UPDATE: The shooter has been identified as 26-year-old Chris Harper-Mercer. Rumors spread earlier in the day that the shooter was a a regular 4channer and active Youtuber known as “the eggman.” Obviously they were wrong.
This is beyond fucked up. In this archived thread from 4chan’s /r9k/ board, the apparent shooter at Umpqua Community College told fellow channers yesterday of his plans to shoot up a school today. He didn’t specify which school, mentioning only that it was in the “northwest.” /r9k/ is a board heavily populated by so-called “incels,” and the media is reporting that the apparent shooter regularly posted bitter complaints about his lack of success with women,
UPDATE 2: There is a lot of confusing and contradictory information out there, and the IDing of the killer has actually raised more questions than it’s resolved. An apparent Myspace page for Harper-Mercer suggests that he was obsessed both with guns and with the IRA.
There have also been reports that he was targeting Christians. According to the New York Post, a “woman who claimed to have a grandmother inside a writing class in Snyder Hall, where a portion the massacre unfolded” reported that
“The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian,” she wrote. “If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs.
So was he — as an apparent supporter of the IRA — targeting Protestants? The Daiy Beast, for its part, says the shooter “hated religion.” Chuck C. Johnson of GotNews says he’s “confirmed” that the shooter was a Muslim.
Is the Myspace page really his? Is the report from the alleged granddaughter bullshit? Was the 4chan posting yesterday actually from him, or a comment from a troll that just happened to have been posted the day before a school shooting in the northwest?
I don’t know. But I still recommend that you read the rest of this post, if only to see the comments from the other 4channers.
Screenshots below:
Here’s his first comment warning fellow channers not to go to school today if they live in the northwest.
He then said he’d post again shortly before he started to shoot. (I don’t know if he did.)
Because 4chan is a fucking cesspool, other channers offered him advice:
Another anon suggested that indiscriminate killing wasn’t the solution, seeming to imply that more targeted killing was?
Others put forth their ideas of what sorts of people might be considered appropriate targets:
More encouragement. Note the reference to Elliot Rodger, the Santa Barbara “incel” killer.
A few others urged the OP to NOT carry out his plans.
After reports of the shooting hit the news, anons reacted with amazement:
Amazement and enthusiasm:
In case you’re wondering, “kek” is the equivalent of “lol.”
More excitement:
There’s much more of this in the thread.
Naturally, someone claims that the shooting could have been averted if only the shooter could have found a girlfriend.
Yes that’s right: he thinks the shooter was himself a victim, presumably of the entire female gender.
There’s a lot more in the thread but honestly I can’t stomach it right now.
Note: This post has been updated numerous times.
We actually do know what sets them apart from ordinary extremists. They’re pathologically narcissistic and have a grandiose sense of self-worth, poor emotional self-regulation (not mental illness), and a fascination with weapons. White and male privilege and toxic masculinity seem to play a big role when combined with that (almost all school mass shooters are white males).
Catalpa- thank you very much.
The “men’s rights” 4-chan idiots are white supremacist teabag types. Check your email, Dave. I send you a primer.
Next: Little Green Footballs is also on top of it (another ally with information you’ll find beneficial):
“Hoft has been taken in by the trolls of 4chan. According to NBC reporter Tom Winter, the person Hoft identified as the killer, Toby Reynolds, is alive and has contacted NBC.”
“Tonight, Hoft followed up this massive fail by retweeting a post from an overt white supremacist”
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/45110_Massive_Fail-_Stupidest_Man_on_the_Internet_Jim_Hoft_Falls_for_Another_Hoax_Identifies_Wrong_Man_as_Oregon_Shooter
*Jim Hoft hasn’t been “taken in” he’s a white supremacist.
The losers are attempting to divert scrutiny by blaming it on #BlackLivesMatter by naming someone who is not the shooter. My email to you will explain why this tactic was predictable. Subject: “Men’s Rights” movement is white supremacist. FAQs answered. Please read it.
