Americans (myself included) are understandably desperate to know what motivated suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, to engage in mass murder at Monday’s Boston Marathon. But this desire for answers is no excuse for the blatant bigotry espoused by reporters, pundits and so-called “terrorism experts” who wasted no time linking “Islamic extremists” and Chechen rebels to the attacks based not on evidence but pure speculation and ignorance.

I spent the entire week monitoring media coverage of the bombings, which included CNN‘s John King reporting (falsely) that there was a suspect who was “dark-skinned” (what could go wrong?!); watching the New York Post proudly splash the face of two teens of color on their front page essentially declaring them the bombers (they weren’t); and a million other awful things said by pundits, reporters and so-called “terrorism experts” (outlets should really start identifying which security company they profit from). And who can forget the Associated Press dedicating an entire article to the statement of a convicted Al-Qaeda terrorist who was unsuprisingly delighted about the Boston bombings, the equivalent of airing the Westboro Baptist Church’s excitement over LGBTQ hate crimes. Only in the US does the opinion of a murderous lunatic qualify as news.

Despite all the racist, Islamophopic douchebaggery I witnessed, nothing prepared me for the out of control media response after the suspects were identified as 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and 19-year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev. They were Muslim!

Al-Qaeda Linked Chechen Rebels

Long before their names were released, the establishment media had already placed the blame squarely on Muslims and Arabs who have come to be synonymous with terrorism in the American psyche since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a symptom of more than a decade worth of exposure to the otherization of Muslims, Arabs and South Asians, both American and foriegn.

Given that the suspects turned out to be white, you would think pre-conceived notions about “terrorism” might cause the media to pause and reflect on the wisdom of speculating in this manner. Instead the opposite happened with pundits, reporters and “experts” doubling down on the “Islam” factor. To make matters worse, the the suspects’ Chechen ethnicity was quickly labeled a motivating factor. And just like that the media narrative evolved into blaming “Al-Qaeda linked Chechen rebels”.

Articles immediately popped up pontificating about the inherent violence of Chechens, specifically the Muslim ones.

Mother Jones, a typically progressive outlet, published a piece titled, “Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?“, despite no confirmation that the YouTube account belonged to the suspect and no actual videos demonstrating the suspect’s support for violence in the name of Islam. The headline of an article by the National Post’s Jonathan Kay screamed, “How did Chechnya’s culture of terror come to Boston?” ABC News published a similarly inflammatory headline for an article that described Chechens as “a group that has a long history of violence against Russia and ties to Muslim extremists.” The Seattle Times joined in as well, calling Chechnya a “hotbed for violence“.

But according to Luke Harding, a foreign correspondent for The Guardian, it would be more than just an “unprecedented development” for Chechen rebels to attack the US because it would mark “the first time militants from the former Soviet republic have carried out a deadly attack outside Russia.”

Everyone’s An Expert on Chechnya

In the blink of an eye, MSNBC and CNN’s “terrorism analysts” transformed into “experts” on Chechnya and the surrounding region (apparently old white men are experts on everything!).

The worst was former ATF agent James Cavanaugh, who has appeared on MSNBC at least once every hour to spout his nonsense, and that includes the network’s two most progressive shows (Rachel Maddow and All In with Chris Hayes).

Cavanaugh–who as far as I can tell knows nothing about Chechnya, Chechen rebels, or Muslims in the former Soviet region– confidently declared that Al Qaeda is brainwashing ex-Soviet Muslims (specifically Tamerlan and Dzhokar) to become extremists.

“There’s a long period of inculcation into the suicide ideal,” said Cavanaugh, adding that young extremists are forced to “pledge fealty to Osama bin laden.” There is literally no evidence to back this up. That doesn’t mean that Al Qaeda supporters are nonexistent in that region (I don’t know, I’m not an expert like Cavanaugh), just that there’s no proof of this “brainwashing fealty to Osama” crap. On a separate note, Cavanaugh mistakenly said Obama when he meant to say  Osama at one point in the day, but I digress.

Despite his wild imagination, Cavanaugh was repeatedly brought on to MSNBC to spew conjecture (which I’m almost certain he was pulling out of his ass). One segment after another, he made patently false statements about the suspects’ connection to Al-Qaeda with no challenge from the news anchors interviewing him. And remember, there is absolutely zero proof at this point that the suspects were religiously motivated to carry out this attack, let alone provoked by Al-Qaeda.

The suckiest part of the nonsense is that it has dangerous implications for already vulnerable communities in the United States.

Consequences of Hate-Mongering

A person who’s consumed news only from MSNBC (the “liberal” network) for the last several days has been repeatedly exposed to statements like: “We killed Bin Laden but we didn’t kill the virus he unleashed on the world,” which was actually said by Cavanaugh, who believes the bombing suspects were infected with this “self-replicating” virus. Cavanaugh also compared Al-Qaeda to a “spiderweb” that reaches around the globe, the brothers being the Boston outgrowth of that web.

