THE MANIA OF MASS KILLINGS AND FINDING A GOAL IN LIFE
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
JUNE 1, 2017


WHAT IS CAUSING ALL THESE MASS KILLINGS? IS EXTREMISM ALWAYS THE DIRECT RESULT OF PSYCHOSIS, OR OFTEN DUE MORE TO THE CULTURAL BIAS AND EXTREMISM OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL GREW UP? SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF CONFORMATION TO AN ANTI-WESTERN OR ANTI-RELIGIOUS/ETHNIC/RACIAL CONSENSUS WITH AN ACCEPTANCE OF HATRED AND OF MILITANCY, FOR INSTANCE, AS DO LARGELY RURAL PLACES SUCH AS IN THE WEST AND SOUTH?

WE NEED TO INCLUDE THE NEWLY NAMED “ALT-RIGHT” IN THIS GROUP, WHO PROMOTE A LARGE AMOUNT OF PROPAGANDA OVER THE INTERNET, TOO. THERE ARE ALSO A HIGHER NUMBER OF ALT-RIGHT BELIEVERS OF ALL KINDS IN RURAL, LESS PROSPEROUS, AND LESS WELL EDUCATED SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY A MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION.

IN THE SOUTH, THAT PARTICULAR CULTURAL IDENTITY GOES BACK TO THE TIME OF THE CIVIL WAR AND LONG BEFORE, AND IS PURELY RACIST AND XENOPHOBIC. CERTAIN SOUTHERNERS HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED THAT THEY WERE DEFEATED IN THE CIVIL WAR, AND PARTICULARLY NOT THE BRUTAL CRUSHING THAT SOUTHERN SOCIETY SUFFERED.

IT’S VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONGOING AND EVER RENEWED HATRED BETWEEN THE JEWS AND THE PALESTINIANS. IT HAS LIVED “UNDERGROUND” EVER SINCE THAT WAR, TO BE AROUSED AGAIN BY THE CIVIL RIGHTS RELATED AMENDMENTS AND LAWS OF THE 1960S, MAKING JIM CROW “UNLAWFUL,” AS COMPARED TO “CRIMINAL,” WHICH MEANS THAT YOU MAY STRONGLY AND VOCALLY COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING CALLED A “N….R,” OR BETTER STILL, SUE THE BLACKGUARD, BUT IT WILL NOT LEAD TO HIS ARREST, UNLESS THE PLAINTIFF COMMITTED VIOLENCE AND PARTICULARLY WHEN IT IS DECLARED A HATE CRIME. THE ULTRACONSERVATIVE CITIZENS HAVE BEEN QUOTED IN THE NEWS AS SAYING THAT KILLING IS KILLING, AND THERE SHOULD BE NO DISTINCTION MADE BETWEEN MURDER AND HATE CRIME, BECAUSE CERTAIN KILLINGS ARE “JUSTIFIED.” WHILE THE COURTS DO SOMETIMES CONSIDER SOME KILLINGS TO BE JUSTIFIED, THAT IS USUALLY SELF-DEFENSE, NOT WHAT SHOULD PROBABLY BE CALLED GENOCIDE. THE COURTS HAVE, DURING MY LIFETIME, GIVEN STRONG SENTENCES AND PUNISHMENT FOR CASES INVOLVING TORTURE, ABUSE OF SOMEONE WHO IS LESS ABLE TO DEFEND THEMSELVES THAN MOST, ETC., AND THAT IS THE CATEGORY THAT HATE CRIMES BELONG IN. MURDER ISN’T ALWAYS JUST MURDER, AS NOT ALL KILLINGS ARE TREATED AS MURDER.

THE OTHER SOCIAL FLASHPOINT THAT I REMEMBER IS, OF COURSE, THE BIZARRE AND EXCEEDINGLY CRUEL AIRCRAFT ATTACK ON THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS AND TIMOTHY MCVEIGH’S ON THE OKLAHOMA CITY FEDERAL BUILDING. MCVEIGH WAS A HATER OF ANOTHER KIND WHICH IS COMMON AS WELL – A HATRED OF “THE GOVERNMENT.” BOTH EVENTS BROUGHT THE WILD-EYED BUNCH OUT OF THEIR HIDING PLACES, AND INDEED, ALL PEOPLE CAPABLE OF EMPATHY AND PERSONAL FAIRNESS, ALONG WITH THEM. THAT WAS A TIME OF INTENSE PATRIOTISM AND A DESIRE FOR VENGEANCE AGAINST BIN LADEN AND AL-QAEDA. PRESIDENT OBAMA INITIATED HIS KILLING PARTLY AS JUSTICE, AND PARTLY BECAUSE AS LONG AS HE LIVED, HE WAS AN EVER PRESENT DANGER. THERE IS ALSO THE RELIGIOUS AND SKIN COLOR ISSUE THAT IS INVOLVED. TO A GOOD MANY PEOPLE, ANYONE WITH OLIVE SKIN TO DARKER IS “COLORED.” IN ENGLAND THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN INDIANS AND OTHERS ARE CALLED “COLOREDS.” SEE THE INTERESTING ARTICLE ON THIS AT http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/01/21/race-and-the-census-the-%E2%80%9Cnegro%E2%80%9D-controversy/.