You have allies you didn’t know you had:) It’s high time we ALL started comparing notes:)
Meanwhile, meet Americans Against the Tea Party: http://aattp.org/
You might also note that they aren’t only targeting women (also minorities, immigrants, gays, and liberals in general): Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: “Insurrectionism Timeline” (mass shootings/right-wing terrorism 2008 – 2015 and counting) :
http://csgv.org/issues/guns-democracy-freedo/insurrectionism-timeline/
This man is absolutely correct: “When you check their voting records, the same people who are fighting environmental justice are fighting public education. The same people who are fighting public education are fighting Medicaid expansion. The same people fighting Medicaid expansion are fighting women’s health. The people fighting the women’s health are fighting against the LGBT community. The same people fighting the LGBT community are fighting the labor rights community. So, if they are cynical enough to be together we ought to be courageous and smart enough to come together. [applause]…”
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/09/29/1425693/-Reverend-Barber-suggests-Daily-Kos-team-up-with-Moral-Monday-Movement-and-go-national
Either we all swim together or we all sink together.
Sincerely,
kfreed – Artist for the Ethical Treatment of People
(I want them to know that “old milk” grandma is going to be one of the reasons these “men’s rights” white supremacist scumbags get drop kicked into next week).
You’re welcome.
God, fuck, I don’t need that thought. We already got cops killing PoC, we don’t need cops killing people so no one realizes the rampant misogyny. That’s, just, like, really…that’s Illuminati levels.
Come on.
“Poor emotional self-regulation” is a horrible way of describing it actually. It’s more likely that the person has learned that acting threatening makes other people do what he wants.
There was also an arson at a California Planned Parenthood. A story that got buried today, but is important IMO. I wish law enforcement would treat these crimes as terrorism, because they are.
I would not be an iota surprised if cops intentionally ensured these guys didn’t get captured alive. Not believe of discovering their motives, but so they don’t get to spend years on death row, or live a long life in prison until dying of natural causes.
WWTH — yeah, it’d be brilliant if the Feds treated PP arson as the domestic terrorism it is. Call me cynical but I’m not seeing it happen anytime soon.
I meant I SENT you a primer. Man I need to get some sleep.
Really? Fucking hell. How many PPs have to get blown up before people reconize a pattern?
I’m relatively ignorant about law enforcement. What would “treating something as terrorism” mean?
@Orion
Not making it seem like just random people exploding shit. Actually looking into groups that propagate blowing shit up. Actually trying to stop this shit from happening instead of dealing with it on a case by case basis.
To help offset this horror, I offer this bit of brain bleach for those wishing to see a truly handsome beta male in his native environment:
http://aquariumfish.net/images_01/red_and_blue_male_betta_131116a2_w0480.jpg
(Alright, technically it’s a betta, not a beta, but still a good-looking male, yes?)
Isn’t terrorism also automatically a federal matter? So not leaving it up to the sympathies of local cops.
About what motivates these mass shooters, I thought this was a really interesting article
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303309504579181702252120052
Basically these men ” ‘collectors of injustice’ who nurture their wounded narcissism.” To preserve their egos, they exaggerate past humiliations and externalize their anger, blaming others for their frustrations. They develop violent fantasies of heroic revenge against an uncaring world.” They go on mass shootings as a form of theater to get attention for themselves and hurt a world that has wronged them (in their minds). They are mostly inspired by the orgy of “if it bleeds it leads” reporting other mass shooters get in the media, sending the message that if you too crave power and attention, grab a gun and head for a school.
