Following the horrific mass shooting that occurred in Las Vegas Sunday night, celebrities are coming forward to show their support. While many famous figures are offering condolences, Riverdale actor Cole Sprouse took a different approach by providing an intellectual response to yet another tragic event caused by gun violence.
In a powerful Twitter thread, Cole called out the media for focusing so much on the lives of shooters. By making these “villians” famous, Sprouse argued that the media is encouraging others who are “hungry for attention.” He went on to say that a “part of whiteness” is responsible for the recurring gun violence and killing that happens so often in this country. As HuffPost reports, white men have committed the majority of mass shootings in the United States, though many continue to fear non-Americans.
Read Cole’s complete thread below.
As someone raised within media culture, let me give my two cents on this gun violence, a now unfortunately characteristic part of US life:
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
Media has a tremendous role to play in the cultivation of mass shooters. Constant coverage and in-depth “analysis” of the life of shooters-
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
The childhood, habits, social and professional life, etc, are all covered a great deal. for weeks after the event, and often internationally
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
This makes media complicit in the creation of these shooters as anti-heroes, and often alone justifies the insane to take to shooting.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
Aside from the many other legal and institutional reasons guns need to be better controlled, news outlets need to recognize how they affect
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
The mind of these villains hungry for attention. This video does a much better job explaining it than I can: https://t.co/nm1tTSyBVg
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
We also must address that these shooters are almost exclusively coming from a single socio-economic class and racial group
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
And so also need to address what part of whiteness influences this kind of Petri dish for gun violence and killing.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
We need to broaden the conversation past simply a legal issue if we’ll ever understand it fully. My heart goes out to all affected by this.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
As our nation struggles to make sense of such a heartless crime, Cole points to specific issues that must be addressed to understand and hopefully prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future.