EXCEPT IN THOSE VERY “CONSERVATIVE” PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, THE GENERAL POPULATION OF THE US TODAY IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO EVEN CONSIDER LYNCHING ANYONE OR SHOOTING AN ABORTION PROVIDER, THOUGH IT HAS HAPPENED A NUMBER OF TIMES. MURDERS OF THAT SORT ARE CALLED “HATE CRIMES,” WHICH CAN BRING A STIFF PRISON SENTENCE.

THE PROBLEM IN THE SOUTH IS ONE OF A HIGHLY NEGATIVE UNDERLAYER THAT IS TOO OFTEN SANCTIONED, BENEATH A VENEER OF CIVILIZATION. IT SIMPLY HAS NEVER REALLY SEEN THE SUNSHINE. FROM THAT LAYER OF THE SOUTHERN PHILOSOPHY, OUR “DOMESTIC OR HOMEGROWN” EXTREMISTS AND TERRORISTS COME. RATHER THAN BEING RADICALIZED FROM THE OUTSIDE, USUALLY AT LEAST, THEY ARE TAINTED EMOTIONALLY AND INTELLECTUALLY FROM THE INSIDE. ON TOP OF THAT ARE THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS, JOBLESSNESS, DEEP LACK OF EDUCATION, PREJUDICES AGAINST MENTAL HEALTH CARE, AND WHAT I CAN’T HELP CALLING “BRAINWASHING” RATHER THAN “CONVERSION,” THAT OCCURS IN ALL TOO MANY ACCEPTED CHURCHES AND MOSQUES IN THIS COUNTRY. BOTH PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES CAN HAVE ELEMENTS OF THAT. THE ABORTION KILLINGS STARTED WITH CATHOLICISM, BUT RADICAL PROTESTANTS ARE MILITANTLY OPPOSED TO ABORTION ALSO, AND THE OPERANT WORD IS "MILITANT." THOSE THINGS ARE NOT JUSTIFIABLE. KILLING PEOPLE OVER A RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO ME. RELIGION IS SUPPOSED TO BUILT ON PEACE, AND VENGEANCE HAS NO PLACE IN IT.

IN AN EFFORT TO GIVE EVERYONE THEIR MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SPACE, WE ALLOW ANY KIND OF “RELIGION” AT ALL, IN THIS COUNTRY, WITHOUT EXAMINING ITS’ PRECEPTS AND ADMONISHMENTS TO THE FAITHFUL. ON THE ONE HAND, I BELIEVE IN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, BUT NOT ANIMAL OR HUMAN SACRIFICE, THE BURNING OF “WITCHES,” VILE MISTREATMENT OF WOMEN IN HUNDREDS OF WAYS, “RELIGIOUS” ORGIES, DEMENTED CULT PRACTICES OF ALL KINDS, ETC. IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, A RELIGION SHOULD FOSTER THOUGHT, FAIRNESS, GENTLENESS, LOVE, AND IF THEY FOCUS INSTEAD ON “PUNISHING” INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS WHO DISAGREE WITH THEM, I THINK THEIR STATUS AS A RELIGION SHOULD BE EXAMINED MORE CLOSELY AND REVOKED. MAKE THEM DISBAND AS AN ORGANIZATION, OR AT THE LEAST REVOKE THEIR TAX EXEMPT STATUS. “CULTS” AND SUCH HIGHLY BIASED POLITICAL ACTIVITY SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED RELIGION. RELIGION HELPS, CULTS DO HARM.

