Imagine
if a Muslim man killed three American students: the country would be in
outrage, and he would immediately be labeled a terrorist. However, when
white man kills three American students, he is simply labeled a
frustrated neighbor who got a little carried away after a municipal
argument.
On Feb. 10, in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, 46 year old Craig Stephen Hicks murdered Deah Barakat,
age 23, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, age 21, and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha,
who was just 19. All three victims attended North Carolina State
University in nearby Raleigh. Killed instantly with a bullet in each
head, the deaths have been chalked up to a long-standing parking dispute
between the victims and Hicks. The police have been exceedingly careful
to avoid using the term “hate crime” when discussing the horrific
deaths.
Deah, Yusor, and Razan were
all born and raised in America. Deah was in his second year at the UNC
School of Dentistry, and his wife, Yusor, had also been accepted into
the school for the upcoming fall semester. Her little sister, Razan, was
a sophomore in NC State’s undergraduate program.
The
media, in addition to the police, had an undeniably muted response to
the tragedy. Though mainstream outlets were quick pick on the
possibility of a hate crime, there has rarely been any discussion about
the anti-Muslim biases that clearly have a dominant presence in
mainstream American media, and how that clearly affects the response
from the American public about the event. Had the victims been of a
background that embodies the stereotypical image of an American, the
response from the media and the public would have likely been magnified.
What the media has failed to recognize is that Americans—not Muslims in
the far-off Middle East—have been killed.
The evidence is in the news headlines. The day after the shooting, Fox released
an article with the headline “North Carolina man charged in the
#ChapelHillShooting death of 3 Muslim students,” neglecting to mention
that the students were American, born and bred. Although they were
indeed Muslim, identifying them solely as Muslim makes it harder for
readers who do not share the same background to sympathize with the
situation. Fox also released another questionable headline the
same day, stating, “Parking Dispute, Not Bias, Triggered Triple Murder,
Say NC Police”. It’s impossible to rule out the possibility of the
shooting being a hate crime with the first 24 hours; for Fox to claim so is downright irresponsible, and downplays the severity of the forces at play in this crime.
However,
because they do not “look” American, their lives do not seem to be as
important as Joe Sixpack, with his blonde hair and blue eyes. Why are
other Muslim-Americans and minority populations the main individuals
grieving the event? Why doesn’t America feel like it has lost three
citizens? READ MORE
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