Post-Racial America

So, as I surmised, the initial identification of the at-large suspect in the Cascade Mall shooting as "Hispanic" was incorrect. We've had hoofbeats all over the place lately, and guessing horses is more often right than guessing zebras.

"Some questioned how describing a suspect as “Hispanic” could be meaningful, when it’s a linguistic, rather than racial, distinction."

Well, the suspect was at large, and they needed a descriptor for folks to be on the lookout for, and people would have lost their tiny little minds at "swarthy", "dark-skinned", "olive-complected", "dusky" or dozens of other quaint descriptors for "dark haired and not pasty white, but not a black dude, either". None of those are neutral terms for people's Pantone hues anymore; they've all been loaded with a full charge of powder in this era of racial healing.

"More than 15 percent of the population of Skagit County describes itself as Latino or Hispanic.

Most major news outlets, including The Seattle Times, mention race or ethnicity in relation to crimes only if the crime is considered racially motivated or if an armed, dangerous suspect is on the loose."

See? They couldn't describe the gunman who'd just fled the mall as "He looka like a man."