In a period of escalating inter-imperialist competition and declining U.S. presidential support, the capitalists will seize every opportunity to use tragedies such as mass shootings for their own purposes. On October 1, a gunman opened fire on a large crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on the Las Vegas strip, killing 58 people and injuring 489 others. The brutality of capitalism is able to take this tragedy and use it to ramp up support for the police force and increased fascism.
The police have been heralded as heroes of the night and calls for increasing their presence at large events is now abundant. The ruling class has jumped on this opportunity for rising fascism: more searches, SWAT special reaction team sharpshooters in place at large events, and increased calls for a “see something, say something” atmosphere. The capitalist system is what workers really need to “say something” about.   
Innate Bruality of Capitalism
The shooter, 64 year-old Stephen Paddock, a white male, was described by the media as a retiree living a quiet life who liked country music and gambling. This is the racism of the system and its media bursting from the seams. Anytime an act such as this is committed by another “race,” the story is very different. Blame is placed on an entire “race” or religion and great lengths are taken to dehumanize the person.
In reality, although no proof has emerged of a political or religious affiliation that drove the ideology of this unthinkable act, capitalism creates monsters every day. In the hotel where Paddock eventually took his own life, police found 23 weapons, including 12 rifles with “bump stocks” which allows it to serve as an automatic weapon. In his home, another 19 weapons were found along with explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition (CNN.com, 10/5). Only under this system of extreme alienation and isolation could an otherwise “regular guy” rationalize an action this heinous against his class brothers and sisters.
You wouldn’t know it by the amount of coverage, but this is not the only recent mass shooting. There have been 273 mass shootings this year alone (Business Insider, 10/2). Capitalism and imperialism are inherently violent. It is no wonder that the top imperialist country in the world would have a culture of violence, from movies to video games to rampant gun ownership. The U.S. working class is disaffected, insulated and living in a constant state of fear—fear of losing their jobs, healthcare, homes and more. This is all a tinder box for reactionary acts like the one committed by Paddock.
While this single incident may be the deadliest mass shooting in “modern” U.S. history, it pales in comparison to the over 1,000 mostly Black, indigenous and Latin workers murdered by the police every year in this country (The Counted, the Guardian). Not to mention that the genocide of Native workers is conveniently left out of U.S. “modern” history. This is compounded by the fact that the U.S. ruling class commits genocide on a daily basis all around the world, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In March this year alone, U.S.-led coalition air strikes killed 1,484 civilians in Iraq and Syria (Newsweek, 3/31).
Altruism is in Nature
As in all crises created by capitalism, we get to see the true nature of our class. Even though the isolation and dehumanization of this rotten system creates people like Paddock, the working class is resilient. Whether a hurricane hits or a shooter takes aim into a crowd, we have seen time and again the inherent collectivity of our class. In the face of death, workers ran back into the danger zone to administer first aid or pull others out. There are countless stories of workers risking their lives for other workers.
As the working class, our humanity is directly tied to one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains. One day our class will rid the Earth of this violent system. We will create a society where everyone’s worth is valued. Our natural sense of collectivity will not only be allowed out during a crisis, but will blossom in our everyday lives. Fight for communism.