New Delhi: US Vice President Kamala Harris’s niece Meena Harris sparked a controversy on social media after she tweeted about Monday’s shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado.
The tweet claimed that “violent white men” are the “greatest terrorist threat” to the US. However, after police revealed that the gunman was of Syrian descent, Meena deleted the tweet explaining that she had assumed the perpetrator was white since he was “taken into custody alive” and that a majority of mass shootings in the country are “carried out by white men”.
I deleted a previous tweet about the suspect in the Boulder shooting. I made an assumption based on his being taken into custody alive and the fact that the majority of mass shootings in the U.S. are carried out by white men.
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) March 23, 2021
The 36-year-old lawyer faced criticism from several quarters, including from Indian political commentators such as Brahma Chellaney and Aditya Raj Kaul, both of whom referred to her remarks as “racially charged”.
Kamala Harris's controversial niece, Meena Harris, is in the news again, this time for a racially charged tweet that wrongly assumed the Colorado shooter was a White man. She later deleted the tweet. The Colorado killer, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, was born in Syria. pic.twitter.com/VroyGQ4iSE
— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) March 24, 2021
Racially charged tweet by Meena Harris. Is this the new normal now? pic.twitter.com/ZKbFatJwgc
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) March 25, 2021
Only last week, Harris had called into question the “sympathy” given to “violent white men” following a series of shootings in Atlanta, Georgia.
Committing mass murder is not “having a bad day.” The sympathy we give to violent white men literally costs lives.
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) March 17, 2021
The Colorado shooting isn’t the first time Meena faced criticism for her comments on social media.
In February, Meena faced some backlash when she tweeted about the farmer protests. Her tweets came after pop singer Rihanna and climate activist Greta Thunberg had triggered a controversy in India for their tweets on the protests.
In response to the criticism, Meena has posted: “I won’t be intimidated, and I won’t be silenced.”
She also posted: “We ALL should be outraged by India’s internet shutdowns and paramilitary violence against farmer protesters.”
I won’t be intimidated, and I won’t be silenced.
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) February 4, 2021
In October last year, Meena irked Hindu groups when she posted a picture of her aunt Kamala depicted as goddess Durga. The tweet was later deleted while Hindu groups sought an apology from Meena.
Gun control debate in US
Ten people, including a police officer, were killed in the Colorado shooting that took place just days after a series of shootings in Atlanta, Georgia. Eight people were killed in Atlanta, six of whom were women of Asian descent.
Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold named the arrested suspect of the Colorado attack as Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa.
According to a CNN report that quoted Alissa’s brother, Alissa belonged to a family of Syrian immigrants, may have suffered mental illness and paranoia, and had previously been bullied in high school for his Muslim identity.
The two shooting incidents have brought gun control back in the limelight, with US President Joe Biden pushing lawmakers to pass gun-control measures — a topic that strikes at the heart of the gun control debate in the US. Under the second amendment of the US Constitution, citizens have a right to bear and keep arms.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
Also read: Kamala Harris’ niece Meena gives Twitter lessons on India’s democracy and ‘anti-blackness’
You’ll not be a lot of things. That list is even longer now that we know that you’re a douche bag.
A lawyer should know better than to assume. But you probably got through law school by who you blow not what you know.
Just goes to show how much she has a hate for white man. Even without verifying the facts, she blamed a white man for the crime.
Whoever uses Twitter as platform to constantly voice their unsolicited opinion as if they’re doing a favor to the world, will eventually succumb to the platform’s vagaries. This applies irrespective of their political affiliation.
Absolutely 0 sympathy for Meena Harris whose only claim to fame is being related to some politician, and boy, do we have a lot of those in India.