August 6, 2019

The Texas branch of Workers World Party condemns, in the strongest terms, the mass murder in El Paso and the system of white supremacy that produced it.

Reports on Aug. 3 estimate that a white supremacist murdered at least 20 people after driving over 9 hours from Dallas/Fort Worth to El Paso. His premeditated dedication to vile racism was spelled out in a white supremacist manifesto. Injuries and deaths are likely being underreported, as people fled the scene in fear of potential kidnapping by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — to the point that people even avoided seeking medical attention for their injuries. Both the shooter’s manifesto and the deeply racist history of Texas lynch mobs must be at the forefront of this discussion.

In a country and state founded on white supremacy, we must fight the return of the lynch mob that threatens im/migrants and people of color. This latest shooter is not a one-off, but the product of an imperialist system that both encourages and depends on racism. While the media paint him as a misguided lone wolf, the fact that his ideas were shared and fostered in online message boards suggests he had a vast network of support from fellow racists energized by Trump and politicians like Ted Cruz, who casually take photos and meet with members of known hate groups.

Politicians seeking to hide white supremacy call for expanded gun control or “assistance” for people with mental health. Gun control has historically resulted in the increased incarceration of people of color, while “mental illness” is used as a scapegoat for racism. Some Democrats have found the gumption to call Trump a racist who encourages violence against im/migrants and other oppressed groups, but they stop short of addressing the system that not only allows these right-wing terrorists to go unchecked, but is responsible for placing Trump in office in the first place!

A Chicano member of WWP Dallas said, “I just ask myself: How many more times must this violence take place before we organize our communities? If white supremacy is left unchecked, I expect nothing short of another genocide of people of color.” We need a working-class movement that places the struggles of oppressed people, like those targeted in the massacre Aug. 3, at the forefront. A movement that will step forward when people of color are under attack; one that tells capitalists, “Not one more death!”

We demand justice for the victims of the massacre. We demand the abolition of ICE and the racist border, an end to concentration camps, mass incarceration and a society free of white supremacist and police terror!