By David Futrelle
Every day, another atrocity. Today, as you know, a viciously hateful neo-Nazi shooter murdered eleven and wounded several others at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
Three days ago, a white supremacist killed two black shoppers at a grocery store in a suburb of Louisville, Kentucky, after first trying and failing to get into a nearby black church, which was his real target. And we are still waiting to find out if there are still any mail bombs left to be found after the largest mass political assassination attempt in US history.
So there’s a lot to discuss. Here are some relevant tweets about today’s tragedy as well as the shooting on Wednesday.
I’ll start with a useful short thread featuring the shooter’s posts on Gab. Yes, he “got on Gab,” as they say.
Posts from the suspected Pittsburgh shooter Robert Bowers. He hated Trump and thought Trump was controlled by Jews. This monster is an unhinged anti-Semitic terrorist. pic.twitter.com/sjb2k6ucwb
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 27, 2018
He regularly posted virulently anti Semitic things on Gab. Before the shooting, he wrote about the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society, saying it “likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” https://t.co/mAbJNaiOPq
— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) October 27, 2018
Conservative media is making a lot of the shooter’s criticism of Trump. But, minus the overt anti-Semitism, a lot of what he posted about wouldn’t be out of place in Fox prime time: a conspiracy behind the caravan, or immigrants bent on replacing white Americans.
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) October 27, 2018
The shooter posted on Gab, which is ostensibly a "free speech" version of Twitter but which is functionally a haven for hate speech, a platform overrun by Nazis and the Nazi-adjacent who are banned elsewhere. Gab is a huge resource for them, provided for free. Gab enables hate.
— David Futrelle (@DavidFutrelle) October 27, 2018
This week there was a white supremacist attack at a Kroger, assassination attempts against 2 Presidents and a dozen others, now an active shooter at a major Synagogue.
The DHS secretary has spent the week at the border, fear-mongering about unarmed starving kids 1000 miles away.
— zeddy (@Zeddary) October 27, 2018
This could have very well become another Charleston massacre. As it is, it was an act of domestic racial terrorism, committed by a white man who refused to fire at another because, per a witness who told a local TV station: “Whites don’t shoot whites.” https://t.co/tyquFAvobx
— Jamil Smith جميل كريم (@JamilSmith) October 27, 2018
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This is America. And all we in the US can do at the moment is fucking vote.
My heart goes out to the ones who lost their kin in this incident. And my middle fingers are raised at the entirety of the GOP and Trump.
A white man shoots two black people in a supermarket while uttering racial slurs, then refuses to shoot another white person because “whites don’t shoot whites”, and the police are still ‘investigating the motive for the attack’? That’s the problem in a nutshell.
I also note that the NYT article feels the need to remark that ‘Mr Bush has a history of mental illness.’ Better lock all of us crazy people up, just in case.
And the owner of Gab is already complaining of “anti-white hate”, mostly aimed at Buzzfeed for some reason. As I long suspected, he’s not only a “muh free speech” advocate as he claims to be, but he’s one of them Nazis and he just wants a safe place for them, ironic that they complain about the concept.
It scares me more that he was a critic of Trump for not being extremist enough than it would if he were just another violent MAGA. Because when Trump’s base finally turns on him, it’s not going to be because they’ve come to their senses and decided to endorse hate. It’s going to be because Trump is turning the US into a fascist state too slowly. Someone in the GOP who is even worse than Trump could take his place, and if that happens, we all know the rest of the GOP will suck up to that person instead of checking their power.
The mainstream media is really invested in one of two theories. The first is that it’s just a contentious political climate right now and both sides are equally bad. The second is that the problem is only Trump and when he’s gone, civility will be restored and all will be well. Both takes are dangerously naive.
Until this country starts to face up to the fact that a large percentage of the population is sympathetic to Nazism and start dealing with it, really dealing, I fear things are only going to continue to devolve.
It scares me more that he was a critic of Trump for not being extremist enough than it would if he were just another violent MAGA. Because when Trump’s base finally turns on him, it’s not going to be because they’ve come to their senses and decided to endorse hate. It’s going to be because Trump is turning the US into a fascist state too slowly. Someone in the GOP who is even worse than Trump could take his place, and if that happens, we all know the rest of the GOP will suck up to that person instead of checking their power.
