People Defending the UC SB Shooter

[aileron]

Lanza, the mass shooter in CT was also diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.  That diagnosis has been retired and replaced with a diagnosis on the scale of autism spectrum disorder. 

In general, psychological diagnoses are a load of pseudo-scientific crap and Asperger Syndrome and autism spectrum disorder are odd sock drawer diagnoses for kids who act oddly. 

[SGOS]

Responding from my phone,  so sorry for any auto- corrects.

To those saying he still would have done it,  I probably agree. However I don't see why in cases like this we all rally to say,  "No, no, no... his culture had NOTHING to do with it! "

I didn't intend to say that, and I'm not sure if others do.  Yeah, he was a little off in the head, but I wouldn't rule out culture as playing a part.  As to whether or not he did it because of women, I don't think anyone can rightfully blame that on women.  It's what he claimed as a reason, but to get from, "Women ignore me," to "Therefore, I will kill them," presents a line of reasoning with some major logical voids in it.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

Er, well, I guess I feel sorry for him succumbing to whatever mental illness he obviously had...?

[Hijiri Byakuren]

I had heard that too.  It could explain him not being able to connect with women, but I don't know enough about Asperger's to know if it can explain the killing.

I suppose it's possible, but I have Aspergers, am also a 22-YO virgin, have been bullied most of my life, and while I do own a .22 my solution to that particular problem usually involves tissues and soft pornography. So... I'm gonna go with straight-up mental sickness on this one.

[GSOgymrat]

This is disturbing on several levels, not the least of which is the attempt by the parents to warn the authorities and they not responding.

How misogynistic are we that we can somehow morph our thinking to make the women who were the victims the cause of the problem? And skip over entirely the fact that the shooter's mental illness and access to firearms is the why and how of his actions. Sad.

Agreed. Unlike some other murders, we know why this killing spree happened because the killer left videos and documents clearly stating what was going on. This was someone who was diagnosed mentally ill and had a thought disorder, persecutory delusions and autistic spectrum disorder. I watched one of his videos and it is all very obvious, in fact I'm kind of surprised so many people who watch his videos don't recognize he was mentally ill. He had access to weapons, people around him knew he was dangerous and his family tried to have law enforcement intervene but the way the involuntary commitment laws are written (to prevent people from being unnecessarily forced into a hospital) it is very difficult to have someone hospitalized unless they are at risk of harming themselves or others right now. People who think that having sex would have cured this guy's mental health problems don't understand how mental illness works. Rodger's brain wasn't working normally, which doesn't in any way minimize or excuse what he did as he clearly understood right from wrong, but it invalidates arguments that any reasonable person in his circumstances would have behaved similarly. This tragedy is primarily about one person's distorted view of reality and his ability to act out his violent fantasies before someone could intervene.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

The many people saying that they don't blame him have got to be trolling because I refuse to believe there are as many men willing to go to his insane level. The thoughts we harbor are one thing. Most of us fantasize about killing others from time to time, but when it gets right down to brass tacks very few are willing to go there minus a war when we're under direct threat of life and limb.
The news sites allowing such comments ought to be closed down, fined and possibly jailed for not acting on it.

[Shiranu]

The many people saying that they don't blame him have got to be trolling because I refuse to believe there are as many men willing to go to his insane level. The thoughts we harbor are one thing. Most of us fantasize about killing others from time to time, but when it gets right down to brass tacks very few are willing to go there minus a war when we're under direct threat of life and limb.
The news sites allowing such comments ought to be closed down, fined and possibly jailed for not acting on it.

That's the thing, they aren't "defending" him per-se, they are just saying they agree with what he said his reasoning was. Sorta like saying, "I don't believe all the Jews should be killed, but I think Hitler was right that they were sub-human, greedy destroyers of society".

My problem is less with this guy himself and rather the mindset he had. As I alluded to before, it is no different then when the mentally ill do something in the name of religion even though in that case we will blame religion before the illness. They are both at fault to an extent, but the fact of the matter is what he said about women is something that IS very common among men in society today. He took it to the absolute extreme, but society leans closer to his views than they do the opposite direction.

I didn't intend to say that, and I'm not sure if others do.  Yeah, he was a little off in the head, but I wouldn't rule out culture as playing a part.  As to whether or not he did it because of women, I don't think anyone can rightfully blame that on women.  It's what he claimed as a reason, but to get from, "Women ignore me," to "Therefore, I will kill them," presents a line of reasoning with some major logical voids in it.