IS A “KILLING SPREE,” HOWEVER, DUE PRIMARILY TO INHERENT PSYCHOSIS, OR THE RESULT OF SPECIFIC EVENTS THAT DAMAGE THE MIND OF THE INDIVIDUAL, OR DUE TO THE INFLUENCE OF ONE OF THESE VERY EXTREME POLITICAL GROUPS OR “RELIGIONS?” DO ALL EXTREMISTS KILL? I.E., SHOULD WE AUTOMATICALLY HOSPITALIZE EXTREMISTS, LONG-TERM, AS SUFFERING A SEVERE AND VERY DANGEROUS MENTAL ILLNESS -- EVEN BEFORE THEY ARE ACTUALLY KNOWN TO HAVE KILLED ANYONE OR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE -- WITH MANDATORY AND EXTENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT? I SAY THAT BECAUSE STILL, IN 2017, QUITE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE DON’T ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT MENTAL ILLNESS IS JUST THAT – ILLNESS – RATHER THAN SIN OR ORDINARY CRIME, AND THE LAWS ARE WRITTEN BASED ON THAT KIND OF THINKING. THAT'S BECAUSE MOST OF OUR CONSTITUTIONAL MATERIAL HASN'T BEEN QUESTIONED, NOR ESPECIALLY REWRITTEN SINCE IT WAS WRITTEN ALMOST 300 YEARS AGO, AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD HAS CHANGED SINCE THAT TIME. INSTEAD WE KEEP TRIAL LAWS TO BE SUBMITTED EVENTUALLY TO THE SUPREME COURT TO CHANGE THEM BY DEBATE. PART OF THE PROBLEM, OF COURSE, IS THAT THERE AREN’T ENOUGH TREATMENT CENTERS FOR ALL THE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE WHO WALK THE STREETS UNRECOGNIZED EVERY DAY. ANOTHER PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE USA IS A HIGHLY STRESSFUL SOCIETY BY AND LARGE. GOOD FREE MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO REDUCING THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM. IN THIS AS IN ALL CASES OF MEDICAL ISSUES, POVERTY SHOULD NOT LIMIT ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE.

FINALLY, IT’S MY OPINION THAT THOSE PEOPLE, IF CAUGHT BEFORE THEY DO COMMIT A CRIME, CAN VERY OFTEN BE BROUGHT BACK TO A MORE OR LESS “NORMAL” CONDITION. IN THE NOT TOO RECENT PAST SEVERAL OF THESE CULTS MADE THE NEWS, WITH BIZARRE AND HARMFUL BELIEFS, AS WELL AS A PHENOMENON CALLED THE “STOCKHOLM SYNDROME” IN THE CASE OF HOSTAGES AND “CONVERTS” TO GROUPS LIKE THE JIM JONES COMMUNE, WHICH REQUIRED ITS’ CONVERTS TO GIVE UP ALL THEIR MONEY AND ASSETS WHICH WOULD BE TURNED OVER TO THE “CHURCH,” AND THEY WERE KEPT IN PRISON-LIKE CONDITIONS. JIM JONES TREATED THE FEMALES AS “WIVES,” IN COMMANDING THAT THEY SUBMIT TO SEX WITH HIM AND BEAR HIS CHILDREN, AS A RELIGIOUS DUTY. IN THOSE CASES, FAMILIES HIRE “DEPROGRAMMERS” TO ATTEMPT TO BRING THE CONVERTS BACK MENTALLY TO THEIR FAMILY OR CULTURAL NORMS.

I DON’T KNOW, AND MIGHT BE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH, THE MEANS BY WHICH THIS IS BEING DONE, HOWEVER; BUT IT DOESN’T REQUIRE A LIFETIME IN A LOCKED WARD, AND MIGHT KEEP THOSE PEOPLE FROM PLOTTING AND ENACTING A BOMBING SOMEWHERE, OR DRIVING THEIR CAR DOWN A CROWDED SIDEWALK KILLING DOZENS, AS HAPPENED AROUND A MONTH AGO IN NEW YORK CITY. ACTS LIKE THAT OFTEN ARE “TERRORISM,” JUST AS MUCH AS THE ACTIONS OF AL-QAEDA, IN THAT THEY ARE RELATED TO AN EXTREMIST VIEWPOINT; BUT WE MUSTN’T FORGET THAT THEY ARE ALSO MENTAL ILLNESS.

IN MY OPINION, ANY PERSON WHO SUBMITS HIMSELF TO SUCH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL RESTRICTION BY ANYONE WHO IS NOT THE LEGALLY AUTHORIZED PRISON SYSTEM, THE ARMY, OR SOME OTHER LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY, IS ALREADY MENTALLY ILL, USUALLY DUE TO ABUSE AND BULLYING IN THEIR EARLY UPBRINGING OR TO INBORN DEFICIENCY SUCH AS A LOW INTELLIGENCE. DEPROGRAMMERS HAVE HAD SUCCESS IN BRINGING THEM AROUND TO A PLACE OF MENTAL SELF-SUFFICIENCY, SO THEY WILL NO LONGER CRAVE UNCONDITIONAL COMPANIONSHIP AT ANY COST, OR THE PERSONAL INTERACTION WITH A DOMINEERING “LEADER.” IT’S NO ACCIDENT THAT SADOMASOCHISM, A BONDING BETWEEN TWO EXTREMES OF PERSONALITY, IS A LINKAGE THAT OCCURS VERY FREQUENTLY.