The mainstream media is really invested in one of two theories. The first is that it’s just a contentious political climate right now and both sides are equally bad. The second is that the problem is only Trump and when he’s gone, civility will be restored and all will be well. Both takes are dangerously naive.
Until this country starts to face up to the fact that a large percentage of the population is sympathetic to Nazism and start dealing with it, really dealing, I fear things are only going to continue to devolve.
I don’t know how the US is ever going to pull back from the brink it’s on. I don’t even know if it can at this point. Too many people who’ve chosen to be, not just ignorant, but willfully ignorant, stupid and oblivious. Who are so entrenched in their messed up world view, so laden with projection and fear and just plain stupidity that they can seriously say things like “the shooter hated Trump, so he must be a liberal” and “all the libs do it hate”.
I’m scared for the world right now. Between your country, and the massive fascist uprising in Brazil, it’s terrifying. My husband was reading some of what the politician, who is almost certainly going to win in Brazil, has to say and it’s horrifying. He is very nearly directly stating that when he wins, he’s going to start murdering “socialists”. And he has the support of something like 80% of the country. So, Brazil is probably going to be a bloodbath in the not too distant future. And there will undoubtedly be refugees fleeing there as well. If I were a liberal/”socialist” in Brazil right now, I’d be getting my stuff together and organised to run, only sticking around long enough to vote in a desperate hope this fiend can be stopped.
PayPal have just suspended Gab apparently. More tech savvy mammotheers may be able to confirm that.
@Ooglyboogles
Voting but also other things plz. Activism around voting, activism around education, activism around deplatforming Fascists. Voting helps, but by itself won’t fix a massively broken and abusive system.
Speaking of that last, Jeff Sessions is coming to Boston tomorrow… If he thinks we’re rude to Yankees fans, he ain’t seen nothing yet.
@Cyborgette
Yes, all those are needed. I myself will do my part via taxi. Because my car broke down so hard the gas pedal and brakes are about as reliable as predicting the stock market through rocks.
@Alan Robertshaw
https://qz.com/1440746/pittsburgh-suspect-robert-bowers-had-anti-semitic-and-racist-posts-on-social-media/
Long time reader, first time commenter. Hi, I’m Alex, and I’m traumatised.
I have a couple of friends who attend this synagogue. They’re literally waiting to find out who they know is dead or wounded. It’s horrific. The whole neighbourhood is very Jewish, and it’s the sort of thing nobody expected. Everyone is just holding their breath — I think most American Jews saw something like this coming, but we didn’t expect it at a bris, of all things. “Welcome to the faith, baby boy, you’re 8 days old, let’s celebrate you making it this far!” And that ends with horrific violence.
I used to work at my home synagogue. We drilled relentlessly on active shooter situations, suspicious package protocol, installed metal detectors, security cameras, hired a private security firm and worked with the police. You had to pass through police and private security just to worship on Friday nights. Because we knew this was coming. And now the president thinks that American Jews don’t do enough to protect ourselves. I’d laugh if it wasn’t so awful.
I’m so upset by his comments on Gab attacking HIAS and calling Jews “oven dodgers.” My grandmother dodged being murdered by the Nazis, if you want to call that dodging. I prefer “surviving.” And HIAS helped her and other people like her resettle in the US. HIAS is worthy of acclaim for this and all the work they continue to do for refugees, whether Jewish or not. How dare the president suggest that its citizens and residents shouldn’t expect the government to protect us.
If anyone needs brain bleach, here’s a kitty crashing a runway at a fashion show and showing up all the models.
http://dlisted.com/2018/10/27/hot-slut-of-the-day-1762/#more-310925
Cat walker made me smile for the first time in days.
Thank you, WWTH
I can’t wrap my head around all of this
@Hexum7
Oh it’s easy. GOP and Trump been currying racism for decades. And Trump pretty much set the whole shebang going with his hateful rhetoric, causing a spike in right wing terrorism including a synagogue shooting.
“… may you live in interesting times….”