Also I do want to disagree with one minor point that was made earlier: “White and male privilege and toxic masculinity seem to play a big role when combined with that (almost all school mass shooters are white males).” The male entitlement and toxic masculinity parts I agree with, but I dispute the white part. The major of mass shooters are white, but so is the majority of the US population, and the statistics I’ve seen suggest white and black people are more or less proportionately represented among mass shooters, with Asian overrepresented and Latinos underrepresented.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/27/us/mass-shootings/
Do NOT quote Chuck C. Johnson of GotNews on ANYTHING, EVER:
“White Supremacist “Journalist” Charles C. Johnson Puts Out Death Hit on Twitter for #BlackLivesMatter Activist DeRay McKesson”
http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2015/05/white-supremacist-journalist-charles-c-johnson-puts-out-death-hit-on-twitter-for-blacklivesmatter-activist-deray-mckesson/
“Chuck C. Johnson and His Neo-Nazi Friends”
Read more at http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44406_Chuck_C._Johnson_and_His_Neo-Nazi_Friends#rW9t4Wtp8jS5Ic0v.99
NOTE: Chuck C. Johnosn is a white supremacist who’s been banned from Twitter for targeting people for harassment (with help from his white supremacist pals). Charles Johnson of the Little Green Footballs blog is NOT the same person. Much confusion arises from the similarity in names.
“Chuck C. Johnson’s Epic Drunken Racist Meltdown” (“SJW’s” – he means you, Dave; “niggers”):
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/44577_Chuck_C._Johnsons_Epic_Drunken_Racist_Meltdown
This is why I say you should be comparing notes with LGF.
Not really all that implausible. Congress bans the CDC from studying the issue of gun violence. http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetstemwedel/2015/10/01/congress-still-bans-cdc-scientists-from-studying-gun-violence/
Also, in Florida doctors are prohibited from asking the parents of young children if guns are present in the home.
*cue X-Files theme song*
@skybison:
What motivates these shooters? Here you go: Libertarians:
academia.edu: ” Chapter 20: Oath Keepers Networks With Tea Party and Patriots Introduction
This chapter examines the networking and messaging of Oath Keepers with others in the Patriot movement and the Tea Party movement. This chapter also demonstrates that the
―Patriot movement‖ is actually an extension of the Christian Right.
It is another component of the Christian Right by virtue of the similarity of ideas and the organizations that are linked to the Christian Right within the Patriot movement. The main ideas that serve to bind the Christian and the Patriot movements together are opposition to the New World Order and its concomitant Agenda21, according to the
movements‘ conspiracy theories. Belief in these twin conspiracy theories act as epistemological markers, if you will, that identify at the individual and organization levels of analysis who belongs and who does not belong in the movements.
“The SPLC noted that Patriot groups ―define themselves as opposed to the ‗New World Order,‘ engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines. The New World Order‖ conspiracy theory, of course, is also embedded deeply inside the Christian Right and is one of the main narratives of the movement (see Book I) and the Christian Right engage in spreading conspiracy theories that are consistent with, if not derived from, conspiracy theories emanating from the Patriot movement itself (see Chapter 14).”
https://www.academia.edu/9716371/CHAPTER_20_OATH_KEEPERS_NETWORKS_WITH_TEA_PARTY_AND_PATRIOTS
Ron Paul’s John Birch Society white supremacist ‘New World Order conspiracy theories motivate them (Ron Paul video from JBS 1998):
http://newsone.com/1754815/ron-pauls-new-world-order-conspiracy-theory-video/
And yes, there are atheists among them who appear not to understand who is actually manipulating them.
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence: Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism 2008 – 2015: The ‘Tea Party’ motivates them:
http://csgv.org/issues/guns-democracy-freedo/insurrectionism-timeline/
History Commons: white supremacist conspiracy theories motivate them: http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=john_birch_society_1
I think it’s fair to include whiteness in the equation. A lot depends on how shootings are defined, but the type of revenge shooting that targets schools from the top of my head originated as a rather white phenomenon.
It’s also relevant that the psychologising discourse after shootings originated only when white men became common perpetrators of violence against whites. The authors who noted that observed that shooting others was seen by society as ‘rational’ for blacks but that a psychological explanation was needed when whites committed shootings. I suspect that society didn’t really view it as ‘rational’ but rather as ‘natural’ or ‘typical’, but the point remains the same.
I’ll provide some sources later, off to work soon.
Also, aren’t people with an East/South-east Asian background generally seen (for the moment bracketing specific racism they encounter) as more similar to white people than to black people, also in terms of education and class?