THE WORD “DEPROGRAM” IS DEFINED ON “DICTIONARY.COM” AS:
“1. to free (a convert) from the influence of a religious cult, political indoctrination, etc., by intensive persuasion or reeducation.
2. to retrain, as for the purpose of eliminating or replacing a learned or acquired behavior pattern or habit that is undesirable or unsuitable.”

I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE THING TO DO RATHER THAN TREATING THOSE CASES AS BEING A CRIMINAL MATTER ONLY, IF THE GOAL IS TO PREVENT MAYHEM FROM OCCURRING IN THE FIRST PLACE. THIS IS ONE OF THE LEGAL PROBLEMS THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED ON THE INTERSECTION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND CRIME. OUR SOCIETY IS STILL AT THE WESTERN FRONTIER LEVEL OF DEALING WITH THESE THINGS, SHOOT ‘EM FIRST AND TALK TO ‘EM LATER, OR WORSE, “BEING WHAT I CALL A GOOD POLICEMAN IS BEING A WEAKLING AND A LOSER. ATTITUDES LIKE THESE STRONGLY INFLUENCE WHAT “JUSTICE” LOOKS LIKE IN REAL LIFE. MENTAL PATIENTS AND DRUG ABUSERS SHOULD RECEIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT AND CRIMINALS SHOULD BE IMPRISONED HUMANELY, BUT SECURELY; AND IF THERE IS A DEATH PENALTY IT SHOULD BE QUICK AND CLEAN.

FROM SOME OF THE NEWS ARTICLES I’VE SEEN ON THE FREQUENT PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE USE OF DRUGS TO ESSENTIALLY EUTHANIZE PEOPLE RATHER THAN USING A FIRING SQUAD OR THE GUILLOTINE, WHICH AREN’T ACCEPTABLE THESE DAYS, IS BEING COMPARED BY A NUMBER OF LEGAL ETHICISTS TO “CRUEL AND UNUSUAL” PUNISHMENT. SIMILAR COMPLAINTS HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO THE GAS CHAMBER, THE ELECTRIC CHAIR AND HANGING. IT IS POSSIBLE EVEN IN THOSE CASES FOR THE PUNISHMENT TO FAIL TO CAUSE DEATH, WITH A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SUFFERING. OF COURSE, MY CHOICE WOULD BE PERMANENT IMPRISONMENT IN A PSYCHIATRIC LOCKED WARD.

WOULD FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR ASSOCIATION BE VIOLATED BY A MANDATORY INSTITUTIONALIZED PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT IN THE CASE OF EXTREMIST THINKING? BY CURRENT LAW, I THINK IT WOULD. IF THE ESPOUSAL OF DANGEROUS “RELIGIOUS” OR POLITICAL THINKING IS DETECTED, COULD THEY BE REMOVED FROM THEIR SURROUNDINGS AND FORCED INTO TREATMENT? ALMOST CERTAINLY. IN THE CASE OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA’S BAKER ACT AND IN SIMILAR LAWS ELSEWHERE, AN UNSTABLE OR DERANGED PERSON CAN BE INVOLUNTARILY HOSPITALIZED, BUT CAN ONLY BE KEPT FOR 72 HOURS FOR OBSERVATION AND DIAGNOSIS, WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. IT ISN’T SANCTIONED AS A LEGAL RESPONSE TO CRIME. IDEALLY, THEY ARE SET UP FOR TREATMENT AND MEDICATION, WITH GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL TALK THERAPY, BUT THEY WON’T BE GETTING OUT. THERE WAS A GREAT INTERVIEW ON A TV DOCUMENTARY ON THE LIFE OF THE “SON OF SAM” KILLER, WHO BELIEVED THAT THE NEIGHBOR’S BARKING DOG WAS TELLING HIM TO GO OUT AND SHOOT UNSUSPECTING LOVERS NECKING IN THEIR CAR. HE BELIEVED THE DOG TO BE THE DEVIL. HE WAS IMPRISONED IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE. HE HAD MADE A SUBSTANTIAL RECOVERY, OR AT LEAST A REMISSION OF HIS ILLNESS, AND WAS ABLE TO DISCUSS HIS SITUATION IN A CHILLINGLY RATIONAL MANNER. SO MUCH OF THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, IS THAT MANY INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT DISCOVERED TO BE IN A DANGEROUS MENTAL CONDITION BEFORE THEY KILL. SEE: http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/programs, ON GOOGLE.

