After Gilroy: Mass shootings a white thing? Oh, hell, no

Even before the final butcher's bill was presented for the Sunday-night mass shooting in Gilroy, the blue checkers and talking heads were filling their platforms with fairy tales that most mass shooters are white. But in the two-week run-up to Gilroy, there were 36 other mass shootings from coast to coast — and 34 of those shooters were black. One was white and one Hispanic. These results echo a New York Times story from 2016 that stated, much to the surprise and chagrin of the reporters, that whenever there are three or more victims of gunfire, 75 percent of shooters in America are black.

Today, that number looks a bit generous to black sensibilities. But numbers from the New York Times and ten stories from good ol' Colin this year documenting hundreds of black mass shootings did not do much to remove the blinders of those who insist mass shootings are a white thing. "Here's a fact that republicans are too stupid to grasp," said Mark K (@MarkRK47) on Twitter. "Every mass shooting in the US is carried out by a white supremacist. Every. Single. One." Sibel Edmonds (@SibelEdmonds) chimed in to at least admit the possibility that not all mass shooters are white: "One hard hitting fact: In the chronic USA mass shooting incidents, in 99+% of the cases, the perpetrators: White, Anglo-Saxon, Christian, Americans." Salon, the Daily Beast, Mother Jones, and other staples of the mass media cannot spread these fairy tales fast enough. The facts tell a different story — the opposite story. Anyone up for a magical mystery tour of mass shootings over the last two weeks where black people shot three or more people? (You can follow along on my video; just click here. Let's start in Brooklyn on Saturday night and let the headlines tell the stories: 1. As many as 12 people shot in Brownsville, Brooklyn: Police. 2. In Philadelphia on July 28: 1 dead, 5 wounded in shooting during rap video production. 3. In Philadelphia on July 28: 6 shot in Southwest Philadelphia. 4. In Uniontown, Pa. on July 28: Multiple Uniontown shootings injure 4 people. 5. In Chicago on July 20: 7 shot in Lincoln Park near Fullerton Beach. 6. On Wichita on July 27: Wichita shooting, victim and suspect identified. 7. In Pembroke Park, Florida on July 27: 2 dead, 2 hospitalized after shooting at Pembroke.Parkauto shop. 8. In Memphis on July 24: Three people shot in Highland Heights. 9. In Baltimore on July 20: three injured in dice game shooting in Southwest Baltimore. 10. In South Bend, Indiana on July 21: Police identify man killed on Niles Avenue. 11. In Kansas City, Missouri on July 20: Police are investigating a triple shooting. 12. In San Antonio on July 16: 4 wounded in shooting. 13. In Fort Worth on July 17: 3 people shot on Berry Street in east Fort Worth. 14. In Racine, Wisconsin on July 28: Triple shooting overnight in Racine. 15. In Modesto, California on July 24: Triple shooting at Modesto Park leaves one dead. 16. In St. Louis on July 23: Police investigating triple shooting in North City. 17. In Chicago on July 28: Four shot in North Lawndale. 18. In Jersey City on July 20: Three people shot, one killed. 19. In St. Louis on July 26: Triple shooting leaves one in critical condition. 20. In Detroit on July 24: Persons of interest sought in Detroit triple shooting. 21. In Washington, D.C. on July 28: Early morning triple shooting in Shaw. 22. In Kansas City, Kansas on July 21: Neighbors found teen mortally wounded in triple shooting. 23. In Tulsa on July 18: Police identify 2 killed in shooting outside fitness center. 24. In Flint, Michigan on July 21: One woman dead, two hurt. 25. In Baltimore on July 21: Nine shot overnight in separate Baltimore shootings (one quadruple shooting). 26. In Essex, Maryland on July 28: Two men dead in triple shooting. 29. In Paterson, New Jersey on July 28: Three men shot on Saturday night. 30. In Washington D.C. on July 28: 4 shot near Howard Theatre. 31. In Chicago on July 18: Woman killed three others hurt on Garfield Park porch. 32. In North Charleston on July 22: Three people dead, one injured after shootings. 33. In Birmingham, Alabama on July 28: Three people shot near Ensley club. 34. In Chattanooga, Tennessee on July 25: 3rd suspect arrested in deadly Douglas Heights apartment shooting. The day after the Gilroy shooting, Mayor Bill de Blasio was fielding questions from reporters about whether the Gilroy shooting resembled some of the recent mass shootings in New York, such as Brooklyn Saturday night. Not all, said de Blasio. "We don't really count them that way." Colin Flaherty is the author of Don't Make the Black Kids Angry and also has a badass podcast.