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Whatever The Motivation Here
From The New York Times after the murder of eight people in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Whatever the motivation here,” [Biden] said, “I know Asian-Americans are very concerned. Because as you know I have been speaking about the brutality against Asian-Americans for the last couple months, and I think it’s very, very troubling. But I am making no connection at this moment to the motivation of the killer. I’m waiting for an answer from — as the investigation proceeds — from the F.B.I. and from the Justice Department. And I’ll have more to say when the investigation is completed.”
Whatever the motivation here let it be known that the shooter didn’t mean anything by it. That it was a Tuesday during the pandemic, days stretched into weeks. Yawn into years. Time spent counting sunlight splashes on the living room loveseat. Boredom found a reckless cousin, strapped metal to his finger. Tripped on the sidewalk, said, oops.
Whatever the motivation here I know Asian-Americans. Are hyphenated Americans, non-white Americans. Are Americans. Who will not return home. Or, will return home to wipe the spit off their shoes, the ringing sound of slaughter from their ears, the memory of graffiti on their walls. It all could be washed away.
Whatever the motivation here we don’t know the motivation here. One person’s bad day is another person’s…
