"White Supremacy Must Be Rejected" Biden Visits New York Shooting Site

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] "White supremacy is poison."

On the 17th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden visited Buffalo, New York, where 10 people were killed in a shooting targeting Black individuals, and labeled the gun massacre as a "domestic terror" incident. He also urged rejection of white supremacy, which was the motive behind the crime and is widespread across the United States.

According to The New York Times (NYT), President Biden visited the shooting site in Buffalo that day and stated, "I promise you, hatred will not prevail in America, and white supremacy will ultimately not win."

The shooter in this incident, 18-year-old white male Payton Gendron, posted a manifesto online containing the white supremacist conspiracy theory called the "replacement theory," which claims that American white society and culture will be replaced by people of color. On the 14th, dressed in military uniform and body armor, Gendron stormed into a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo and opened fire. All 10 victims who died were Black, and among the 13 wounded, 11 were Black.

President Biden emphasized that remaining silent about white supremacy is also complicity and that America must reject the falsehood of the racist replacement theory.

He said, "It is time for people of all races from different backgrounds to raise their voices as the majority and as Americans to reject white supremacy," adding, "These attacks represent the views of a hateful minority." He also condemned those who spread lies for power, political gain, and profit, criticizing some opinion leaders obsessed with white supremacy.

President Biden’s visit to Buffalo came three days after the shooting on the 14th. Local media reported that this shows how seriously President Biden views racial discrimination and hate crimes. Before his speech, he and First Lady Jill Biden visited a temporary memorial site set up in front of the shooting scene to lay flowers. In his speech, he expressed condolences by mentioning each victim of the shooting one by one.

On that day, President Biden also called for the passage of gun control legislation. Earlier, the Biden administration had announced plans to regulate ghost guns and other firearms.