On October 1st, Stephen Paddock was responsible for the largest mass shooting in modern United States. With semiautomatic rifles and fully automatic weapons, Paddock shot fire from the 32nd-floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. From a broken window of the hotel, Paddock shot fire and caused the death of 59 individuals as well as the injuries hundreds of people.
In response to this mass murder, President Donald Trump called the massacre “an act of pure evil”. Media outlets have confirmed that there is no suspected connection to terrorism. Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff who heads police in Las Vegas, stated “we believe it’s a sole actor, a lone-wolf-type actor”. The key word that is missing from police, media, and our President’s statement is terrorist.
Oxford Dictionary defines a terrorist as “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political aims”. Considering this definition, there is no logical implication for Paddock to be called a lone wolf rather than a terrorist. The investigation is still being conducted and there has been no conclusion of the shooter’s political aims. However, the media is quick to call any Muslim who commits a mass murder a terrorist. The inconsistencies in the media’s reporting of mass murders centers around one thing: race.
The privilege of whiteness has more to do than your economic condition or the way police treat you. Your skin tone acts as armor and protects you indefinitely. When you are a white man, you are able to commit the largest mass shooting in the United States without being labeled a terrorist. The media creates excuses for you, like your unstable mental condition being the motive behind your attack.
When you are white, you do not fear finding out the race or religion of the attacker when a mass murder occurs. Americans were horrified to find out the lives of 59 individuals were lost and that innocent people enjoying a concert were attacked. However, no white person woke up horrified that the media was going to create a negative perception about their race based on the actions of Paddock. When you are Muslim or African-American and a mass shooting occurs, you fear the backlash of media. A mass shooter who is Muslim or African-American is immediately labeled a terrorist, which further normalizes stereotypes.
The term “lone-wolf” is not an accurate way to describe an attacker: it’s simply white privilege.