ANOTHER ISSUE HERE, THOUGH IT IS A TRUE POLITICAL POWDER KEG, IS OUR AMERICAN TREATMENT OF ALL “RELIGIONS” AS BEING EQUAL. TO ME, THERE IS A DANGER INVOLVED IN TOO MUCH FREEDOM WHEN DAMAGE TO THE SOCIETY IS INVOLVED. ALSO, OF COURSE, THERE ARE MANY GROUPS WHO PRESENT THEMSELVES AS RELIGIONS, BECAUSE IT IS SUCH A LUCRATIVE BUSINESS – AND TO THEM IT IS A BUSINESS – WHICH EVEN INCLUDES FREEDOM FROM TAXATION. THEY SIMPLY AREN’T “RELIGIONS” AT ALL, BUT CULTS AND SCAMS. OUR LAWS, THEREFORE, ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM. SOME, INCLUDING SOME LED BY RADICAL IMAMS AND FANATICAL RACIST GROUPS, ARE ACTUALLY TEACHING VIOLENCE AS A RELIGIOUS DUTY.

EQUALLY AS BAD IN MY VIEW, IS THE FACT THAT SOME NOMINALLY CHRISTIAN GROUPS PRACTICE AND ADVOCATE MERCILESSLY BEATING CHILDREN TO FREE THEM OF “SIN,” AND SOME HAVE THE BELIEF THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE ILL, OFTEN ENOUGH TO CAUSE DEATH, SHOULD NOT GO FOR MEDICAL CARE, BUT RATHER SHOULD PRAY TO HAVE THE ILLNESS REMOVED. THAT OCCURS ONLY IN CERTAIN MINORITY VIEWS OF ANY RELIGION, INCLUDING ISLAM, SO “ISLAM” IS NOT NECESSARILY DANGEROUS. THAT’S WHY PRESIDENT OBAMA SO SCRUPULOUSLY REFUSED TO CALL THE THREAT FROM ISLAMIC GROUPS AS “JIHADIST,” OR “ISLAMIC VIOLENCE.” WHAT IT IS IS TRIBAL AND RELIGIOUS HATRED WHICH PROBABLY GOES BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF ISLAM IN THE 500S AD. THE SUNNIS AND THE SHIA WERE RIVAL SECTS, AND TO THIS DAY THEY WAGE OCCASIONAL WARFARE AGAINST EACH OTHER, NOT TO MENTION AGAINST OTHER RELIGIONS SUCH AS JUDAISM.

THE INTERNET, HOWEVER, IS VERY OFTEN THE IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF THE KILLER’S VIOLENT THOUGHTS. I’VE SEEN FOOTAGE OF AL-QAEDA TRAINING ON THE NEWS, AND IT GLORIFIES MANHOOD AND FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT AGAINST WHOEVER THE COMMON ENEMY IS, AND OF COURSE THE GENERAL MASCULINE “RAH, RAH, RAH” ATTITUDE -- TO THE EXCLUSION OF A SAFE LIVING ENVIRONMENT. I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT THOSE THINGS ARE 99.9% MALE THINKING PATTERNS. LET’S JOIN UP TOGETHER AND GO KILL SOMEBODY. WHERE WOMEN HAVE EQUALITY IN THE CULTURE, SUCH MACHO THINKING IS NOT AS DOMINANT.

THOSE VIEWPOINTS ARE A DIRECT RESULT OF POOR MENTAL HEALTH AND EDUCATION, SO JUST PUTTING SUCH PEOPLE IN PRISON WON’T “CURE” THEM. THERAPY AND GOOD MEDICATIONS VERY LIKELY WILL HELP, HOWEVER. I WOULD NOT BE AVERSE TO ALL HATE OR ABUSE BASED WEBSITES -- KIDDIE PORN, SADOMASOCHISTIC MATERIAL, AND THESE POLITICAL HATE SITES ETC. -- BEING BLOCKED ENTIRELY FROM THE NET. THEY SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED IN THE FIRST PLACE. THERE WOULD BE A LOUD OUTCRY ABOUT THAT, BUT IT WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR CRIME STATISTICS, I THINK. RIGHTS ARE GOOD, BUT INTELLIGENT AND ETHICAL LIMITATIONS ON RIGHTS CLEARLY ARE AS WELL.

