Romney makes birth certificate joke, media freaks out

Remember when all the journalists laughed and laughed at President Obama’s birth certificate jokes at the White House Correspondents Dinner?

Batman Shooter James Holmes A Super Villain For An Entire Generation

Last week, a young man's fancy turns to guns and death. There is no excuse for the rain of bullets and terror unleashed in Aurora, Colorado, early Friday morning by a man the media has already named "The Batman Psycho" — aka James Holmes. The families of those who died and the survivors of the attack will take years to recover. Gun control advocates and gun rights stalwarts have another brutal Colorado attack to argue over for years to come.

However, there are several conversations that will likely not occur. It is unlikely that the aftermath of the Colorado shooting rampage will be a moment when we as a country reflect upon the relationship between masculinity and violence. There most certainly will not be a "beer summit" about how accused shooter James Holmes is one more entry in a long list of mass killers who are white, male, and young.

When viewed through the white racial frame, there is nothing in his deeds on last Friday night that reflects upon the behavior of white people, generally, or white men in particular. From this perspective, his dressing up as The Joker, and killing more than a dozen people, and wounding many more, are the actions of one sick person.

As folks have worked through many times before in the common "what if?" game of race in America, if James Holmes were black or brown this would be one more signal to the existence of a "pathological culture" among said group. If James Holmes were Muslim American the Colorado shooting would be a clear act of "terrorism," and an example of the Islamic bogeyman next door who has occupied the dreams and nightmares of the "heartland" since September 11th. In one devastating burst of fire, he has ruined movie going for an entire generation. He has associated one of the most popular superheroes with the darkest side of human nature.

In America, folks often ask, "what the hell is wrong with black people?" In the aftermath of the Colorado Movie Massacre, Columbine, and many other incidents, we need to ask, "what the hell is wrong with young white men?

Sadly, that question will not be asked on a national stage. White privilege is blinding. In the case of James Holmes, it also mutes a much needed national conversation about the ties between (white) masculinity and violence.