First, let’s call what happened in Orlando what it was: an act of pure evil and a mass execution that left 49 dead and more than 50 hospitalized. And thematically familiar. An incongruously calm pledge of allegiance to ISIS and fealty to the Boston-bombing Tsarnaev Brothers–via 911 calls–underscored the mass-murderer’s mindset. That it was perpetrated against the LGBT community also makes it the ultimate hate crime, perhaps with a self-loathing subplot.
Second, let’s not get caught up in the syllogistic fallacy of having to choose between tougher gun laws and an all-out war on terrorism. They are not mutually exclusive, but both require ample elements of common sense.
As Hillary Clinton noted this week, the horror in Orlando “reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets.”
This is not about rescinding the Second Amendment. This is about revisiting assault weapons, which had been under a federal ban until 2004, and high-capacity magazines being in the hands of private citizens–let alone suspicious ones–instead of police forces, SWAT teams and the national guard. Yes, the Second Amendment is here to stay, but, no, it is not synonymous with an absolute right.
Donald Trump, however, saw the terrorist scenario, predictably enough, through his newly customized lens: the one with cross hairs.
“If people in that room had guns, with the bullets flying in the opposite direction at (attacker Omar Mateen), right at his head,” said Trump, “you wouldn’t have had the same tragedy that you ended up having.”
We’ve heard this flawed argument before. For it to hold up, you can’t just cite the horrific Exhibit A of the moment. To be applicable, it would mean Americans by the millions packing at every soft target all the time: movies, restaurants, nightclubs, concerts, wedding receptions, block parties, parades, carnivals, graduations, high school sports. And more. Because, well, you never know.
All that does is set the stage for the law of unintended consequences to kick in. And as we know, it always does.
As for that all-out war on terrorism, Clinton didn’t pull any strategic punches and didn’t traffic in “political correctness.” It’s a lot more than banning Muslims and it’s being a lot more security savvy than advocating a carpet-bombing punch out of ISIS. “(It) means defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners to go after them wherever they are, countering their attempts to recruit people here and everywhere, and hardening our defenses at home,” she stated.
Third, what does it really mean to have a terror watchlist?
Omar Mateen was on it–for a while–and was worthy of interviews, monitoring, and undercover surveillance by the FBI after co-workers’ complaints about his anti-social, terrorist-group name-dropping rants and confrontations. In 2014 he was seen in the company of Moner Abusalha, who then went on to become the first American suicide bomber in Syria. But nothing, seemingly, incriminating enough to even impact his purchase of a semi-automatic AR-15. Background-check disconnects happen.
Fourth, we’ve now established a disturbing pattern of ever-ratcheting mass shootings in this country. The majority have involved the generically unhinged–from would-be anarchists to the emotionally disturbed to racial bigots. But the worst are religious fanatics. Muslim jihadists, typically self-radicalized “lone wolves,” leave no room for leverage when martyrdom and the afterlife of perverted paradise beckon. It’s everybody’s existential nightmare.
Fifth, it’s also the existential nightmare of fellow-American Muslims. They deserve better than to be Napoleon coded: Guilty of looking different until proven innocent. They are part of our American mosaic, including our armed forces.
But the onus, like never before, is now on the American Muslim community to demonstrably rally around this country. Marches, rallies, political activism like never before. See-something, say-something like never before.
As Dan Marcou, a retired SWAT officer, wrote for the Police One website: “In the case of every active shooter before one shot is fired they dream, draw, write, discuss, Twitter, plan, gather, purchase, steal, construct, case, practice, dress, pack, load, transport and approach. … Many lives have been saved, because someone saw something and said something … to the police.”
It has to be the new normal. American Muslims must also be domestic allies.
Sixth, you go, Orlando and its LBGT community.
They’ve shown solidarity and won’t be defined by mass murder and fear. Blood donations, especially in the Muslim community, have been impressive. It’s a literal–and symbolic–sign of coming together, the life blood of American democracy.