THOUGH I WOULD LIKE TO UPHOLD A VIEW THAT THE INTERNET SHOULD ALWAYS BE TOTALLY FREE FOR ALL USES, WE WOULDN’T HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH ALT-RIGHT AND ISLAM-RELATED VIOLENCE IF THOSE HATE MONGERING WEBSITES WERE TO BE QUICKLY REMOVED, STIFFLY SANCTIONED FINANCIALLY, AND THE OWNERS JAILED. INSTEAD WE, OR PRESIDENT TRUMP, ARE TRYING TO KEEP ISLAMIC BELIEVERS OUT OF THE COUNTRY. THAT’S THE CORE BELIEF OF WHITE SUPREMACY, AND RADICAL CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT – THE REMOVAL, BANNING OF ALL OUTSIDERS OR DISSIDENTS. THAT IS FAR MORE UNFAIR TO ALL CITIZENS THAN IS THE CONTROL OF INTERNET CONTENT IN THE CASES THAT ARE OBVIOUSLY HARMFUL. IF THE DANGEROUS CONTENT IS NOT REMOVED, PERHAPS THE INDIVIDUAL’S INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY SHOULD BE PREVENTED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME TO ALLOW HIM TO THINK THE MATTER OVER, AND “REPENT.” TEN YEARS OF PROBATION, FOR INSTANCE? IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO THAT, BUT PERSONALLY THAT IS MORE UNDESIRABLE IN MY VIEW THAN ANY OF THE OTHER SOLUTIONS, BECAUSE OF THE TERRIBLE PRECEDENT THAT IT SETS ON OUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. NEXT WILL BE GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP OF ALL KINDS, UNLESS THE LAW, YET TO BE DRAFTED, ALLOWING US TO TOTALLY REMOVE THE “BAD GUYS,” IS VERY CAREFULLY AND PRECISELY WRITTEN; SO WE DO HAVE A SOCIETAL PROBLEM HERE.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIONAL ARTICLE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN EXTREMISM AND SOCIALLY RELATED VIOLENCE, SHOULD INTEREST MOST OF MY READERS. IN TRYING TO ANALYZE ONE UNCLEAR PHRASE THAT APPEARS IN THIS ARTICLE ON EXTREME THINKING, I ONLY FOUND THAT COMBINATION OF WORDS ON GOOGLE IN TWO SOURCES. THAT TERM IS “COMPETING ABSOLUTE VISIONS.” BY ABSOLUTE, I THINK THE AUTHOR MUST MEAN A “VISION” OF THE WORLD WHICH DOES NOT ADMIT TO ANY OTHER VIEWPOINTS, AND THEREFORE CAUSES ANGER AND VIOLENCE. IT IS MENTIONED IN TERMS OF “TUNNEL VISION” IN ONE PAPER, AND AT ANOTHER PLACE, USED AS IF IT WERE WIDELY KNOWN; I AM CONVINCED THAT IT CAN’T BE, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THERE ARE VERY FEW WORDS OF ANY KIND THAT I HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO FIND AT LEAST ONE CLEAR AND UNDERSTANDABLE DEFINITION. THE REASONABLY APPLICABLE CASE THAT I DID FIND IS IN THE FOLLOWING BOOK, USED MORE OR LESS AS IT IS HERE, SO MY GUESS AS TO THE “DEFINITION” IS PRETTY MUCH IN PLACE, BUT I ALWAYS PREFER THOUGHTFUL AND WELL STATED DEFINITIONS. IN SEARCHING IT ON GOOGLE, I COULD EITHER GET “VISION” OR “ABSOLUTE,” BUT SEPARATELY, WHICH NETTED ME A BIG FAT ZERO. THAT ANNOYS ME. IN THIS CASE, IT IS BEING USED IN A WAY THAT DOES SOUND SIMILAR TO ME, BUT EVERY SENTENCE THERE IS SO FULL OF ABSOLUTE JARGON – PERHAPS IN SEARCH OF ERUDITION -- THAT I CAN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE OF IT, AND I’M NOT GOING TO LOOK EACH ONE OF THEM UP IN GOOGLE’S DICTIONARY SITE. I CAN’T EVEN MAKE UP MY MIND ABOUT WHETHER THE SUBJECT BEING DISCUSSED IS PSYCHOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY, OR PHILOSOPHY. IT IS ALWAYS FAR, FAR BETTER WHEN WRITING TO BOTHER TO DEFINE YOUR TERMS. ANY HIGH SCHOOL OR COLLEGE WRITING COURSE WILL SAY THAT. ON THAT PARTICULAR BUNCH OF INSCRUTABLE GOBBLEDEGOOK, GO TO THE “BOOKS.GOOGLE” WEBSITE HERE, AND SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE IT OUT --
“https://books.google.com/books?id=cGGCDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=WHAT+DOES+THE+TERM+%22ABSOLUTE+VISION%22+MEAN?&source=bl&ots=0waXYIaKDa&sig=0p0OFcXOPLGIJNy8xwXw3cx6l-I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjzmpGCiJvUAhXLQCYKHSPoDmIQ6AEISTAJ#v=onepage&q=WHAT%20DOES%20THE%20TERM%20%22ABSOLUTE%20VISION%22%20MEAN%3F&f=false.”

