Read Cole Sprouse's Powerful Take On Whiteness And Mass Shootings
While some celebrities were at a loss for words in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, here’s former Disney star and current “Riverdale” actor Cole Sprouse with a particularly cogent reaction to the horrific events.
Late Sunday night, a 64-year-old white man opened fire on a crowd of people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas strip, claiming the lives of more than 50 people and injuring upward of 500 others.
Amid a sea of condolences and prayers, Sprouse took a different approach, lambasting our cultural obsession with the shooters, instead of the victims, while also indicting whiteness as an undeniable link between some of the most devastating shootings in recent history.
White men, in particular, have committed the majority of mass shootings in the United States ― hovering around 54 percent, according to a Mother Jones study ― even though many continue to point the finger at foreigners or religious extremists.
Read Sprouse’s tweet thread below.
As someone raised within media culture, let me give my two cents on this gun violence, a now unfortunately characteristic part of US life:
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
Media has a tremendous role to play in the cultivation of mass shooters. Constant coverage and in-depth "analysis" of the life of shooters-
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
The childhood, habits, social and professional life, etc, are all covered a great deal. for weeks after the event, and often internationally
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
This makes media complicit in the creation of these shooters as anti-heroes, and often alone justifies the insane to take to shooting.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
Aside from the many other legal and institutional reasons guns need to be better controlled, news outlets need to recognize how they affect
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
The mind of these villains hungry for attention. This video does a much better job explaining it than I can: https://t.co/nm1tTSyBVg
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
We also must address that these shooters are almost exclusively coming from a single socio-economic class and racial group
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
And so also need to address what part of whiteness influences this kind of Petri dish for gun violence and killing.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
We need to broaden the conversation past simply a legal issue if we'll ever understand it fully. My heart goes out to all affected by this.
— Cole M. Sprouse (@colesprouse) October 2, 2017
Sprouse’s co-star and rumored real-life girlfriend Lili Reinhart also took to social media to react to the tragic events, encouraging her followers not to normalize mass shootings and hold each other even closer.
“Horrified. This is not normal. And this is not something we should become accustomed to living with. Living in fear,” she wrote. “Love is the only thing we can offer one another at this point. So love really fucking hard. Always.”
Horrified.
This is not normal. And this is not something we should become accustomed to living with. Living in fear...— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) October 2, 2017
Love is the only thing we can offer one another at this point. So love really fucking hard. Always.
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) October 2, 2017
Also on HuffPost
VIDEO: Rapid fire from shooter(s) in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/jgzCTQRUZP
— Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 2, 2017
HORRIFIC SCENE: Do not let this be called anything else but DOMESTIC TERRORISM. AP reports 2dead 13critical & dozens injured. #MandalayBay pic.twitter.com/q7faKkCPpN
— Eduardo Samaniego (@EduSamani) October 2, 2017
EYEWITNESS: Chilling footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/7OfAwg0ReO
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.