Five times the RCMP, media catered to the shooter’s trans identity
When reporting on the Tumbler Ridge shooting, both the legacy media and the RCMP seem torn between showing sympathy for the shooter’s gender identity and focusing on the victims.
Author: Quinn Patrick
When reporting on the Tumbler Ridge shooting, both the legacy media and the RCMP seem torn between showing sympathy for the shooter’s gender identity and focusing on the victims.
Whether it is referring to Jesse Strang as a “gunperson” instead of a “gunman” or headlines calling the shooter “female,” the following are the most egregious instances of catering to the shooter’s preferred gender identity.
RCMP referred to Strang as “gunperson”
The RCMP took more than 24 hours to release the identity of Jesse Strang, whom they identified by the legal name, “Jesse Van Rootselaar.” Earlier reports by the RCMP only told the media that the shooter was a “female in a dress,” and other reports cited Strang as a “gunperson.”
The rationale for not releasing Strang’s identity sooner was for “privacy reasons” and to ensure the RCMP had “connected with the appropriate people.”
CityNews applied a beauty filter to Strang’s image
CityNews published a story featuring an image of Strang that included a beauty filter in what appeared to be an attempt to make the shooter more feminine. CityNews did not respond to Juno News’ request for comment.
CityNews has since changed the thumbnail to remove the filtered image of the shooter.
Police say they identified the shooter based on how “they chose to be identified”
When asked why they withheld information that the shooter was transgender, B.C. Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald said the RCMP “identified the suspect as they chose to be identified in public and on social media.”
“I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male, who approximately, approximately six years ago, began to transition as female, and identified as female both socially and publicly. It’s too early to say whether that has any correlation in this investigation,” said McDonald.
Legacy media outlets repeatedly referred to Strang as female
Strang has been consistently referred to as female, from the earliest reports of the shooter being a “female in a dress” to the RCMP correcting journalists who used masculine pronouns.
Many Canadians have also noted how Jesse Strang is rarely referred to by their full name, simply Jesse, in what appears to be an attempt to infantilize the mass murderer, who is a legal adult.
Politicizing the tragedy
CBC News’ Ian Hanomansing also asked Conservative MLA Larry Neufeld, who represents the riding of Peace River South, whether his political allegiance and presence in Tumbler Ridge as a Conservative representative “mattered right now.”
“Absolutely not,” answered Neufeld.