NOW FOR THE GUARDIAN ARTICLE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL CAUSES OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/27/extremism-terrorism-far-right-neo-nazi-devon-arthurs
Florida
Pathway to extremism: what neo-Nazis and jihadis have in common
The case of Devon Arthurs, a former neo-Nazi who allegedly killed his friends for disrespecting Islam, sheds light on the roots of extremism
Lois Beckett and Jason Burke
Saturday 27 May 2017 05.00 EDT

Photograph -- Devon Arthurs told Tampa officers he had killed his friends because they disrespected his religion, police and court documents say. Photograph: David Nauss / EyeEm/Getty Images

When 18-year-old Devon Arthurs burst into a Florida smoke shop with a pistol and took customers and an employee hostage, he told them that he was upset about America bombing Muslim countries.

After Tampa police officers talked him into releasing his hostages and got him in handcuffs, Arthurs made references to “Allah Mohammed” and told the officers: “This wouldn’t have had to happen if your country didn’t bomb my country.”

He said he had already killed several people.

Arthurs directed police to an apartment, where two men he described as his friends were found dead, both of them shot multiple times in the head and upper body. A third friend, Brandon Russell, was standing outside the apartment in army camouflage, weeping, according to court documents.

The path to radicalisation Arthurs described to the police after his arrest last Friday was an unexpected one. Originally, he said, he and his three friends had all been neo-Nazis.

But at some stage, Arthurs had converted to Islam. According to police and court documents, he told officers that he killed his friends for disrespecting his new religion.

His behavior had a dual motivation, Arthurs explained, according to an affidavit from Tampa police: to raise awareness about anti-Muslim sentiment and “to take some of the neo-Nazis with him”.

Terrorists motivated by far-right extremism and by Islamist extremism share similar tactics, a similar brutality, and a similar desire to remake the global democratic order.

But they are usually considered enemies at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Far right terror attacks in Europe have been motivated by opposition to Muslim immigration.

How a neo-Nazi turned Islamist flipped terror narratives upside down
Arwa Mahdawi

But Arthur’s switch in allegiance raises a key question for analysts looking at the process of radicalisation: to what extent the factors that attract people to extremism are specific to a particular ideology at all.

At least two neo-Nazi sites denounced the murders, mourned the victims, and described Arthurs as a former commenter who had eventually been banned for his comments about Islam and terrorism. Both sites described the murders as “a Muslim terror plot” against a neo-Nazi group.

However, officials at the FBI and at the UK’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5, say little distinguishes the “pathways to violence” taken by extremists following different ideologies. One UK official said “the mechanics of radicalisation” were broadly similar in all cases.

“Our studies on both jihadis and rightwingers, and also school shooters and such like, found very little difference in terms of … pathways. It’s like when your immune system is down. You can guess you’ll get sick, but what sickness you contract depends on what you are exposed to,” said Paul Gill, an expert in extremism at the University College London.

Though it is almost impossible to create a typical terrorist profile, some research shows that “seekers” who are looking for a particular form of “brotherhood” or cause that can give their lives meaning are particularly prone to radicalisation.

There is also evidence that a sudden destabilising event – or even a minor incident that has a powerful emotional impact – can make an individual vulnerable.

But ideology can be secondary to a “propensity for violence”.

Devon Arthurs.
Devon Arthurs. Photograph: Tampa police department/Handout/EPA
“This guy [Arthur] has only changed the T-shirt [of] what his violence is about,” Gill said.

Arthurs also accused Russell, his surviving friend and a member of the army national guard, of visiting online neo-Nazi chat rooms, where he discussed killing people and bombing infrastructure, according to an FBI complaint.

Russell confirmed to police that he had neo-Nazi beliefs and said he was part of a group called AtomWaffen, according to the FBI complaint against him. But he said the explosive materials in his apartment had been used for a university engineering club, according to the complaint.

AtomWaffen, according to a thread on the online fascist forum Iron March, claimed about 40 members across the country, and had gained publicity in the past year for posting racist and neo-Nazi recruitment posters on university campuses – a tactic common in recent months among several American extremist youth groups, including Identity Evropa and Vanguard America.

On Tuesday, Iron March posted a statement mourning Arthurs’ alleged victims, Jeremy Himmelman, 22, and Andrew Oneschuk, 18, and offering support for Russell, who they said was being unfairly targeted by law enforcement and the media.

