Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I loathe the low level, unapologetically mean-spirited level of discourse that Trump has propagated (although he's far from the sole perpetrator), but what exactly is the evidence that Trump is a sine qua non cause here? A vile, hateful person has apparently spent years raving against Jews on social media, voices his opposition to Trump's "pro-Jew" policies, and joins the lengthening parade of mass shooters that the U.S. has dealt with for the past twenty or fifty years (depending on whether you want to draw the line at Columbine or Charles Whitman). Where is the connection that shows that Trump caused it? The way people have been talking, you'd think that everyone actually got along before 2016.

If you want to talk about Trump and Cesar Sayoc, I think there's a much more obvious association in that case. Even so, we're still talking about a crackpot with a pretty long criminal history and bomb threats going back to 2002.

Meanwhile, there is something wrong with the U.S., and it's simultaneously sickening and disheartening. Various factors can be debated, but the full explanation for shootings like this will be debated for years to come.

I can't exactly tie this to President Neelix, but do you think a massive hate crime with the murdering of Jewish people in a Jewish house of worship might have something to do with the rise of Neo-Nazis in America, and the normalization thereof?

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Is it me or have Hate crimes gone up alot since trump took office?

https://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-sees ... ps-racism/

it's not just you

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Minor note in the scheme of things, but President Neelix is blaming the victims for not being well-armed enough.

[Yukaphile]

I know many who think the same way. Get rid of gun-free zones. Let maniacs walk into hospitals and schools with machine guns because it's their right to take guns wherever the fuck they want. This is why I hate Libertarians so much. And why I'm a pacifist.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I'm not even a pacifist. I just think that maybe we should have enough baseline civilization and security that people can comfortably PRAY inside a TEMPLE without packing heat.

[Yukaphile]

Or, you know. Go to a place of learning and healing without expecting to see someone marching the halls like they're Wyatt Earp at Dodge City.

[Admiral X]

I know many who think the same way. Get rid of gun-free zones. Let maniacs walk into hospitals and schools with machine guns because it's their right to take guns wherever the fuck they want. This is why I hate Libertarians so much. And why I'm a pacifist.

youtu.be/R8IxOGvduG4

Oh god, that was frakkin' hilarious. I really felt like Joker there.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

I can't exactly tie this to President Neelix, but do you think a massive hate crime with the murdering of Jewish people in a Jewish house of worship might have something to do with the rise of Neo-Nazis in America, and the normalization thereof?

Like I said, I don't think all the factors are totally clear. You could obviously connect it to the semi-organized anti-semitism/racism and to the mass shooting pandemic; both of those predate Trump. The public profile of white supremacy has been on the rise for years, and there's been a racist, white supremacist corner of the internet for decades (Stormfront was founded in the mid-90s).

There's a lot of things you can point to, but a disturbed racist rejects Trump's policies, publically states that he didn't vote for him, and continues a long-term murderous trend that is far older than Trump's political career. This "blame Trump for every evil under the sun" attitude is a part of why so many don't take so much of the media seriously. When something obviously minor is blown out of proportion or Trump is blamed for something that had little to nothing to do with him, it delegitimizes their entire perspective in the eyes of some. That isn't a rational response, but it's part of the partisan mood that both sides have encouraged for years. Which is a shame, because there's a great deal that Trump ought to be held accountable for.

[Admiral X]

It is rather tiring seeing certain people always blaming Trump for basically everything. I swear, he could cure cancer and they'd be trying to twist that around to be a racist or sexist or something.

[Yukaphile]

If he cured cancer, he'd charge billions of dollars for it. It's about character. And he's greedy and cares about no one. Not who you want as your leader.