MSM Schemes with Tragic Atlanta Shootings
If anyone doubted that our mainstream media (“MSM”) is untrustworthy and is promoting a Leftist agenda, the coverage of the recent Atlanta shootings should settle the matter. One week ago, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long committed a terrible crime. He killed eight people at Asian Spas / Massage Parlors in the Atlanta area. Six of the eight people he killed were Asian women.
Headlines tell us how the MSM views this tragedy:
The New York Times: 8 Dead in Atlanta Spa Shootings, With Fears of Anti-Asian Bias
WLWT Cincinnati: Atlanta area spa shootings send shockwaves, spreads fear among local Asian community
CNN: White supremacy and hate are haunting Asian Americans
NBC: Racism, sexism must be considered in Atlanta case involving killing of six Asian women, experts say
The Los Angles Times: Hollywood calls to #StopAsianHate after Atlanta shootings: ‘Don’t be silent’
Biden and Harris jumped on the bandwagon and scurried to Atlanta to blame Trump for the shootings and declare that “Racism is in America, and it has always been.” “We cannot be complicit,” Biden said. “We have to act. . . .We have to change our hearts. Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It must stop. And it’s on all of us, all of us together to make it stop.”
In essence, the media (and its allies in office) sends this message: America is a rotten place founded on racism which continues unabated. The Atlanta shootings, perpetrated by a white man, are but the latest manifestation of white supremacy. Something (e.g., stricter gun laws, more anti-discrimination laws, broadening the definitions of hate crimes) must be done to stop and deter rampaging white men.
Of course, the narrative around the story is false. When Long was arrested, he agreed to cooperate with the police and gave a statement. He admitted to struggling with sex addiction and apparently lashed out at the spas because of his anger and frustration at being unable to control his sexual impulses. Right before going on his killing spree, his parents threw him out of the house–likely because of issues relating to his sexual acting out. Sex addiction was not a convenient story Long spun to remove his acts from hate crime laws. Long’s struggles with sex addiction were confirmed by a former roommate at an addiction treatment facility. The roommate, who was being treated for drug addiction, recounted that Long expressed great shame for frequenting massage parlors: “He would have a deep feeling of remorse and shame”, the roommate remembered, “and say he needed to return to prayer and to return to God.” Apparently, Long was on his way to Florida to carry out more attacks on the porn industry there. The roommate also recounted Long’s struggle with viewing pornography and efforts Long made to resist temptation such as utilizing a flip phone and having accountability software on his computer. Sex addiction is real as has been shown by the pioneering work of Dr. Patrick Carnes. Long unfortunately failed at recovery efforts and made a horrendous decision that took lives.
But for the MSM’s fixation with race, this would have been an excellent time to educate the public on sex addiction, which some studies show affects up to 10 percent of men. Instead, the media insists on making the tragic events a hate crime and will listen to nothing else. Racism aside, the media likely does not want to shine a light on sex addiction in America because doing so would challenge much of the gospel of the Sexual Revolution, including how porn is at worst benign and at best a tool enhancing personal freedom.
To further the narrative of racism, the media has jumped upon a police spokesman who said that Long “had a really bad day” when he committed the murders. Undoubtedly, a poor choice of words to describe the “snap” that took place in Long’s mind. This and the fact that the cop owned a t-shirt that tied COVID to China, the MSM tells us, is prima facie evidence of police racism.
The police handling of this case was exemplary. Once learning of the shootings, they immediately took action. They asked the public for help in identifying pictures of the shooter and followed-up on tips. Long’s parents cooperated and advised them of a GPS device on his car that allowed police to track him. The police engaged in a high-speed chase and had to disable the car to stop him. Upon arrest, the police questioned him, obtained a confession, and charged him with multiple counts of the most serious readily provable offense: murder. As mentioned above, their work stopped Long from committing additional killings in Florida. Prosecutors had Long detained pending trial, meaning that he was not given a bond and allowed to go home. Law enforcement took this case seriously and should be applauded for their conduct. Instead, our anti-police MSM fixates on an unartfully crafted statement of a police spokesman to tar the cops as racists who don’t give a hoot about Asian women. Ridiculous.
In sum, the Atlanta shootings were tragic and committed by a struggling and disturbed young man. He will likely spend the remainder of his natural life in the Georgia Department of Corrections. The evidence gathered shows no racist motive. Nonetheless, the MSM shoehorns this event into the Leftist narrative of American systematic racism. Rather than give the cops praise for their successful efforts at stopping Long from killing more people, the police are accused of racism as well. No wonder that Middle Americans don’t (and shouldn’t) trust our MSM.
