Post-Orlando Massacre, Polarisation of Sorts at Play in America

As Trump and Hillary take a stand on gun control, Ayushman Jamwal questions whether voters are being polarised.

A man takes a photo with his iPhone as visitors continue to pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at Orlando Regional Medical Center, a few blocks from the Pulse nightclub, Florida, June 14, 2016. (Photo: AP)

Politics and bigotry over death – that is the maxim of the Orlando massacre, extending to the battlefield of the highly polarised Presidential elections. 49 civilians in a gay nightclub gunned down by a man of Afghan descent – it has become the apt recipe for the Republican candidate Donald Trump to reboot his hate politics against the Muslim
community. With the support and blessing of the National Rifle Association (NRA), Trump has insulated the tragedy in America’s vintage ‘terror’ narrative – which has hurt Muslim-Americans ever since 9/11.

Republicans have irresponsibly glossed over how a monster can easily acquire an assault rifle and end human life at will – emphasising that arming more and more American citizens is key to preventing such tragedies.

The narrative is bolstered by three basic arguments. One, Omar Mateen was of Afghan descent, even though he was born and brought up in the United States. Two, the massacre was an intelligence failure since he was on the FBI watch list and an open investigation was closed against him. Three, and the most ridiculous argument from Fox News, a ban on assault weapons would not work as Mateen could have used a ‘crock pot’ to carry out the massacre.

Branding Someone ‘Terrorist’

Firstly, no one’s race makes him or her a mass murderer. Mateen was an American citizen and had no ties with Afghanistan. He never travelled to the Middle East to even suggest any links with terror groups. Only the colour of his skin and his name allowed him to fit into a ‘terror’ profile.

The same formula ignores cases where the shooter is a white ‘Christian’ like Dylann Roof who carried out the Charleston church massacre killing nine people in June 2015 and Adam Lanza who carried out the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in December 2012, killing 28 people including 20 children. These shooters are seen as psychopaths, poster boys of a broken community, but Mateen is a terrorist.

Orlando was not even an intelligence failure. Omar Mateen did not drop off the FBI watch list because of snoozing agents – there was no evidence against him. The file on Mateen was closed as he had not joined any terrorist organisation, didn’t attend a terror training camp, or communicated with terror operatives about any plots.

Suspects cannot be held for crimes they have not committed, and even a perfect law and order system cannot prevent crime, as it can never predict it with absolute certainty. It is a trade-off we make for liberty.

Arguments by the Gun Lobby

The argument of the gun lobby oscillates between absurd extremes. Any form of regulation is equivalent to totalitarian government control while on the other hand it is argued that gun regulation never works. It is baffling how that case withstands scrutiny. By the same logic, drug laws should be suspended as they continue to be freely available, and immigration rules should be scrapped as people continue to enter
the United States illegally.

The rhetoric becomes dangerous when Presidential candidates like Trump say that the Paris attack could have been averted if the victims were armed. As a ludicrous safety measure, he has even advocated that people be allowed to carry concealed weapons in clubs.

Support to Muslim Caucus

On the other side of the debate, Hillary Clinton has taken a stand against the hate mongering, promising stronger gun control if elected President. She has emphasised that terror should never shake a nation’s faith in plurality, adding that greater unity and acceptance is key to prevent the marginalisation that fuels the terror ideology.
This message is now being taken forward by Muslim Democrats in Florida, who have teamed up with gay rights activists to counter the vitriol of the Republican camp.

The 2016 elections is the first time the Florida Democratic Party has officially recognised the American Muslim Democratic Caucus. In the wake of the Orlando massacre, the group is championing a unique political pitch to galvanise an alliance with the gay community, highlighting that both groups are regularly misunderstood and subject to discrimination, also finding common ground in opposing Trump’s ascension to the White House. The American Muslim Democratic Caucus aims to rally the 700,000 member Muslim community in Florida against the Republican candidate, where only 200,000 are currently registered to vote.

File photo of Hillary Clinton. (Courtesy: Reuters)

Are the Voters being Polarised?

Opponents have dubbed the Democratic Party’s support to the Muslim caucus in Florida as its inability to address ‘radical Islam’, but the group’s political push is the need of the hour in American politics. It is a necessary force to bolster Hillary Clinton’s narrative for stronger gun regulation against the venomous and divisive language of
the Republicans and NRA (National Rifle Association), who have used the Orlando tragedy to spread fear and fan communal hatred.

It is potent for the ideological counter to emanate from the state where the terror attack took place, and rally Muslim voters in Florida under the Democratic banner to send out a powerful message against Donald Trump’s politicking. The political bloc can also boost the Democrats in a state, which has regularly seen close Presidential elections.

The Orlando tragedy has revealed the bare bones of the two presidential campaigns and the character of their leaders. As both sides continue to lock horns till November, Hillary Clinton will continue to look more like a statesman, a pan American and unifying leader fit to occupy the White House. Trump meanwhile, will slowly be exposed as a foolhardy cowboy who’s narrative of a divided America has done nothing more than erode the credibility of the Republicans, making social pariahs of party leaders and voters alike.

(The writer is is a senior news editor at CNN-News18. He can be reached at @Jamwalthefirst. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)

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