Kansas City shooting
I’ve noticed a trend whereby suspected perpetrators of specific crimes aren’t immediately identified by law enforcement officials or reported on by Mockingbird media outlets, though when suspects are white, rightwing, or a combination of these factors, they are promptly made known.
As an example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly “defines a ‘mass shooting’ as any incident in which at least four people are murdered with a gun.” However, not all sources within the United States (U.S.) apply this same definition. According to one source:
News reports on the number of mass shootings in the US are likely to reference the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that defines a mass shooting as an event with a “minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident.” Many media outlets — such as Reuters, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal — reference this definition of mass shooting.
Regardless of how one identifies mass shooting events, anecdotal observation regarding reports of these occurrences has led to questioning about potential motives or perverse incentives involved with how these instances are treated. Why hide evidence from the public if a black person is suspected of this crime?
I’m not the sole person to question this matter. For instance, there was a reported mass shooting that took place in Kansas City, Missouri on February 14, 2024. Many people within comment sections of the Daily Mail, YouTube, and other resources quickly expressed skepticism about the ambiguity of the alleged shooter’s identity.
As not to merely construct a strawman argument, I suspect it may be useful to back up a bit and cite a contrasting case for comparison. According to one source, “On August 25, 2020, when he was 17, [Kyle] Rittenhouse shot three men during the civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.”
On August 26, 2020, CNN reported, “Wisconsin authorities issued an arrest warrant charging Kyle Rittenhouse with first-degree intentional homicide, Antioch Police said.” Within 24 hours, the mainstream media outlet reported the identity of the suspect who later was found not guilty of criminal charges.
At the time of the current blogpost, within 24 hours of the Kansas City shooting, CNN reports, “The shooting appears to have been a ‘dispute between several people that ended in gunfire,” and “the three people in custody are all believed to have been involved in the dispute and that, initially, 10 people were questioned.”
I’ve seen video of one of the alleged suspects, who appears to be at least biracial, though I’ll withhold further commentary regarding implied guilt. My doing so isn’t out of reverence to racial justice, though for justice itself. Outlets such as CNN apparently don’t practice a similar standard—depending on one’s identity, that is.
With reportedly 22 people having suffered gunshot wounds, one deceased victim, and those who were shot ranging in age from eight-years-old to 47-years-old, I view the shooting as an unfortunate event. May all who were touched by the matter find peace and may those who perpetrated the event receive justice.
Examining the logic
Rather than focusing on corporate media mishandling of information, I think of the Kansas City shooting in another context. In particular, I use the skills I’ve honed through practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) to examine the logic and reasoning which underlies another observation to violence perpetrated by blacks against blacks.
Once upon a time, long before the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, discussion of black-on-black violence was prevalent within hip hop culture. Unfortunately, many people have since abandoned personal responsibility and accountability for a collective victimhood narrative.
For the current post, when I discuss “black live matter,” I’m referring to a slogan and not a movement or organization. Although some may suggest these elements are inextricably intertwined, I’m critiquing ideological constructs and not specific entities.
Noteworthy, I’m not the sole individual assessing this matter. For instance, on his 2023 album Live at Daddy Macs, Dizzy Wright featured a song entitled “Make it Make Sense,” in which he states:
Make it make sense, make it make sense
We don’t brag about no bodies, that’s a case built
It’s only when the cops kill us that the race shift[s]
No love in your heart, then you gon’ pro’lly hate this
When someone says, “Make it make sense,” the individual is stating that something is incomprehensible and is imploring of others to explain the matter in an understandable way. Given that I’ve yet to observe any meaningful dialogue about black lives mattering in regards to the Kansas City shooting, make it make sense.
I think Dizzy Wright is correct in his observation. It’s generally when law enforcement officials kill black people that the black lives matter trope is brought out and upon which others grandstand through sometimes violently activistic means.
If one were to take at face value the assertion that “black lives matter,” why are there currently no activists in the streets of Kansas City calling for justice on behalf of the victims of violence? Make it make sense.
