The deadliest mass shooting our country has witnessed in two years was not an assault at a church or a school but an incident of domestic violence, according to police. Shamar Elkins, a resident of Shreveport, Louisiana, killed eight children, seven of whom were his, on Sunday morning. The only child who survived climbed to the roof and jumped. Elkins also shot two women, one of whom is his wife, Shaneiqua Pugh. She reportedly planned to leave him.
“Many women are not so lucky. I cannot look at my feed lately without seeing stories of Black women’s lives ending tragically,” writes Brittney Cooper, who grew up in Shreveport. Across these deaths, much of the public discourse has centered on the mental-health challenges of the alleged male perpetrators. Shamar Elkins had indicated struggling with suicidal ideation and “demons” to his mother and stepfather. “It is tempting to treat Elkins’s actions as the isolated incident of a madman,” Cooper continues. “But poor mental health is never a reasonable explanation for attempting to execute one’s wife and children. Patriarchy offers a better explanation for this violence.”
Cooper writes about how these killings are the natural outcome of a country enamored with patriarchy: https://t.co/6tWndJ66q2
This should be front page news but it doesn’t sow enough hatred, division or fear amongst the general population
We are an island addicted to fucking misery
As the world watches the light of the Olympic flame, Ukraine endures the cold and darkness of Russia’s daily bombardments.
While champions elsewhere chase gold, Ukrainian athletes fight for the survival and freedom of their country. Dozens of Ukrainian athletes have paid the ultimate price, defending their homeland from the “neutral” invader.
The Olympics are meant to represent the values of peace and fair play. The aggressor has no place there. The presence of Russian athletes at the Olympics stains these ideals.
#RussiaIsNotNeutral
"Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were banned from watching their game against Aston Villa after police intelligence concluded the biggest risk of violence came from extremist fans of the Israeli club."
So @Keir_Starmer, will you be apologizing?
@lisanandy will you be apologizing?
@KemiBadenoch will you be apologizing?
https://t.co/7piLdS5IbF
Robert Peston, "Are the British people wrong to want migration to come down?"
Zack Polanski, "No, they aren't wrong"
"But it's also true they've been pumped stories, negative stories about migration for decades now"
"In fact the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said we're squeamish to talk about migration - it seems to me that we rarely talk about anything else"
Robert Peston, "Sounds as if you're saying the voters are wrong"
Zack Polanski, "No, I'm not"
"It's just that 5% of migration is small boats but it covers 95% of the coverage we hear about"
"We need politicians to tell the public the truth, and to make sure we're winning people over"
"And that the problems in the country are down to multi millionaires and billionaires"
Robert Peston, "Would you bring down controlled legal migration?"
Zack Polanski, "It would be ludicrous to do that, we have for example 150,000 vacancies in the NHS"
"Of course we need to train British workers as well but actually there are huge skills gaps in the green transition and the green economy, where we need to train people up: both British workers and migrants coming here looking for a home"
"I think diversity is one of the best things about this country"
"This country was built on migration. Of course we should celebrate people who were born here but also people who come here and make this their home too"
"I think that's part of being a patriot: a caring and compassionate approach towards others"
"I think that's part of being British"
"Cultural coherence isn't something for politicians to do"
"That's for communities to do"
"We had 14 years of Conservative austerity that's destroyed integration, because we don't have community centres, we don't have arts and culture"
"And we need to do that collectively"
"It's for communities to create social cohesion"