THE GREENSBORO TIMES White Male > from page 5


terrorists before him, has become a story about Haddock rather than the epidemic of white male shooters. “White men who resort to mass violence are consistently characterized primarily as isolated ‘lone wolves’ — in no way connected to one another — while the most problematic aspects of being white in America are given a pass that nobody else receives,” Shaun King wrote at The Intercept.


The numbers don’t lie. And Stephen Paddock is no exception.


While the average age of a mass shooter is 35, and while media narratives often focus on “kids,” that is when they are white, the history of mass shootings in America is one with ample examples of older shooters. In fact, many of these instances received national attention.


Just a few months ago, James Hoginson opened fire on a GOP softball practice, injuring five.


In 2015, Robert Lewis Dear opened fire on a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, killing three and wounding nine others.


Five days earlier, James Houser, who was routinely described as a


“drifter,” unloaded his weapon into a crowd watching TrainWreck, killing two people and wounding others.


Yet, what binds together those well-known high-school and college-age shooters, and those killers who are in their 50s and 60s, including Stephen Paddock, is that the majority of them are white men.


While representing only 31 percent of the population, white men account for over 54 percent of all shooters, according to Mother Jones. In 2015, that number was 63-64 percent.


In 2012, David Sirota, in his Salon article, “Time to Profile White Men,” noted that 70% of mass shooters were white men. Regardless of the different numbers that speak to varied definitions of what constitutes a mass shooting, it is clear that white men are overrepresented as mass shooters in the U.S. This isn’t surprising.


According to a 2013 University of Washington study, “Among many mass killers, the triple privileges of white heterosexual masculinity which make subsequent life course losses more unexpected and thus more painfully shameful ultimately buckle under the failures of downward mobility and result in a final cumulative act of violence to stave off subordinated masculinity,” the authors wrote.


The epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S. is the consequence of white


privilege. And just as guns threaten the safety and security of communities throughout the nation, so does white privilege.


Despite bringing 10 suitcases, all presumably carrying guns, ammunition, and his weapons of mass destruction, “Paddock aroused no suspicion from hotel staff even as he brought in 23 guns, some of them with scopes.” And despite having ”19 additional firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and the chemical tannerite, an explosive,” at his Mesquite home, his neighbors expressed shock that he could have committed such atrocities. Given how race shapes who is feared, who is imagined as dangerous, who fits profile of “thug,” terrorist, or criminal,it isn’t surprising that no one suspected that he might be preparing to kill so many innocent lives.


This is very different than those who emerged after “terrorist attacks” in


the United States. In the aftermath of the 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, several people questioned the lack of attention from neighbors, blaming them for failing to report suspicious activities. Arguing that they should have known and alerted authorities, the narrative seemingly indicted their neighbors for the horrific shooting that resulted in the murder of 14 people and not the killer.


Race shapes our reaction to gun violence. The shootings in Dallas and Baton Rogue served as a moment to blast and criticize Black Lives Matter and an opportunity to connect the killing of three police officers and the wounding of three others to the Black community. But Paddock’s actions, like those committed by white mass shooting brethren, will not be pinned to the entire white community.


Each report of a crime committed by an undocumented immigrant becomes a referendum on both immigrants and the Latino community, but the Vegas shooter, like Dylann Roof, James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Chris Harper ,and countless others, are turned into stories about lone wolves and not an epidemic of white male terrorists.


To be white is to be immune to the labels of terrorism despite the resulting


fear of one’s violent rampage. To be white is to kill many people and still be humanized and centered in stories about one’s love for polo shirts and burritos. To be white is to compel questions and narratives that blame a killer’s actions on gambling, the impact of his father’s criminal record, and mental illness rather than his evil tendencies and actions. And from the perspective of this white male writer, to be white is to be complicit in the everyday violence of white supremacy—especially when we tell lies and not truths.


PublicNotice


The Danville School Board will receive sealed proposals for providing BCBA Services for the Danville Public Schools (RFP-1718-421) in the Office of the Superintendent of Schools, 341 Main Street, Suite 100, Danville, Virginia 24543, until, but no later than 9:00 a.m. local prevailing time, November 20,2017, atwhich timethey will be opened and made part of the public record.


The procedure for withdrawals of proposals shall be according to Section 11.54 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. Any person or firm interested in providing this service for the Danville School Board should contact Dr. Melinda Robinett, Director of Exceptional Children Services, at (434) 799-6400 for specificationsandrelatedinformation.Theinformation may also be obtained via the District website at www.danvillepublicschools.org/financial-services.


NOTICE TO BIDDERS Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts Phase 2


Sealed bids will be received by the City of Greensboro, in the office of the Greensboro Coliseum Administrative Office, 1921 West Gate City Boulevard, Greensboro, NC 27403, until 2:00 PM EST, December 5, 2017. Immediately thereafter, those-bids will be publicly opened and read for the furnishing of labor, materials, and equipment for the Phase 2 construction of the new Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro, NC. Plans, specifications, and contract documents will be available through two prequalified general contractors, T.A. Loving Company and Barnhill Contraction Company. A hard copy of the plans, specifications and contract documents will also be available in the City of Greensboro’s MWBE Plan Room.


The base bid work will include, but not be limited to, the construction of the performing arts center, pre-function and support spaces, and parking lot. The successful general contractor will coordinate and work with the Owner for delivery & execution of this contract and scope of work.


A pre-bid meeting for the prequalified single-prime general contractors will be held November 14, 2017 at 10:00am in Meeting Room 3 of the Greensboro Coliseum’s Special Events Center.


Interested subcontractors and vendors should contact the following prequalified single prime general contractors by the following methods: 1) Barnhill Contracting Company at (919) 781-7210 tmiller@barnhillcontracting.com and 2) and TA Loving Company at (919) 734-8400 .hwhitner@taloving.com


Each proposal must be accompanied by the documentation required by the City of Greensboro’s Minority and Women’s Business Enterprise program included in the project manual. Failure to include such documentation is grounds for rejection of the bid proposal. No bid may be withdrawn after the scheduled closing time for the receipt of bids, except under the provisions of North Carolina General Statute 143-129.1, for a period of ninety (90) days. The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive informalities that are deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Greensboro.


Signed:


Butch Shumate Facilities Division City of Greensboro


Greensboro, North Carolina Notice To Bidders Page 1 of 1 Public Notice The Danville School Board will receive sealed


proposals for providing Behavior Intervention Specialists Services for the Danville Public Schools (FRP-1718-420) in the office of the Superintendent of Schools, 341 Main Street, Suite 100, Danville, Virginia 24543, until, but no later than 9:00 a.m. local prevailing time, November 20, 2017, at which time they will be opened and made part of the public record.


The procedure for withdrawals of proposals


shall be according to Section 11.54 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as ameded. Any person or firm interested in providing this service for the Danville School Board should contact Dr. Melinda Robinette, Director or Exceptional Children Services, at (434) 799-6400 for specifications and related information. The information may also be obtained via the District website at www.danvillepublicschools.org/financial-services.


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