By David Futrelle
On Gab — the “free speech” social media site that has become something of a haven for the internet’s worst people — some of the regulars have come up with a rather inventive explanation for the Parkland, Florida school shooting yesterday that left 17 dead. It’s all the fault of the Jews.
Never mind that an explicitly fascist group claims the accused shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, as a member, and says he participated in their paramilitary training exercises. As some of the best minds on Gab see it, Cruz is actually the puppet of a vast Jewish conspiracy — and probably a Jew himself.
Their evidence? The fact that Cruz is such a well-known Jewish surname.
Wait, what?
While Cruz isn’t probably the first surname one thinks of when one thinks about Jewish surnames, there were some Spanish Jews who adopted the name to hide their Jewishness from the authorities … during the Spanish Inquisition. 500 years ago.
That of course isn’t proof that Cruz himself was Jewish.
Also, he was adopted.
But more than a few on Gab have something of a vested interest in trying to blame yesterday’s horrific carnage on a Jew or the Jews. See if you can figure out what the hidden agenda is as you scroll through these lightly censored comments from a fellow who calls himself DrGasChamber.
A Gabber called stevec, meanwhile, isn’t completely sure there even was a shooting yesterday. But whatever happened, he’s pretty sure Jews are to blame.
One commenter, the not-so-accurately named @NameTheJew, even made a little meme.
And no, there is no evidence that Elliot Rodger — that’s him on the left — was Jewish either.
Needless to say, not everyone on Gab blames the Jews for whatever they think happened in Parkland Florida yesterday. A fellow called Pho Chan, for example, had a rather different take on the Jewish Question.
Lovely.
For more on Nikolas Cruz, a possible incel who has been hailed by incels online as an Elliot Rodger style hero, see my post yesterday.
Seconding Hippodameia
Kitteh to make up for double post
You know what? To hell with dogpiling accusations I’m seconding everyone else when it comes to mrex.
@weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee
Never apologize for standing up.
Mrex is a bully and needs to go away.
I’m going to go ahead and ban mrex. This is something that’s been simmering for awhile.
@David Futrelle
Thank you very much David.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, David.
Sincerely.
I really hope for your continued recovery, and just to let you know a little bit of trivial information, when I joined Twitter, you were the first person I followed. (Take that as you will, lol)
WWTH,
You’re a bright spot and I appreciate you. I actually appreciate most everybody, here.
Seconding OoglyBoggles, re: standing up.
Thank you, David.
thanks David, now people will feel more comfortable to post again, I hope.
Seconding PeeVee, and thirdening Oogly!
Thank you David. I haven’t been reading here or felt like posting for months because of mrex pissing all over the walls.
I’m glad you’re feeling better ?
Well, hopefully things will be more peaceful here now.
Thanks, David and thanks all for being so nice to me.
Here are some kitty hugs
Awesome. Now some posters will come back to post.
There are several people I know who literally refused to come here while mrex was around.
Two things:
1. All the upvotes for the “Fuck You, I Like Guns” article PeeVee linked. As a veteran, I completely agree; automatic weapons are for the battlefield, not the neighborhood. And for me, that includes civilian law enforcement.
2. I got a tattoo 8 days ago. Never thought to ask about my eczema and yesterday I started having a hella bad flare up that itches like, well, eczema. Now that I looked it up and know why, it’s calmed way down. Brains are weird (and apparently have a lot of influence on certain skin conditions.) Good news is that eczema doesn’t affect the look of the tat if you can keep from using too much cortisone cream.
Thank you David. I haven’t been reading or commenting here for a while because I couldn’t deal with how the feel of the place had shifted.
Mrex, if you’re still reading… It would be nice if you took from this that one does not always have to be both right and more right than others. And if an argument has moved on, let it be that. Don’t bring it up again, especially in another thread where there is a chance for a fresh start.
Hambeast, what did you get a tat of? How fun!
Also, i just read this, and thought it would be useful, in light of the thread and what has been happening in the world:
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/01/20/life-short-people-hurting-dont-ahole/
Thank gracious that mrex has gone
With that in mind, let’s move on
PeeVee – My tattoo is of my two new cats in a yin/yang circle with their tails wrapped around each other; kind of a cartoony version. Their “rescue mom” the friend I got Catbeast from, too AND her mom got the same one cause they miss their boys so much.
The itchiness has subsided a lot, thank goodness!
Also, that last link was also really good!
In related news, apparently a gop doner in Florida has developed something superficially resembling a conscience and decide to stop donating until the gop supports an assault weapons ban
https://www.google.com/amp/thehill.com/homenews/campaign/374393-top-gop-donor-i-will-not-write-another-check-until-candidates-support%3famp
We’ll see if that amounts to anything.
@Hambeast
That sounds adorable
I’ve enjoyed being a part of the Mammoth community 2014-2016, and being mostly a lurker here, but the mistreatment and banning of mrex — particularly after the attack on her as a child abuser by Troubelle and others — is just too much for me. There are a lot of good people here, but the atmosphere has just become too thought-controlly and hostile to people who don’t say things in quite the right way. Obviously, only a minority of mentally-ill people commit violent crimes, but if you can’t discuss the fact that untreated mental illness Can lead to violent behavior, than there’s no point in even talking abouit epiis9odes like Parkland. So goodbye, and I hope you all have a good life.
Cool.
“Don’t say things in quite the right way” is a pretty gentle description of a bully who’s been aiming her “targetless rage” at this community for months.
mrex harmed users
and brought unneeded grief.
Good flipping riddance.
Grumpy,
Mrex has not been mistreated.
Goodbye.
@Hambeast, that sounds absolutely precious, and a fitting memorial to your Hambeast!
She’s admitted to being an asshole and admitted to liking to pick fights in the past. So, how are we the ones being bullies here?
And I’ve been reading the archives and just so happened to read some of the early threads she appeared in. She’s been shit stirring for three years and it took this long to ban her. So there’s that.
Whatever. People have been calling this community a meanie pants hivemind from the very start. I think the feelings of the people who are comfortable commenting here specifically because it’s one of the few places where abelism is not tolerated should be given more consideration than the people who are offended that they can’t call bad people crazy anyway. You can speculate about mass shooter’s mental health just about anywhere else on the internet. Why is it so very important to do it here?