There has clearly been a rise in violence in America over the past few months, but the previous year of 2020 saw a massive increase in violence and shootings. Why the increase?  Some might say Black Lives Matter has led the surge, but if you start researching, you’ll find an interesting correlation. The rise of violence has also seen a rise in gun sales, so if people have easier access to guns, they’ll probably use them in quicker successions.

The hate crime in Atlanta, Ga. demonstrated how quickly a person can access a gun, and then use a gun to kill several people. If the shooter had to go through a longer waiting period, then he probably wouldn’t have killed those people. With racial tensions on the rise, we are living in a country where the preferred method of communication and expressing emotional problems or even how you feel about politics seems to revolve around shootings and storming capital buildings.

Gun sales increased in January of 2021, and 2020 was a record year for gun sales. It’s not farfetched to say more hate crimes are going to be committed. There are still three states (Wyoming, Arkansas and South Carolina) that don’t have hate crime laws, and the states with hate crime laws all have varying degrees on what a hate crime is.

The shooter in Atlanta was reportedly “sexually frustrated,” taking it out on Asian women. White males tend to view Asian woman as exotic and obedient based on racists stereotypes enforced by pornographic material. Therefore, his statement is clearly racist and doesn’t deflect it from being a hate crime. Then a statement from the police said he was having a bad day, which almost makes it sound as if they are excusing the crime.

When have you heard of a white person gunning down other white people and the phrase, “he was having a bad day” been used? It hasn’t, and even if it has been uttered, it’s no excuse for killing people.

In America, there are always excuses for white males’ participation in violence and assault. How often are white people held accountable for their actions? A slap on the wrist and then they are free to return to society. Restricting gun laws and holding white males far more accountable are two ways of starting to decrease the rise of hate crimes in America, but with the House passing a ban on teaching diverse concepts in public schools, it almost seems as if instead of taking one step forward and two steps backwards, it’s just tripping over yourself constantly.

The mix of easy access to guns, not holding white males accountable and banning teachings on diverse concepts is just asking for an explosion. If 3,000 people stormed the capitol because they had a major lack of understanding current issues, what will happen if there is less access to education? A guess would be hate crimes will be on the rise and maybe even become a norm again. Imagine a larger group of Proud Boys (who seem to be the KKK of our generation) doing what they want, which would include more shootings and assaults. A side note – there are several organizations such as the Proud Boys and the KKK who are not labeled as terrorist organizations.

This country has a long history of not holding white men accountable for their actions, avoiding guns restriction laws and diverse teachings have always been a sore subject.

Even if you think UNI is a nice campus, and there is no way that hatred will find its way onto campus; it will in time. They say things always get worse before they get better, and things are getting worse. Hopefully, people will be able to pull through and end the hate crimes.