Okay, I agree with all of that. I personally believe the majority (say, 80%+) of the reason he did it was he was a sick individual. However what he said was not something that is too far from what many men in society currently believe, and that is the real issue to me. He has done what he has done, they are dead, and there is nothing we can do about that now. Yet the misogyny he used as an excuse is still absolutely rampant in male society, simply not taken this far to the extreme, and I think if we can take anything "good" out of this situation it would be the chance to address something that is really overlooked in male culture.

This misogyny doesn't just hurt women, it is very detrimental to guys themselves as well because it means men who don't just think of women as walking fucking machines are negatively judged for not thinking and behaving that way.

[PringleTree]

This idiot "Roosh" that she quotes doesn't know sh*t from apple butter.  He links "American women" with "sexy and hot men" as some sort of norm.  I'm soon to be 55 years old and at every stage of my life, from junior high to middle age, I have known guys who would in no way be described as sexy and hot but who consistently dated attractive women because they were smart, confident, and had an appealing personality.  This guy Roosh and the websites he frequents are aimed at those who want to wallow in their failures or inability to have meaningful relationships with the fair sex.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'll be 55 in July and by this site's standards we may be youngsters in certain circles although I won't mention certain old cretins.
This notion that only magazine models deserve to be laid or whatever the fuck they think is stupid. Life isn't the cool kids club.

[PickelledEggs]

This is disturbing, but for some reason, to me it's not surprising. It seems to me that the people I see defending him are in denial about how deranged he probably was... like they are looking for the best in him and maybe making up a good side that might not have been there. I'm not agreeing with the people that are defending him, I think he's sick, but I think the people that are defending him are just genuinely good people that are unable to accept or wrap their head around when someone is fucked in the head to the level of someone like that.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I think most defending him are turds with nothing better to do than troll trying to stir the shit knowing damned good and well he was mentally fucked, but they get to hide behind anonymity of the internet to act out some stupid fuck fantasy serial killer. In reality I'd bet the majority are "pussy whipped" guys terrified their wives and girlfriends will find out the bullshit they're posting. .

[PickelledEggs]

Ehhh. I don't know about that. I know my default is that I automatically think people are good... and unless someone does something bad, I tend to keep that thought.

I can imagine that other people are like that... assuming that people are good people before getting to know them, and I can also imagine that people can go in denial of someone being a deranged maniac if their belief that people are genuinely good.

Think about it. We get people that come in to this forum saying that a misogynistic omnipotent being in watching over us and love is sending us to eternal suffering if we don't love him back. There are stranger things that goes on in here than people defending a psycho that actually existed. And again. I'm not defending the guy or saying that it's beyond unsettling that someone WOULD defend him. I'm just saying that it's not surprising.

[SGOS]

I've seen the same kind of defense of unacceptable behavior in other cases.  After a an abortion clinic bombing, I heard Christians where I work saying that it was wrong, but they could understand why the bomber was driven to it.  But everyone clearly understands why the bomber did it, just like everyone understands why the shooter did the shooting.

There's clearly something implied with the "I understand why he did it" adjunct.  It suggests that murder done in the name of something that bothers a lot of people is acceptable, and almost even commendable.

Perhaps the appropriate response to such defenses is just a simple, "Fuck you," without any further explanation or discussion.

[Mermaid]

I think most defending him are turds with nothing better to do than troll trying to stir the shit knowing damned good and well he was mentally fucked, but they get to hide behind anonymity of the internet to act out some stupid fuck fantasy serial killer. In reality I'd bet the majority are "pussy whipped" guys terrified their wives and girlfriends will find out the bullshit they're posting. .

I wish I also thought this, but I don't. I think far too many people can empathize with this guy. As a single woman, I faced aggression, confrontation and even violence almost constantly. It's hard to fathom, but it's very much part of our cultural fabric.

Even your comment about men being "pussy whipped" speaks to that cultural phenomenon. It's so pervasive, people don't often even notice.
Worth watching.

http://www.upworthy.com/in-the-last-33-years-70-of-the-71-mass-murderers-in-the-us-all-had-1-thing-in-common?c=ufb1

[stromboli]

All of the male dominated- empowered women emasculating men issues aside, the one thing that bothers me most is that I can put myself in the place of the killers' parents. I can see their frustration and the lack of response that could have stopped this. Hopefully some good will come out in another look at mental health vs gun control. there were certainly enough red flags thrown up with this guy that somebody should have acted.