Rather than waiting for an answer that likely won’t arrive within the foreseeable future, I use REBT to keep from self-disturbing about matters of this nature. With this psychotherapeutic practice, I employ the use of syllogistic examination concerning the logic underlying the rhetoric of black lives and their worth.
If you’re willing to entertain my search for truth while setting aside irrationally emotive and moralizing imperatives, I invite you to examine the logic supporting the notion of “black lives matter.” While in no way exhaustive, here are some syllogisms I invite you to consider:
Modus ponens –
If p, then q.
p.
Therefore, q.
If black lives matter, then black lives matter even when a mass shooter is black.
Black lives matter.
Therefore, black lives matter even when a mass shooter is black.
Modus Tollens –
If p, then q.
Not q.
Therefore, not p.
If black lives matter as much as they did in 2020, then activists will protest the recent loss of black lives in the Kansas City mass shooting event.
Activists haven’t protested the recent loss of black lives in the Kansas City mass shooting event.
Therefore, black lives don’t matter as much as they did in 2020.
Hypothetical syllogism –
If p, then q.
If q, then r.
Therefore, if p, then r.
If black lives matter, then the race of a person who takes a black life is irrelevant.
If the race of a person who takes a black life is irrelevant, then protesting the loss of black lives is important.
Therefore, if black lives matter, then protesting the loss of black lives is important.
Disjunctive syllogism –
Either p or q.
Not p.
Therefore, q.
Either black lives matter or black lives matter only when police officers are responsible for the killing.
Black lives don’t matter only when police officers are responsible for the killing.
Therefore, black lives matter.
Constructive dilemma –
If p, then q.
And if r, then s; but either p or r.
Therefore, either q or s.
If black lives matter, then black lives matter when black people kill one another.
And if black people get a pass for killing one another, then justice is subjective; but either black lives matter or black people get a pass for killing one another.
Therefore, either black lives matter when black people kill one another or justice is subjective.
Destructive dilemma –
If p, then q.
And if r, then s; but either not q or not s.
Therefore, either not p or not r.
If black lives matter, then the race of one who kills black people is irrelevant to the loss of black lives.
And if it’s newsworthy to reveal the identity of a mass shooter, then black people should also be identified when they conduct mass shootings; but either the race of one who kills black people isn’t irrelevant to the loss of black lives or black people shouldn’t also be identified when they conduct mass shootings.
Therefore, either black lives don’t matter or it’s not newsworthy to reveal the identity of a mass shooter.
Ultimately, I don’t need someone to make it make sense for me, because I’ve carefully examined the logic underlying a “black lives matter” proposal. Likewise, I comprehend why I’ve observed no activists being trotted out in Kansas City.
Moreover, I suspect that legacy media outlets which maintain illogically rhetorical claims may have an understandable—though easily refutable—reason for reporting the identity of some mass shooters while not doing so when other identities allegedly commit this offense. It now makes sense.
Conclusion
The recent shooting in Kansas City is truly displeasing. I genuinely hope that those impacted by the event may one day practice unconditional acceptance as a means of finding peace regarding the matter. Likewise, may nonpartisan justice be swift for those responsible for the event.
As others and I have observed a trend whereby only some racial or politically motivated suspects have their identities quickly released to the public while suspects of alternative identities enjoy anonymity, I decided to address this matter in the current post. This is because I find that thinking through things in a rational manner best serves my interests and goals.
Through use of six different types of syllogism, it now makes sense to me why only some identities receive reporting privilege and activistic scorn. If you’d like to know more about how to make life make sense through use of rational examination, I may be able to help.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As the world’s foremost old school hip hop REBT psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
Bogel-Burroughs, N., Draper, K., Fortin, J., and Edmonds, C. (2024, February 15). Shooting at Kansas City Super Bowl rally probably stemmed from argument, police say. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/15/us/kansas-city-super-bowl-shooting.html
Dizzy Wright. (2023, March 31). Dizzy Wright - Make it Make Sense (Official audio) [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/K_75Xb3w6lI?si=-CdP_exkrdnayRig
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