"Previously, the routine would be we express our shock; we express our sadness; we offer our thoughts and prayers; we spend a day, maybe two, arguing about the appropriateness of bringing up guns at all; and then we do nothing until the next time. But as our politics becomes more polarized, even that learned cycle of helplessness has been replaced by a new, post-shooting pastime. That new pastime is, Was this one of yours?'"
"Social media is doing it crazier and faster than anybody else, so the media is trying to keep up. The fire in the church in Michigan was still burning when online influencers were inferring that the number of Muslims in Michigan are what obviously made this attack happen until police released the suspect's photo, which looked like it came from a Duck Dynasty fan-fic account, and then the left got to celebrate."
Mass shootings occur with alarming frequency. Traditional responses included shock, sadness, thoughts and prayers, brief debates over gun references, followed by inaction. Polarization has created a new pastime of immediate partisan attribution: 'Was this one of yours?' Both liberal and conservative cable networks rush to blame the other side. Social media accelerates and amplifies false inferences and rapid narratives. Example: during a church fire in Michigan, online influencers wrongly suggested Muslim populations caused the attack before police released the suspect photo, then partisan sign interpretations followed. This cycle prioritizes attention and ideological scoring over accurate reporting and restraint.
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