Keep in mind that Cavanaugh wasn’t alone is saying this sort of stuff, he just happened to be the most obnoxious.

Meanwhile, only a handful of guests with some expertise on Chechnya appeared on MSNBC. One was Charles King, professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University. King, who was interviewed by Rachel Maddow for a little over three minutes (at the end of this video), made it clear that while it makes sense to look into all possible motives, focusing on just one characteristic of the suspects is wrong:

On the older brother’s Youtube channel there are an equal number of rap videos. I don’t know why we tend to focus on this one particular aspect because these guys frankly have a lot of consonants in their names and we’re kind of worried about that somehow. But in lots of other contexts of mass killing, we go to other kinds of motivations and I think we really ought to look at those in this case as well.

These guys come from a very very complicated heritage, but I think as time goes on we’re going to be looking, I hope, at other kinds of motivations that we would look for in other instances of mass killings.

Another guest who understood the region was Time Magazine’s international editor, Bobby Ghosh, who said Chechen rebel involvement would be “highly unusual” because their struggle has always been isolated to Russia.

So, after several days of MSNBC coverage of the Boston bombing suspects, this hypothetical  MSNBC-watching person is likely going to end the week angry at and terrified of Muslim Chechens.

And if the past is any indication, generalizations about entire groups of people, especially those who Americans know little to nothing about, can be dangerous. The suspects’ Uncle clearly understands the dangers of collective blame, which is why he begged Americans not to blame all Chechens or Muslims for the actions of his nephews.

Even if it turns out that the brothers were motivated by extremist religious beliefs or a sense of anger over the Russian treatment of Chechens or resentment about violent US actions abroad, that’s no excuse to collectively blame all Muslims or Chechens or anti-imperialists, just like it would be wrong to blame all conservatives or all white men for the violent white supremacists and neo-nazis on the fringes of the right-wing.

Recognizing the United States’ propensity for collective blame, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov  released a statement saying, “Any attempts to claim a connection between Chechnya and the Tsarnaevs, if they are guilty, are in vain.” Kadyrov advised the US to instead focus within for clues about motivation. “They grew up in the USA, their views and convictions were formed there. The roots should be looked for in America,” he said. Chechen insurgents have also denied playing any role in the bombings.

But none of this matters because the damage is already done thanks to the irresponsible journalistic malpractice displayed by major US media outlets. Americans following the story have been told that Chechens and Muslims want to kill them.

This likely led Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert (R) to demand that the US government investigate and deport Chechen immigrants with violent leanings (whatever that means). And I’m certain it will lead to more of the bigotry and hate crimes against Muslims that we saw taking place earlier this week.

What We Do Know

It can’t be stated enough that there is still no proof that the suspects have any ties whatsoever to Al Qaeda, Islamic extremism or Chechen rebels. That doesn’t mean it’s not possible, just that right now everything we’re hearing is speculation and should be treated as such.

The older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a gun battle with police on Thursday night, spent six months in Russia last year, at which time he reportedly traveled to Dagestan and Chechnya, though his father who lives in Russia says he was just visiting family. Officials are focusing the investigation on what he was doing during this time. The FBI also confirmed that in 2011 Russia asked them to investigate whether Tamerlan had ties to extremists. The FBI determined that he did not. While this is certainly worthy of further examination, it’s far from solid evidence of a motivating factor.

In fact, the suspects appear to have been typical young American men who just happen to be Muslim. After all, they have lived in the United States for  a decade. And the younger suspect, who is now in police custody,  became an American citizen last year on September 11, a date the media tried to make a big deal out of, as though he planned to receive his citizenship on that particular day (I don’t think you can do that).

The media also tried to make the case that the older brother, Tamerlan, was intentionally named after a medieval warlord, which Josh Shahryar hilariously debunks here.

Their family is understandably in disbelief, but so are the people who knew them. Friends, teammates, coaches and classmates have had nothing but good things to say about them, although Tamerlan, who died in a gun battle with police on Thursday night, seems to have shown subtle signs of shadiness here and there, but still nothing solid enough to go on.

It was recently revealed that Tamerlan left behind a wife, 24-year-old Katherine Russell, and a three-year-old daughter. The Russel Family released the following statement:

“Our daughter has lost her husband today, the father of her child. We cannot begin to comprehend how this horrible tragedy occurred,” the statement said. “In the aftermath of the Patriots’ Day horror we know that we never really knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Our hearts are sickened by the knowledge of the horror he has inflicted.”

Clearly, these young men are more complex than they’re being portrayed. Can someone please tell that to the mainstream press?