Trump's rhetoric plays a role
Our country is in mourning - again. Two more mass shootings of innocent people, young and old and there is no end in sight. President Trump is being blamed for the shootings and though he didn't pull the trigger, he is certainly guilty of symbolically helping to load the guns. His hateful speeches and rhetoric against "brown" immigrants and people of color have added fuel to the white nationalists' and supremacists' agenda to rid our country of what they and Trump call "an infestation."
These are words of hate and bigotry, yet we hear them from the president of the United States. These words attack our fellow citizens. Statistics show that the incidence of crimes against people of color and domestic terror attacks have increased substantially since Donald Trump became president. Trump claims that the immigrants are criminals, yet most of the crimes, especially the most heinous mass shootings, are the work of white citizens of our country, not immigrants.
Trump has, since he began his campaign for the presidency, promoted bigotry, hate and violence and his followers are heeding his call to action.
Trump speaks after these massacres, saying "hate has no place in America," but as he reads from a script, it's obvious that he does believe what he is saying. For every time he condemns the violence, there are at least a dozen times when he promotes it. He is a hypocrite.
Our neighbors, friends and fellow Americans deserve better than this. We should not be fearful of going to the store, of socializing in public places, of simply living our lives, yet there are incidents like what happened in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, far too often. The hateful rhetoric from the White House must stop.
We must have meaningful gun control. No more assault-type weapons in the hands of ordinary people and thorough background checks before a weapon is purchased. The United States is pathetic in this effort. We must demand that changes be made now.
Far too many people have lost their lives because our leaders will not do what needs to be done.
Cyndi Kehoe
Elk Grove Village