US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi feels the Indian-American community resolved to stand firm despite an attempted mass shooting targeting them in Aurora, Illinois.
It is therefore no surprise that this rhetoric spills over from the online world to real violence.
An elected Florida official called for me to be deported along with my “curry”. Krishnamoorthi, who represents a district in the state, spoke to HT about the community gripped by fear but remained united. He blamed online vitriol fanned by President Donald Trump and his allies, criticised Republican silence, and urged Indian Americans to treat the upcoming midterm elections as a call to action. Edited excerpts: Congressman, can you tell us about the initial reaction to the news of this attempted mass shooting among the Indian-American community? We’re shaken, as is the entire Indian American community. But we’re strong and we’re going to stand with each other. We’re going to do everything we can to practice our faith. This is the time of the holiday festival of Navratri after all. But we have to take measures to ensure the safety of our community. The mood among Indian Americans is one of unfortunately fear but also resolve. Fear for understandable reasons. All that prevented the massacre from happening was the prospective shooter’s AR15 gun jamming. But there is also a resolve that we’re going to practice our faith. We’re going to help others to be who they are. There have been violent hateful attacks against Indian Americans online. And the truth is Make America Great Again (MAGA) and President Trump have fanned the flames. One example was the Bo French tweet, where a political candidate explicitly targeted Indian-Americans. Then we saw the Department of Homeland Security put out a tweet targeting Sikh truck drivers. This is vile. But Trump has doubled down on this and spread it. I’m going to call on social media companies to police themselves and this kind of rhetoric. I’m also going to call on agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to do more. Will this incident impact how Indian-Americans vote in the upcoming midterms?
