"9 dead, 18 injured, 100+ weapons recovered, and the gang is literally hanging out at the scene," Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson noted on Twitter. (Photo: AP)
May 19, 2015
Sunday's biker gang shootout in Waco, Texas--which left 9 dead, 18 injured, and over 190 arrested--and the media storm that followed have highlighted a prevalent bias both in policing and reporting on such incidents.
The incident reportedly involved five rival motorcycle gangs, which began fighting inside local Twin Peaks "breastaurant" before spilling into the parking lot. Afterwards, roughly a hundred weapons were recovered, including guns, chains, knives, bats, and clubs. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton described the aftermath as "the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in."
Amid heightened scrutiny over police brutality against people of color and the recent spotlight put on killings of unarmed, Black men, the widely-circulated photographs of Waco police peaceably rounding up the mostly-white perpetrators drew immediate comparisons to images of unarmed protesters facing down police in riot gear in other places.
\u201c#TwinPeaksShooting these two picture are a total contradiction. Is it just me? Something doesn't jibe.\u201d— Tom Vanderwall (@Tom Vanderwall) 1431908195
Other reactions focused on the aftermath of the shootout, compared with crackdowns in largely Black communities, or made light of what they saw as an inevitable police bias.
\u201cI've been offline. Is the National Guard in Waco yet? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431922940
\u201cWill there be a city wide curfew since more gang members, who ride bikes, are allegedly on the way? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Johnetta Elzie (@Johnetta Elzie) 1432040275
\u201cIf #TwinPeaks had told officers there'd be a #BlackLivesMatter protest the police wouldve been there in full force. #TwinPeaksShooting #Waco\u201d— Garrett deGraffenreid (@Garrett deGraffenreid) 1431990482
A writer for the blog Crooks and Liarsnoted Monday:
In Baltimore or Ferguson, police would have been dressed in riot gear with billy clubs after an event such as that. A curfew would have been imposed. The media would have been all over it. Fox News would trot out every conservative commentator they could to point fingers at those "thugs" who start senseless violence. We would hear about how the parents raised said thugs, and how they fritter away their welfare check on implements of thuggery.
Spurring even greater critique was the media coverage of the event, which observers noted differed widely from mainstream reporting on events involving Black people, where descriptors such as "thugs" and "riots" are often employed.
\u201c"9 killed in Waco biker gang shootout - where are the white leaders decrying this white-on-white violence?" #stuffthemedianeversays\u201d— John Fugelsang (@John Fugelsang) 1431962476
\u201cMedia coverage of killings by demographic of perpetrator: \n\nBlack: Thug\nMuslim: Terrorist\nWhite: Biker gang\n\n#TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Broderick (@Broderick) 1431910950
Set against a growing protest movement, which is calling for reform of what activists say are inherently discriminatory systems, spanning media to mass incarceration, the violence in Waco, Texas presented an appropriate foil. As Deray McKesson, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter protest movement, noted:
\u201cIf you've never understood the intersection of media bias/race and policing re: whiteness, watch the #TwinPeaksShooting unfold.\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431909801
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Sunday's biker gang shootout in Waco, Texas--which left 9 dead, 18 injured, and over 190 arrested--and the media storm that followed have highlighted a prevalent bias both in policing and reporting on such incidents.
The incident reportedly involved five rival motorcycle gangs, which began fighting inside local Twin Peaks "breastaurant" before spilling into the parking lot. Afterwards, roughly a hundred weapons were recovered, including guns, chains, knives, bats, and clubs. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton described the aftermath as "the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in."
Amid heightened scrutiny over police brutality against people of color and the recent spotlight put on killings of unarmed, Black men, the widely-circulated photographs of Waco police peaceably rounding up the mostly-white perpetrators drew immediate comparisons to images of unarmed protesters facing down police in riot gear in other places.
\u201c#TwinPeaksShooting these two picture are a total contradiction. Is it just me? Something doesn't jibe.\u201d— Tom Vanderwall (@Tom Vanderwall) 1431908195
Other reactions focused on the aftermath of the shootout, compared with crackdowns in largely Black communities, or made light of what they saw as an inevitable police bias.
