Dow Constantine blames everything but ISIS for Orlando shooting

In a controversial email to King County employees, King County Executive Dow Constantine invited staff members to attend Seattle’s LGBTQ Pride Parade. The invite is not controversial: I hope they attend and I join Constantine in hoping you show up to the festival. What precedes the invitation, however, is an alarmingly disingenuous argument that pretty much blames everything and everyone but ISIS and radical Islam for inspiring the mass shooting in Orlando.

After saying the Orlando shooting was “not unexpected”, Constantine offered up his analysis on where to spread the blame. He wrote:

Years of hateful rhetoric in our nation’s politics and press has predictably led angry, fearful, frustrated individuals to misdirect the blame for their own disappointing lives toward the “other” – people of another race, religion, country of origin, or sexual orientation. The addition of easy access to military-grade weapons, as we have seen over and over, can quickly turn these warped beliefs into unspeakable tragedy.

There is zero evidence that Omar Mateen was inspired by our nation’s politics, the press, or even his access to guns (most of us have access to the same politics, press, and guns and yet we don’t commit these acts of terror).

But we do have some evidence on what inspired Mateen’s cowardly terrorist attack. It’s evidence we were given Sunday by President Barack Obama. It’s the evidence that, somehow, Constantine chooses to completely ignore: ISIS.

In a 911 call to police from the night club Pulse, Mateen pledged his allegiance to ISIS. Law enforcement sources told CNN that he viewed ISIS propaganda and even beheading videos. And while it’s an open investigation, President Obama confirmed that this was being investigated as an act of terrorism and that it “…appears that the shooter was inspired by various extremist information.” This, on top of being on the FBI’s radar, for his extremist views.

Why was ISIS or terrorism omitted by Constantine? I asked his office. He declined the interview, with his spokesperson telling me he doesn’t think there’s much to add to his email. I respectfully disagreed. A terrorist commits an act of terror, and Constantine won’t even list that? In the email, he refers to “warped beliefs” but wants us to pretend politics and the press inspired him?

Why not even mention ISIS? I suspect it’s because, like most ideologues, he doesn’t want to give off the impression he might be blaming Islam. He must think that we can’t tell the difference between the majority peaceful Muslims and the minority extremist elements.

But the problem with this reasoning is that by failing to separate the extremist elements from the majority of peaceful elements in the Muslim community, he’s the one actually pretending they’re one in the same. I don’t believe that. I think all religions have extremists and I’ll happily point them out so we don’t, not even for a second, think any religion stands for or accepts extremists.

I’ll happily have this discussion with Constantine when his office doesn’t think they’re above the conversation. Dialogue with people who disagree, even when respectful, isn’t easy for everyone. The invitation is wide open.

This purposeful omission is as disturbing as it is dishonest and shows Constantine might be just as interested in making a political statement, than offering a pure act of solidarity.

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