Idk about in terms of class, but the stereotypical Asian is highly educated, yeah. Er, stereotypes about Asian people include their supposed obsession with good grades. Whichever of those makes sense outside my head.
I know I crunched the numbers for a troll years ago, and as of then white males were over represented, but that was 3-4 years ago now, so idk. That was mass murders, as defined by wiki’s list of mass murders (yes, there is one), gun violence in general is probably less skewed since there really does seem to be a sense of entitlement.
Very tangentially, who of the old crew is still here? Is it just me, you Katz, and pecunium? I’ve seen Viscaria I think. But have we had a rather needed changing of the guard?
@Argenti
There have been a couple of Threads of Doom that drove away a few regulars. I still miss Kittehserf sometimes.
@sunnysombrera
What is a Thread of Doom?
Asking for a friend.
This seems minor compared to the horribleness of the shooting, but I just can’t with the fuckhead in David’s twitter feed claiming that this was “100% due to mental illness”. Why. Why again with the blame-shifting, the “normal people don’t do violent deeds” No True Scotsman thing, the absolving of toxic ideals of the blame for bad deeds, the association of violence with mental illness and the constant, constant, gleeful dehumanization of the mentally ill?
The paragraph above is probably soooo grammatically incorrect in so many ways due to the lack of a clear head on my part, but sorry notsorry for venting.
When I read that he was allegedly targeting Christians, my first thought wasn’t that the shooter was a Muslim, or any other religion. I’m more thinking of that thick vein of hatred towards all religions that runs through Chan culture, which is not so much atheist as the worst form of nihilism.
Trust idiots like Chuck C. Johnson to try and hijack this tragedy to push their own agenda, while doubtless making that very accusation to anyone who tries to talk about gun control.
One story in the news the other day that made my blood boil was reading that the parents of one the victims in the Aurora Theatre Shootings had attempted to sue the ammo company who had supplied Holmes with much of his ammunition, over the internet FFS! They lost, and are now ordered to pay the ammo company $200k, which the company announced it will donate the settlement to a pro-gun organization.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/03/1408480/-Parents-of-Aurora-shooting-victim-ordered-to-pay-200-000-in-legal-fees-to-ammo-dealer
I can’t even.
This is the 45th American school shooting since Sandy Hook. I should be numb to it by now. I shouldn’t let it affect me as deeply as it did.
4chan is a terrible website full of terrible people. I should know that by now. I shouldn’t let it affect me as deeply as it does.
The American gun lobby are terrible people. I should accept that by now. I shouldn’t let it affect me as deeply as it does.
Instead, I’m sitting at my desk trying not to cry, hiding behind four monitors and pages of Excel, trying to lose myself in the beauty of the maths in order not to dwell on what just happened.
I’m normally very good at seeing past the individual human beings and concentrating on the social patterns behind them, of not fixating on people when it’s a broader social issue at fault. I’m normally good at staying positive and thinking of ways to prevent it happening in future, on focusing on how to heal society, on how to come together to make this be the last such tragedy. But today I’m sitting here trying not to cry.
It’s the smugness, the preening confidence with which everyone slides into their practised roles. The 4channers say “GO! KILL THEM! BETA UPRISING!… oh wait he was never one of us we’re all anonymous anyway and we definitely didn’t encourage him.” The MRAs say “USE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN!… oh wait, we don’t condone any sort of violence, don’t pin this one on us.” The gun lobby say “GUNS MAKE YOU POWERFUL! USING THEM ON OTHERS MEANS YOU’RE MANLY!… oh wait it’s the victims’ fault for not being armed.” The Right media say “HE MUST HAVE BEEN A MUSLIM THEY’RE ALL EVIL!… oh wait he wasn’t well white people aren’t all evil #notallmen.”
Everyone knew their part. Everyone was waiting for it to happen.
Fuck them all. I can’t even. Here’s a picture of two lions in love.
http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/18/8b/56/188b56be087dead6a84431e95a0a4cef.jpg