Why POC collectively hold our breath when there’s a mass shooting or high profile crime before the suspect is even identified:

• Afghan man shoots a National Guard member:

With zero knowledge of the background or motive, the right screams that Muslims are terrorists and must be deported.

• Latino commits a crime:

They demand a border wall, mass raids, and family separation.

• Black man commits a crime:

They blame “Black culture,” call us thugs, and push for harsher policing.

• Chinese American commits a crime:

They warn about spies, loyalty tests, and “foreign influence.”

• Arab American commits a crime:

They demand surveillance, registries, and loyalty oaths.

• Native American commits a crime:

They talk about “lawless reservations.”

• Refugee commits a crime:

They claim all refugees are a threat to America.

• Jewish suspect commits a crime:

They use it to stoke conspiracies about “elite globalists.”

• But when a white American shoots up a whole ass school:

It’s the video games.

It’s the music.

It’s mental health.

It’s anything except whiteness.

One group gets collective suspicion and punishment.

One group gets endless excuses.