This OTYCD entry originally posted in August 2017.
Update June 2, 2019: Sarah Jane here. I hate updating this page.
I hate it because I hate that Trump’s rhetoric is inspiring people to kill, and I hate it because I’m pretty sure I’m missing some incidents.
I’m adding the victims of the March 15, 2019 attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. As of March 31, 2019, 50 had died and an additional 50 were injured.
The attacks belong here because the shooter, who I will not name, cited Trump in his manifesto, which I will not link to and you should not read: “Were/are you a supporter of Donald Trump? As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no.”
I’m thinking about whether to add the October 27, 2018 attacks at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. That assailant, who I also will not name, does not appear to have cited Trump explicitly, though he was active on Gab, a social media platform with a reputation for leniency towards hateful speech. The lack of citation makes me hesitate to add the attack here, formally.
I also want to include a cite to a jaw-dropping March 2019 story in the Washington Post that showed that cities and towns that hosted Trump rallies in 2016 had a 226 percent rise in reported hate crimes, when compared with similar areas that did not host a Trump rally. Story is here:
Original text follows.
Remember those who have died as a result of the hateful atmosphere created by Donald Trump.
Trump’s 2016 campaign for president was hateful from the get-go, painting Mexicans as rapists. It only went downhill from there. Hate crimes began to rise as his campaign went on, and they increased after his election.
By February 2017, his bullshit had led to the deaths of actual people. Trump himself was indirectly responsible, but his nasty rhetoric and his encouragement of hate-minded cretins was not.
This page is devoted to those who lost their lives as a result of the hate fomented by Trump and his ilk. If any of their families establish foundations or other charities in the names of the victims, we will update this page accordingly.
The incidents in which these people died also injured others. We are not naming those people here, but we may devote separate updates to the injured in the future.
We are not going to name the criminals who were arrested for killing these people, because we don’t want to increase their notoriety.
We wrote the original version of the post on August 20, 2017. Our greatest hope is that we will not have to update it with additional names.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla. He was a married engineer who hailed from India and was employed by Garmin. He and some friends were enjoying themselves at the Austins Bar and Grill in Olanthe, Kansas when they were accosted by a man who mistook them for Iranians and yelled “get out of my country” and other insults. The man left the premises but returned with a gun and opened fire. Kuchibhotla evidently died at the scene. He was 32.
A GoFundMe established for Kuchibhotla’s funeral expenses closed after raising more than $682,000. He was given a traditional Hindi funeral in Hyderabad, India.
Read more about the incident and about Kuchibolta:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article134776369.html
https://www.gofundme.com/srinus-familyrecovery-support
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article135402379.html
Rick “Ricky” John Best. He was an army veteran with 23 years’ service to his credit, an employee of the city of Portland, and a father of four who stood up to a white supremacist who was ranting and threatening passengers on a MAX train in Portland, Oregon. Best was stabbed to death by the ranting man on May 26, 2017 and died at the scene. He was 53.
Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche. He was a 2016 graduate of Reed College, with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He worked for a local consulting firm. Like Best, he was stabbed by the assailant in the May 26, 2017 attack on the MAX train. He died at the hospital. He was 23.
Read about Best and Namkai-Meche in articles written after the deadly attack:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/max_stabbing_victim_was_portla.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/taliesin_myrddin_namkai_meche.html
Heather Heyer. She was a paralegal at a Charlottesville, Virginia law firm. She was passionate about fighting discrimination. She loved the color purple, and named her dog Violet. The last thing Heyer posted to social media was “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” She was among the protestors celebrating the cancellation of the neo-Nazi rally that had been scheduled for August 12, 2017 when a white supremacist drove his car into the crowd. Heyer evidently died at the scene. She was 32.
Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, has created a foundation in Heyer’s name. See its web site:
http://heatherheyerfoundation.com
Read about Heather Heyer:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/13/us/charlottesville-heather-heyer-profile/index.html
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