We are in trouble, no doubt. And as wwth said, all we can do is vote… still between Tweedledum and Tweedledumber.
half the population supports the idea that the other half should be killed or deported.
the political system and most of the politicians exist at the whim of the mega-wealthy, who, as long as they can still increase their wealth, don’t care (if they even KNOW) what happens to the not-mega-wealthy…
we’d be priming for a general uprising, except that the militaries scattered AK-47s and explosives all over the globe like they were Jolly Ranchers at a parade….
…
goddam, I am tired….
I think a violent uprising would be justified @Weird (and tired of trumplings) Eddie, except they’ll try and paint us as the monsters. It seems like no one listens to the left and the politically oppressed these days. The best we can do is protect ourselves.
And yes, it sucks @Skylalalalalalala. I hate how this world is bending to fascism. I blame the 2016 presidency for legitimizing this shit even though the Electoral College got him in (so it shouldn’t have been legitimate even by Trump’s standards). I’d wager that even in the mid 2010s the fascists seemed to have made their way into the mainstream with the gendered fashion we have for instance. Us liberals and socialists have to protect ourselves. Not just the US, but Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Italy (which has had a far right government now not too long ago) as well, if not the world.
You raise an interesting point there @weirwoodtreehugger: chief manatee.
Government is run by fascists and corporate shills @Citerior Motive. Why else wouldn’t they all parrot “piracy is a crime”? It’s an unrelated issue, but by supporting the commercialization of human culture, it’s surely corporate shilling.
I just heard about this (the attack in Pittsburgh) last night. And here I was thinking, “Okay, the targeted mail bombs were scary, but at least they didn’t physically hurt anyone.”
@Alex – Welcome! I’m so sorry about what you and your friends are going through. Feel free to post more here if you like. Virtual hugs (or other desired gesture of support). <3
@Citerior Motive –
Yup. And there’s similar lack of deniability with the synagogue shooter. THESE ARE HATE CRIMES, PEOPLE. >(
Oh gosh, @Alex. Welcome, and I’m so sorry for all of this. You and yours don’t deserve one drop of the hate being directed at you. I hope you all stay safe and that the stress eases for you soon.
These are dark days, no doubt made worse by the proximity to the election. The pressure is rising. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more before it, and well after it depending on how it turns out. The diehard Trumpistas are predicting a Republican surge from the election, and if they don’t get it, it seems like they’re poised to continue this terror spree.
Stay safe, all of you <3
@Alex
I’m so sorry. Infrequent commenter myself, but know that I see you and feel for what you’re going through.
I was quite disturbed by this story myself. I’m a Carnegie Mellon alum and lived near there for several years, and instantly recognised that synagogue; I’ve never actually been inside (I’m an atheist non-practising Jew, it’s been years since I’ve gone to synagogue) but I know this community and it was a huge shock nonetheless.
I can’t even say I’m terribly surprised something like this happened, because truthfully I’ve been expecting it since the openly Nazi march in Charlottesville. I can’t see the escalation stopping, either. If I hadn’t already been living in fear I would be now.
The other fear I have is that, because this shooter was not a Trump supporter (in the worst way, he was against Trump because he didn’t think Trump was sufficiently Nazi) the Republican-Trump party may be able to rhetorically exploit it and minimise their own complicity. They should not be allowed to get away with that, but I have no confidence in our media’s ability to resist the right-wing spin machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKU6GBDHCGc
Fuck Pinochet and the right wing. Also, go adblock YT or download the videos from there if you haven’t already – Nazis live there.
Over here (UK) they’ve just given the remit for combatting right wing terrorism to MI5. It’s the same model they used in the Troubles; 5 do the intelligence work, the police (special branch then, SO15 now) do the operational stuff.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/28/mi5-lead-battle-against-uk-rightwing-extremists-police-action
I hope this buries Gab, if for no other reason than to show these “dank meme”sters that they can’t just play with hate speech like it was a toy. It’s gotten people killed.
I’m offline for a couple of days and look what happens. Shit. 🙁
I hadn’t heard about the Kentucky shooting. I guess it just goes to show that two people shot out of state isn’t news anymore.
…fuck, last week was terrible. At least the Dodgers lost.