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Orlando Mass Shooting Not ‘Worst In US History’ — Forgotten Killings They Don’t Want You To Remember

By Antonio J. Newell
Published on: 21:24 PST, Jun 12, 2016

Some media outlets have labeled Orlando’s mass shooting as the worst in United States’ history. While these killings were absolutely dreadful, that allegation is completely wrong.

The mass shooting that took place in Orlando was horrible. One could call it heartless and heinous. It’s pure domestic terrorism.

However, these audacious, “deadliest” sensationalist headlines completely ignore and discount a particular part of U.S. history that continues to sweep under an oblivious rug.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to offend or be insensitive to the victims’ families of the Orlando mass shooting. Rather, it’s to note historical accuracy where it is ignored.

“Too soon” for this perspective?

Although this tragedy is assuredly significant, the topic needs to be addressed before the current generation starts to believe these sensationalist headlines regarding Orlando’s mass shooting incident.

The Orlando shooting has affected several families and broken the hearts of many Americans, and to those go the deepest condolences for their losses in the mass killing.

According to the latest CNN report, Omar Mateen killed 50 innocent people during the mass shooting in Orlando. Unfortunately, the number of fatalities and injured continue to climb.

Orlando Mass Shooting Not 'Worst In US History' — Forgotten Killings Media Doesn't Want You To Remember II
Victims’ families and friends mourn after the horrific Orlando mass shooting. [Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images News]

But, understand this…

America’s history is full of domestic terrorism and mass shootings like the one that happened in Orlando. These attacks are and have been fueled by discrimination and prejudice since America’s foundation.

Yet…

To label this particular incidence as the “worst mass shooting in U.S. history” is an ultimate disrespect to the fallen lives of the past, as well as their families — totally obliterating the reality of America’s long-standing, heartless development.

When the “worst U.S. mass shooting” headlines started, the casualty count was at 20.

1. What about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting of 2012?

As notes CNN, only three and a half years ago, Adam Lanza walked into a Connecticut elementary school — full of defenseless children — and murdered 20 of them.

Plus, he shot and killed six other staff members. Not to mention, Lanza had also killed his mother prior to the mass shooting at the school.

2. Has anyone ever heard of the Colfax Massacre?

You probably haven’t heard of this one. It’s not something that’s taught in public schools as part of “U.S. History.”

In relation, Donald Trump’s rallies tend to discriminate against any opposition to its supporters’ values. This is a reflection of the United States’ past.

According to PBS, in Colfax, Louisiana, at least 100 black men were killed in a mass shooting at the Town Hall.

The objective was to keep these men, and several others, from voting. But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Oxford University Press published LeeAnna Keith’s The Colfax Massacre: The Story of Black Power, White Terror, and the Death of Reconstruction. In the book, the author discussed what also happened in the days leading up to the “official” massacre.

According to this work, for several weeks, men — as the book quotes, “white men” — raided homes, killing nearly 900 men, women, and children.

The source notes that — after being shot — many of their bodies were burned, pulled apart by horses (as the men’s limbs were tied to four different horses, and the animals were made to run in separate directions), or dumped in nearby rivers or swamps.

And, in Louisiana, you know there’s prominent alligator population in such locations.

As mentioned, Orlando’s mass shooting was a horrible event. Likewise, the nation supports and empathizes with the victims and their families. This was certainly an act of discrimination against the LGBT community.

However, other families have lost loved ones in past mass shootings that were of greater casualty, unlike the sensational headlines state.

To deem Orlando’s shooting as the “worst in U.S. history,” that’s a serious fallacy that needs to be nipped in the bud.

The mass shooting was horrible — even terrifying.

Orlando Mass Shooting Not 'Worst In US History' — Forgotten Killings Media Doesn't Want You To Remember III
The Orlando mass shooting was a horrible attack that will be remembered in US history. [Photo by Monika Graff/Getty Images News]

But, it’s not the worst shooting the United States has seen in its long-standing history of discrimination and prejudice. The list, literally, goes on and on.

Again, and it can’t be stated enough, the Orlando mass shooting was an extremely horrible, disgusting incident. Likewise, the families and friends of those victims have every right to mourn or be angered.

The issue comes when exaggerated news headlines totally disrespect all other mass shootings that have experienced more harsh ramifications.

Here are just a few more of many mass shootings that have occurred in the untold U.S. history.

3. Rosewood Massacre of 1923

In the onset of a race riot, 150 blacks were reportedly killed. Rosewood was primarily a black community.

As notes Displays for Schools, wouldn’t you know that authorities set the “official” death count at only 8 people?

However…read the tweet-photo’s headline.

Discrimination and prejudice, just like that seen in Orlando’s mass shooting, brought a hateful group of people together with a mission to kill. You really think that, after gathering “for miles,” they only killed 8 people (two of which were white)?

In history, what “massacre” can you remember that only involved 8 deaths?

4. Arkansas Massacre of 1919

Although the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation’s video titles downplay the event as an equal-sided “race riot,” it was indeed a massacre. Mass shootings with over 850 deaths. It couldn’t be a race riot because it wasn’t a two-sided incident.

Could blacks own guns in 1919? Were they privy to the type of firepower that would have helped them stand their ground? Or, were they defenseless like the victims in Orlando’s mass shooting?

The following videos tell all.

5. The Tulsa Massacre of 1921

You see, “history” records these instances as “race riots,” discounting them for what they actually were — mass killings. The sides weren’t evenly matched in the slightest. So, how can it be deemed an equal-sided riot?

The “official” death count was 39. However, those who committed the mass shootings shot up and burned down an entire city. Really? 39?

Other reports note the actual number to be in the thousands.

The Black Holocaust Society mentions as follows.

“Between 1824 and 1951 there were over 300 events classified as ‘White Race Riots’ in which entire white communities turned on and destroyed entire Black communities and murdered Blacks in mass.

“There were 26 such major events and hundreds of smaller ones in major cities and towns across the US during the summer of 1919 alone. This period has been tagged by historians as The Red Summer of 1919, because many of the events happened from May to October of that year and the blood of their victims literally painted the streets of America.”

All in all, mass shootings of greater caliber have happened in these United States of America.

However, media will lead you to believe differently with its “worst in U.S. history” headlines and allegations — which are audaciously false, as far as historical accuracy is concerned.

Again, the Orlando mass shooting was a horrible, terrifying event.

The entire United States — as well as many other parts of the world — mourns with the shooting victims’ families and friends.

However, news media headlines such as the aforementioned are totally disrespectful to the real mass shooting history of this country. These sources attempt to sweep the truth under the rug of oblivion. Don’t allow it.

Yet, the deepest condolences extend to the victims’ families and friends in this tragic time. Such a shooting loss is an understood concept among various communities of the United States — from Sandy Hooks to Tulsa, and all in-between.

Feel free to leave your comments in the section below.

[Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images News]

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