Racism and violence must be addressed

Veronica Werzinske, Staff Writer

Politicians are rarely silent. They champion personal causes, argue in support of funding for special projects, and verbally battle with each other all the time.

But when it comes to the topics of gun violence, racism and hate, Republican members of the U.S. Congress have gone silent.

With the recent episodes of violence and hate that have occurred in our country, we all are wondering what can be done.

On Aug. 3, there were 22 people killed and 24 injured by a gunman in El Paso, Texas. The shooting is now being investigated as a racially-motivated hate crime.

The next day, 10 people were killed and 27 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

You would expect these back-to-back tragedies would motivate all politicians to denounce hate and seek real solutions to the gun violence in this nation.

So why is there silence from the Republican congress on these issues? Why do they just ignore all the victims as a result of these tragedies?

After the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, Americans expect the President to help relieve the pain of the families affected by these tragedies. They expect him to take steps to prevent future tragedies and they expect the same from his party.

To just stay silent for so long is wrong. The President is more worried about how many tweets he makes in a day against everyone, than the real racism problems this nation faces.   

As Americans, we must not forget this country has been built by immigrants, the variety of cultures here is what makes us so special in the eyes of the world. Immigrants bring knowledge and work to make our economy better.

Then why is there all this racism and hate against them?

Americans historically have fought to welcome others and to never leave others behind. As a nation we must accept that we all come from different cultural and religious backgrounds. But we all share the same hopes and dreams, and deserve the same respect, appreciation and basic human dignity. This is the first step to making a better country and clearing the sad cloud we now have over us.