Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Sheriff's Captain Sparks Outrage After Saying Deadly Atlanta Shooting Spree Was 'Bad Day' For Suspect

Sheriff's Captain Sparks Outrage After Saying Deadly Atlanta Shooting Spree Was 'Bad Day' For Suspect
Fox News

In the wake of the mass shooting in Atlanta last night in which a White man murdered eight people, six of which were Asian women, Cherokee County Sheriff's Captain Jay Baker offered a excuse for the man's murder spree.

It was "a really bad day" for the gunman.


Social media erupted over Baker's shocking comments.

The gunman confessed to the murders.

During his confession, he told law enforcement he suffers from sex addiction, and targeted the spas in order to "take out that temptation." In explaining this alleged motive in a press conference, Sheriff's Captain Baker's description struck many as sympathy for the gunman.

As he put it to the press gaggle:

"He was pretty much fed up, that he'd been kind of at the end of his rope, and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did."

Baker's comments sparked immediate anger.

As Asian-American writer Marie Lu put it on Twitter:

"A really bad day are you f'king kidding me? Is this a picture book??"

Baker and other law enforcement officials in the area stressed the gunman's alleged sexual addiction was the motivation for his violence, not racism, refusing to label the anti-Asian hate crime a hate crime.

But according to a South Korean media report, the gunman was heard vowing to "kill all Asians" by a witness to one of the shootings.

That aside, Baker's analysis of the murders misses two key factors: the history of racialized sexual fetishization of Asian women and the skyrocketing rates of violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic.

STOP AAPI HATE, an organization that tracks such violence, recorded nearly 3,800 attacks since the beginning of the pandemic. Many believe the increase in violence to be a direct result of former President Donald Trump's and others Republicans' racist rhetoric around the pandemic.

Even without those factors, Baker's sympathetic, humanizing portrait of a White mass murderer as a victim of circumstance should be astonishing, especially given the stark contrast to how law enforcement typically deals with people of color.

And people on Twitter are rightfully incensed.










At the time of his apprehension some 150 miles south of Atlanta, the gunman told law enforcement he was en route to Florida to "do more acts" there.

More from Trending

Barack Obama
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Obama Offers Iconic Reaction After He Accidentally Photobombed A Family's Photos In DC

If you try to take nice pictures in a scenic location, there will likely be people wandering through the background of your photos, because everyone else will also be enjoying the scenery.

In most cases, people try to time the shots between passersby or edit them out afterwards, but after a photoshoot in Washington D.C., one family will definitely not be editing out the accidental guest walking among the cherry blossoms and the Washington Monument.

Keep ReadingShow less
children sitting on floor in classroom
CDC on Unsplash

Historical 'Facts' People Learned In School That Are Actually Not True

The phrase "history is written by the victors" is a common saying. It's often attributed to Winston Churchill, although there's no proof he said those exact words.

It points out that those who win conflicts shape how those events are remembered, recorded, and taught to future generations, leading to biased historical accounts and warped perceptions.

Keep ReadingShow less

Modern 'Conveniences' That Actually Make Life Harder

Making life simpler...

That is always the goal, right?

Keep ReadingShow less
Person holding cigarette
Luiz Rogério Nunes/Unsplash

One Night Stands That Turned Into A Total Nightmare

Ahh, the trials and tribulations of dating life.

On the one hand, it could be exciting and very promising. On the other hand, it could be a total disaster.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person's eyes glowing in the sunlight
Photo by Marina Vitale on Unsplash

People Who Clinically Died And Came Back To Life Share Their Experiences

We've all heard the questions about what happens when we die, whether there is life after death, and whether we really will walk through a tunnel of white light or not to get there.

But people who have had a near-death experience, in that they were declared clinically dead and were then resuscitated, might have the answers we're looking for, and their answers are quite peaceful.

Keep ReadingShow less