Leftist politicians wasted no time blaming “bigotry” and “white supremacy” for Saturday’s mass killing in the predominantly Asian community of Monterey Park, California — and before the facts came out about the shooter.
Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (New York) on Sunday tweeted that he was “heartbroken” over the tragedy and that America “must stand up to bigotry and hate wherever they rear their ugly heads …”
Democrat U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California highlighted “bigotry toward [Asian American and Pacific Islander] individuals as a possible motive.”
Democrat Francesca Hong of the Wisconsin State Assembly tweeted: “This tragedy is beyond hate. We are broken as a nation to have mass shootings and white supremacy reign terror.”
Police on Sunday night identified the alleged shooter as Huu Can Tran — a “72-year-old male Asian,” according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna.
You’d think the facts about the suspected shooter would crush the “bigotry” and “white supremacy” theories floated by Schumer, Schiff, and Hong — but their tweets on the subject were still posted as of Tuesday morning.
Unfortunately for the trio, that opened the door for a just a few critiques. Such as:
Not to be outdone, the Los Angeles Times on Sunday published the following headline: “Lunar New Year massacre raises fears of anti-Asian hate even as detectives seek motive.” The story’s second paragraph even says, “Authorities said based on a preliminary description that the gunman was an Asian male.”
As you might guess, folks on Twitter took notice of the headline and let the Times have it:
* “Even though the person of interest is Asian?” one commenter wondered.
* “You do know that the shooter is also Asian?” another user asked. “But [of] course you do. You are just engaged in fear mongering.”
* “It is so irresponsible for you to dream out a motive,” another commenter said, before adding an “LAntifaTimes” hashtag.
* “The authorities are stating the suspect is an Asian male,” another user noted. “Reporting a hate crime won’t help.”
Moving the goalposts
Amy Tan — a medical doctor and “scholar/activist” whose tweets are protected — apparently posted the following to Twitter on Sunday, the day police identified the Monterey Park shooter as an Asian male: “Collective grief & trauma is real. The San Gabriel Valley is a beautiful Asian-majority ethnic community. Misogyny & internalized racism are part of white supremacy. [People] don’t have to be white to uphold white supremacy. I hate that I have to tweet this on Lunar New Year’s [Day].”
Left-wing mouthpiece Media Matters for America on Monday posted a story with the following headline: “Right-wing media are exploiting the ethnicity of the Monterey Park shooter to downplay dangers of white supremacy and anti-Asian hate.” Uh-huh.
Oh, and not that it matters to the left, but beyond the suspected shooter’s Asian ethnicity, KABC-TV said a “prominent member of the community with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce believes the suspect’s possible motive may be related to a domestic dispute.”
* Article from: The Blaze