Shooting calls up old and familiar fear
May 19—There will always be people who will give to someone experiencing pain. It can be with food, clothing or even a shoulder to cry on, but there are some issues that are not so easily solved. The issue of white supremacy, that came out of the 10-person massacre in Buffalo on Saturday — is one of them.
Community members in Lockport, home of Aaron Salter — a former Buffalo policeman and security guard for the Tops Plaza on Jefferson Avenue was shot and killed by while protecting shoppers — reacted with sadness, because of his family's loss; anger, because the story seemed all too familiar; and resolve, because it cannot happen again.
"Why are we hated like this?" Renee Cheatham, a Lockport school board trustee, said Monday, noting that this was a racially motivated crime and nothing should "divert" the focus that this man came to Buffalo to kill Black people.
"To show a live feed like that young man had of a brutal attack on a specific race is disturbing to me," she said. "I'm upset and I'm upset with the community because of a lack of education about this at schools."
Lenny Thomas had a similar sentiment and wondered, "Did he have any help?"
Thomas explained the comment.
"He had help," Thomas said. "When you see an Ohio congressman saying Mexicans are coming into the country with drugs and crime and take their jobs? That may be just rhetoric to him, but to someone else it's a wakeup call."
Thomas said the shooter was inspired by politicians who are pandering to people who believe in theories like "replacement theory." Adherents believe the country is made for Christian white people and everyone replacing these demographics must be stopped.
"Be careful of what you say as a political person," Thomas said. "You can't cater to these people."
In the days that follow, Pastor Mark Sanders of Refugee Temple of Lockport said he'd be looking to fill the need that others may miss after an attack like this one.
Sanders noted that white supremacy is the No. 1 terrorist threat in the nation and that the time has come to talk about it. While there is no event at his church, he said he will be addressing the issue and continue addressing it in discussions that need to be had, regardless as how uncomfortable they might be.
"There are people on the fringes embracing crazy ideologies," Sanders said. "We need to combat this evil."
Asiaki Barrett, professor at Niagara University and coordinator of the My Brother's Keeper grant in Lockport schools, shared her thoughts.
"The atrocity that took place in Buffalo is beyond tragic," she wrote in an email. "It sets our country back 150 years. Black and Brown lives were merely a commodity that were lynched without cause. Millions of BIPOCS (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) would like to know why we are a that. The reason a gun is needed is to protect an individual from a threat."
She listed the names of the ten victims:
"Aaron Salter Jr., a retired Buffalo policeman, was a threat.
Ruth Whitfield, an 86 year old Buffalo resident, was a threat.
Pearl Young, a 77 year old Buffalo resident, was a threat.
Katherine Massey, a 72 year old Buffalo Civil Rights Leader, was a threat.
Roberta Drury, a 32 year old daughter and sister, was a threat.
Heyward Patterson, a 67 year old Deacon, was a threat.
Celestine Chaney, a 65 year old Breast Cancer survivor, was a threat.
Andre McNeil, a 53 year old father and friend, was a threat.
Geraldine Talley, a 62 year old aunt and friend, was a threat.
Margus Morrison, a 52 year old father of three, was a threat."
She concluded.
"I guess we are all a threat in our Black and Brown skin."