\u201cI've been offline. Is the National Guard in Waco yet? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431922940
\u201cWill there be a city wide curfew since more gang members, who ride bikes, are allegedly on the way? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Johnetta Elzie (@Johnetta Elzie) 1432040275
\u201cIf #TwinPeaks had told officers there'd be a #BlackLivesMatter protest the police wouldve been there in full force. #TwinPeaksShooting #Waco\u201d— Garrett deGraffenreid (@Garrett deGraffenreid) 1431990482
A writer for the blog Crooks and Liarsnoted Monday:
In Baltimore or Ferguson, police would have been dressed in riot gear with billy clubs after an event such as that. A curfew would have been imposed. The media would have been all over it. Fox News would trot out every conservative commentator they could to point fingers at those "thugs" who start senseless violence. We would hear about how the parents raised said thugs, and how they fritter away their welfare check on implements of thuggery.
Spurring even greater critique was the media coverage of the event, which observers noted differed widely from mainstream reporting on events involving Black people, where descriptors such as "thugs" and "riots" are often employed.
\u201c"9 killed in Waco biker gang shootout - where are the white leaders decrying this white-on-white violence?" #stuffthemedianeversays\u201d— John Fugelsang (@John Fugelsang) 1431962476
\u201cMedia coverage of killings by demographic of perpetrator: \n\nBlack: Thug\nMuslim: Terrorist\nWhite: Biker gang\n\n#TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Broderick (@Broderick) 1431910950
Set against a growing protest movement, which is calling for reform of what activists say are inherently discriminatory systems, spanning media to mass incarceration, the violence in Waco, Texas presented an appropriate foil. As Deray McKesson, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter protest movement, noted:
\u201cIf you've never understood the intersection of media bias/race and policing re: whiteness, watch the #TwinPeaksShooting unfold.\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431909801
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Sunday's biker gang shootout in Waco, Texas--which left 9 dead, 18 injured, and over 190 arrested--and the media storm that followed have highlighted a prevalent bias both in policing and reporting on such incidents.
The incident reportedly involved five rival motorcycle gangs, which began fighting inside local Twin Peaks "breastaurant" before spilling into the parking lot. Afterwards, roughly a hundred weapons were recovered, including guns, chains, knives, bats, and clubs. Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton described the aftermath as "the most violent crime scene I have ever been involved in."
Amid heightened scrutiny over police brutality against people of color and the recent spotlight put on killings of unarmed, Black men, the widely-circulated photographs of Waco police peaceably rounding up the mostly-white perpetrators drew immediate comparisons to images of unarmed protesters facing down police in riot gear in other places.
\u201c#TwinPeaksShooting these two picture are a total contradiction. Is it just me? Something doesn't jibe.\u201d— Tom Vanderwall (@Tom Vanderwall) 1431908195
Other reactions focused on the aftermath of the shootout, compared with crackdowns in largely Black communities, or made light of what they saw as an inevitable police bias.
\u201cI've been offline. Is the National Guard in Waco yet? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431922940
\u201cWill there be a city wide curfew since more gang members, who ride bikes, are allegedly on the way? #TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Johnetta Elzie (@Johnetta Elzie) 1432040275
\u201cIf #TwinPeaks had told officers there'd be a #BlackLivesMatter protest the police wouldve been there in full force. #TwinPeaksShooting #Waco\u201d— Garrett deGraffenreid (@Garrett deGraffenreid) 1431990482
A writer for the blog Crooks and Liarsnoted Monday:
In Baltimore or Ferguson, police would have been dressed in riot gear with billy clubs after an event such as that. A curfew would have been imposed. The media would have been all over it. Fox News would trot out every conservative commentator they could to point fingers at those "thugs" who start senseless violence. We would hear about how the parents raised said thugs, and how they fritter away their welfare check on implements of thuggery.
Spurring even greater critique was the media coverage of the event, which observers noted differed widely from mainstream reporting on events involving Black people, where descriptors such as "thugs" and "riots" are often employed.
\u201c"9 killed in Waco biker gang shootout - where are the white leaders decrying this white-on-white violence?" #stuffthemedianeversays\u201d— John Fugelsang (@John Fugelsang) 1431962476
\u201cMedia coverage of killings by demographic of perpetrator: \n\nBlack: Thug\nMuslim: Terrorist\nWhite: Biker gang\n\n#TwinPeaksShooting\u201d— Broderick (@Broderick) 1431910950
Set against a growing protest movement, which is calling for reform of what activists say are inherently discriminatory systems, spanning media to mass incarceration, the violence in Waco, Texas presented an appropriate foil. As Deray McKesson, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter protest movement, noted:
\u201cIf you've never understood the intersection of media bias/race and policing re: whiteness, watch the #TwinPeaksShooting unfold.\u201d— deray (@deray) 1431909801
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