They described the attack as a “Muslim terror plot” and said Arthurs’ three friends were “completely innocent of any accusation that the group conducted or advocated, or planned for terrorist acts”.

Alyssa Himmelman, the sister of Jeremy, told the Associated Press her brother had been staying with a neo-Nazi because he needed a cheap place to live, not because he shared those beliefs.

Russell’s lawyer Ian Goldstein declined to answer specific questions about the case, but in an email said: “There is a large amount of misinformation being circulated about my client right now.”

Although neo-Nazis and Islamist militants may follow similar paths to extremism, studies have revealed significant differences in their behavior once radicalised.
Recent research has showed Islamic militant attackers are more likely to tell friends or family or other associates about their plans of violence: 71% of jihadis “leak” such information, compared with 53% of rightwing extremists.

Experts said that while there were obvious ideological elements that both neo-Nazi and radical Islamic extremism shared – such as a virulent antisemitism – there were also clear differences.

“If you are looking at racist extremists and religious extremists, one thing that is striking is that religions allow entry and exit from the group – through conversion or apostasy – but you can’t change what the extremists consider as your ‘race’. They offer competing absolute visions,” said JM Berger, author of Jihad Joe, a study of Islamic extremists in America. Berger has also studied rightwing militancy.

“If someone has a profound identity crisis, you can see how they might not find the certainty they are looking for with neo-Nazism and look to the Islamic State for something even more absolute,” Berger said.

Such cases are rare, but they do occur. Joseph Jeffrey Brice once idolized Timothy McVeigh – who killed 168 people with a truck bomb in Oklahoma City in 1995 and was “a self-declared, conservative, rightwing Christian”– but became interested in radical Islamic extremism after a homemade bomb nearly killed him in 2010.

He was later jailed for terrorist offences including sending detailed instructions for “open source” bombmaking to an undercover FBI agent who he thought was an Islamic militant.

In February, a 26-year-old suspected Islamic militant was arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning a terrorist act, storing “items and chemicals” for manufacturing explosives and spreading Isis propaganda online.

Local media reported that “Sascha L” supported a neo-Nazi group, called Muslims “cockroaches” and posted videos calling for attacks on immigrants in Germany before his conversion to Islam some time in 2014.

A disproportionately high number of militants involved in plots in the west have been converts. In the UK between 2001 and 2013, 12% of “homegrown jihadis” were converts, but less than 4% of the overall Muslim population were. Meanwhile, as many as 41% of US-born alleged militants are converts, while just 23% of the Muslim population as a whole are converts.

“With lone actors, they tend to jump around,” said Gill. “They are often looking for something to give their lives meaning. Many are converts [who are] looking for identity and answers.”


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_terrorism
Domestic terrorism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Homegrown terrorism)

Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is commonly associated with violent acts committed by citizens or permanent residents of a state against their own people or property within that state without foreign influence in an effort to instill fear on a population or government as a tactic designed to advance political, religious, or ideological objectives.[1]

Definition[edit]

While there are many potential definitions of domestic terrorism, it is largely defined as terrorism in which the perpetrator targets his/her own country. Enders [2]defines domestic terrorism as “homegrown in which the venue, target, and perpetrators are all from the same country. The term “homegrown terrorism” stems from jihadi terrorism against Westerners. Wilner and Dobouloz described homegrown terrorism as "autonomously organized radicalized Westerners with little direct assistance from transnational networks, usually organized within the home or host country, and targets fellow nationals." [3] However, homegrown terrorism is not just jihad or Islamic.



https://extremism.gwu.edu/dr-paul-gill

GW Program on Extremism
Dr. Paul Gill

Dr. Paul Gill is a senior lecturer at University College London's Department of Security and Crime Science. Previous to this he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the International Center for the Study of Terrorism at Pennsylvania State University.

His research focuses upon terrorist behaviour. He has published over 40 papers in this domain. These topics cover lone-actor terrorism, threat management and risk assessment, radicalisation, role profiles, Irish Republican terrorism, the impact of counter-terrorism, social network analysis and psychopathological explanations of terrorist involvement. Routledge published his recent book on lone-actor terrorism. His work is largely interdisciplinary, evidenced by publications in leading psychology, criminology, political science, mathematics and general science journals.

His research has been funded by the Department of Homeland Security, the National Institute of Justice, the European Union, the MINERVA programme, the Office of Naval Research, START, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, and the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats.

His research has been featured in several leading news outlets including Wired, the Washington Post, the New York Daily News, The New York Times, the Globe & Mail, The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Irish Independent.

He can be followed on Twitter: @paulgill_ucl.

GW Program on Extremism
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Phone: (202) 994-2437
Email: extremism@gwu.edu