizations dominated by white males. In fact, it's quite reasonable to see the NRA as a modern-day off-shoot (!) of the Klan.
Get all indignant at the suggestion, but white males need to answer to all of us.
If life were equitable, white male gun-rights advocates would face some serious questions to assess their degree of credibility and objectivity. We would expect them to explain:
What facets of white male culture create so many mass shootings?
Why are so many white men and boys producing and entertaining themselves with violent video games and other media?
Why do white men buy, sell and manufacture guns for profit; attend gun shows; and demonstrate for unrestricted gun access disproportionately more than people of other ethnicities or races?
Why are white male congressmen leading the fight against gun control?
If Americans ask the right questions on gun issues, we will get the right answers. ...WaPo
