On Wednesday, the world was shaken to its core when news spread about a group of masked gunmen that stormed Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris, murdering twelve people and wounding others.
In a matter of hours, the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie, or “I am Charlie” in translation, was started and countless people voiced their support for the satirical newspaper that represented freedom of speech in a democratic society.
Celebrities, journalists, Charlie Hebdo aficionados, and people from all corners of the globe continue to mourn the loss of lives and hope that justice will be served.
But just one day before this horrific act, another occurred. This time, the scene was on American soil, right in Colorado Springs. An improvised bomb was detonated outside a local NAACP office but fortunately no one was hurt. However, it could have been much worse. Authorities say that a gas canister placed next to the exploded device did not ignite. Unlike the Charlie Hebdo suspects, the culprit did not scream “Allahu Akbar” and may not be Muslim. Rather, a person of interest is believed to be a white male.
While the FBI has yet to label this a hate-crime, many including the local NAACP chapter members are believe that it is. Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights icon, tweeted out that he was “deeply troubled” by the bombing. “It reminds me of another period. These stories cannot be swept under the rug.”
But unfortunately that’s exactly what mainstream media appears to have done. National news outlets seemed to have slept on this story despite the hashtag #NAACPbombing trending on Twitter. If it were not for social media, I along with countless others, would not have been alerted to this story when it happened. This is not to say that the story received no national coverage, just no where near the coverage it deserves.
Yes, the Charlie Hebdo is a bigger tragedy because people lost lives and were injured. It makes sense that there is far more coverage in France than Colorado Springs. Nevertheless, it is undeniable bias in the way we cover potential acts of terror and hate crimes.
In American media, the word terrorist is reserved for suspects who are of color, particularly Muslims of Middle Eastern descent. This is why the media is quick to detail if a suspect said anything in Arabic, recited anything from the Quran, or has a brown complexion.
When a Muslim attacks an establishment or institution in which whites are the majority, it is almost immediately labeled as an act of terrorism. That’s not to say that the Charlie Hebdo incident was not a terrorist attack, it clearly seems to be the case. However, we must be mindful of how certain coded words are reserved only for a specific groups of individuals.
A bombing of an NAACP office, like Charlie Hebdo, is potentially an attack on freedom of speech, expression and the ability for those to stand up against tyranny and oppression. The definition of terrorism is the use of violence or threats for political purposes.
Given the historical nature of the NAACP and the current racial climate in America, the explosion in Colorado Springs has all the makings of a terrorist attack, yet the media has failed to give it appropriate attention.
Because of the semantics, Americans are made to believe that acts of terrorism are not committed by domestic white Christians. By reinforcing this double-standard we feed into the very stereotype that Muslim terrorists have about Americans. They believe we are oblivious to acts of crime and war committed by Christians with blonde hair and blue eyes.
As for minority millennials, thanks to social media, we are becoming more aware of these glaring biases and must say loudly and clearly: This can’t continue.
Morgan Jergins in a novelist, essayist and screenwriter. Follow her on Twitter @MorganTheScribe