When last I looked, the Washington Post was doing its best to gin up Mississippi Burning   vibes around the murder of a gay black Mississippi politician, apparently by a man who failed to be a redneck, but was, police believe, a black man who may have been sexually involved with the victim.

Continuing in this crackpot vein, the Post publishes a column by twin sisters (both white, by the way) who say that gun violence is a white thing. They write from an alternative universe, which may be because they are professional consultants and apparent busybodies. Read on:

Imagine if African American men and boys were committing mass shootings month after month, year after year. Articles and interviews would flood the media, and we’d have political debates demanding that African Americans be “held accountable.” Then, if an atrocity such as the Newtown, Conn., shootings took place and African American male leaders held a news conference to offer solutions, their credibility would be questionable. The public would tell these leaders that they need to focus on problems in their own culture and communities.

But when the criminals and leaders are white men, race and gender become the elephant in the room.

Oh, please. As I wrote earlier this year, mass shooting is responsible for less than one percent of gun murders in this country. FBI statistics show that black men — mostly young (aged 29 and younger) — are responsible for 37 percent of all murders in the US. That’s three times the size of the black population. What’s more, this is mostly a case of young black men killing young black men. Gangbanger stuff, and drug trade stuff. I don’t for a second believe the color of their skin makes them more or less likely to kill; it’s their culture.

I can understand that these sisters want someone to hire them as diversity consultants, or whatever, but why does the Washington Post run such claptrap? I ask rhetorically, because of course I perfectly understand why the Washington Post runs such claptrap. A Klansman behind every bush, or whatever. It’s just so irritating. We have enough trouble talking honestly about race in this country without this nonsense.