The radicalization dynamic is indeed similar to some of the acts of al-Qaeda. The lonely, alienated freaks, whether they are al-Qaeda or else one of these new losers, go to their bulletin boards (the latest being 8chan ), say the most outrageous and chaotic things, and get their cheers from the anonymous crowd there. Then, bathed in the warm support of the internet group, they go on to commit attention-getting acts of mass murder to win status there and become "legends." That was the way it happened with al-Qaeda and ISIS-linked lone mass killers, and it's now moved to soulless, rootless, and embittered young men in the mainstream, the way gangsta rap once did. The nexus was some sort of alienation, druggy self-medicating , some sort of feeling of insignificance, and some sort of gooped up dream of going from zero to hero, winning fame and cheers from the bulletin board. Whether these losers believe anything they say is irrelevant because there's nothing choate or ordered about it, just the will to out-shock the next guy. Via Instapundit's Ed Driscoll , the dynamic is described well in this Ed Cates thread here .

The press, the Twitterati, and Democratic politicians have made a big deal about the El Paso mass shooter's so-called manifesto, an inchoate series of ramblings based on greenie ideology but all supposedly pointing to a presumption of support for President Trump. They actually claim that the killer was " radicalized " by Trump. There also was a bombing freak earlier who was said to have been " radicalized " by Trump; he just didn't use guns. But Trump got the blame for him, too. It's a phrase that has up until now been used to describe al-Qaeda and ISIS known-wolf supporters who commit mass murder in incidents worldwide. Now any freak who kills many is somehow "radicalized." They love to say pro-Trump rally crowds are dangerous, too.

Next time a leftist brings up President Trump as the reason for a mass shooting, maybe Warren can be presented with the same questions. Better still, maybe these leftists can start looking for real answers. Read the whole thing here .

Those who truly care about saving innocent lives will focus on things that might actually make a difference. Like whether increased social isolation and realistic first-person shooter video games contribute to mass shootings. Or whether there should be more armed security in public places. Or the merits of allowing people to carry concealed weapons for self-protection. When Democrats make these things the topic of conversation after a mass shooting, you'll know that they actually want to do something about it.

Clearly, the country faces a terrible problem — one that will not be solved by another round of gun control laws, since none of the shootings in the past would have been prevented by the laws gun control advocates want to pass. Nor will blaming Trump achieve anything.

There's a strange alienation problem in the U.S. in which a small part of the young male population feels insignificant, alienated, and craves some kind of status. They have no community, they have no purpose, and most have never been taught right from wrong, just that they're on the wrong end of the wokeness spectrum. They are now getting visible what with the Internet bulletin boards and social isolation accelerating their evil actions, which is why we have seen them pick up the torch from al Qaida's isolated losers and taking up mass murder, too.

So does Warren get put on the spot for this freak's vile deed? Is there something in the air about "Warrenism" that makes alienated congenital losers want to shoot into bar crowds in Ohio? The answer is obviously no. Not any more than Bernie Sanders was responsible when some loser shot into a group of Republican congressmen playing baseball a couple years ago.

Bett's Twitter profile read, "he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i'm going to hell and i'm not coming back." One tweet on his page read, "Off to Midnight Mass. At least the songs are good. #athiestsonchristmas." The page handle? I am the spookster. On one selfie, he included the hashtags, "#selfie4satan #HailSatan @SatanTweeting." On the date of Republican Sen. John McCain's death, he wrote, "F--- John McCain."

Heavy.com got access to the shooter's social media. Contrary to the media narrative currently boiling over, this shooter was not a Trump fan. In fact, he hated Trump, hated Republicans, was an avowed leftist, used antifa style language in his posts, and loved Elizabeth Warren.

Turns out it's not always Trump. Inconveniently for this argument, the Dayton shooter, who copycatted the El Paso shooter, who copycatted the Gilroy shooter, who copycatted the Poway shooter, who copycatted the Christchurch shooter, was this big Elizabeth Warren–supporter . He also was a fan of Antifa. And he liked Satanism, that very court-protected "religion" these days. That's funny stuff, given that he was copycatting a supposed Trump-supporter who was copycatting a supposed greenie. What it shows is that the beliefs of these people are unimportant. There's no mass movement, no ideology, no "white nationalism" in any organized sense. There's just this sicko with copycat instincts and a repulsive desire to outdo the last guy. Whatever the hell he "thinks" is garbage because he doesn't think; he's just a malevolent id.

O'Rourke is hardly the only one blaming Trump. Critics instantly seized on a manifesto allegedly penned by the suspected shooter, in which he complains about the "Hispanic invasion of Texas," to link the shooting to Trump.

O'Rourke went on to claim that "We've had a rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years during an administration where you have a president who's called Mexicans rapists and criminals."

Beto O'Rourke jumped in on Sunday, declaring that Trump was responsible for the shooting in El Paso, Texas, which claimed 20 lives and injured 26 more. O'Rourke declared that Trump "is a racist, and he stokes racism in this country. And it does not just offend our sensibilities, it fundamentally changes the character of this country, and it leads to violence."

The press, the Twitterati, and Democratic politicians have made a big deal about the El Paso mass shooter's so-called manifesto, an inchoate series of ramblings based on greenie ideology but all supposedly pointing to a presumption of support for President Trump. They actually claim that the killer was "radicalized" by Trump. There also was a bombing freak earlier who was said to have been "radicalized" by Trump; he just didn't use guns. But Trump got the blame for him, too. It's a phrase that has up until now been used to describe al-Qaeda and ISIS known-wolf supporters who commit mass murder in incidents worldwide. Now any freak who kills many is somehow "radicalized." They love to say pro-Trump rally crowds are dangerous, too.

The radicalization dynamic is indeed similar to some of the acts of al-Qaeda. The lonely, alienated freaks, whether they are al-Qaeda or else one of these new losers, go to their bulletin boards (the latest being 8chan), say the most outrageous and chaotic things, and get their cheers from the anonymous crowd there. Then, bathed in the warm support of the internet group, they go on to commit attention-getting acts of mass murder to win status there and become "legends." That was the way it happened with al-Qaeda and ISIS-linked lone mass killers, and it's now moved to soulless, rootless, and embittered young men in the mainstream, the way gangsta rap once did. The nexus was some sort of alienation, druggy self-medicating, some sort of feeling of insignificance, and some sort of gooped up dream of going from zero to hero, winning fame and cheers from the bulletin board. Whether these losers believe anything they say is irrelevant because there's nothing choate or ordered about it, just the will to out-shock the next guy. Via Instapundit's Ed Driscoll, the dynamic is described well in this Ed Cates thread here.

But for the Left, it's Trump. Trump. Always Trump. As John Merline at Issues & Insights notes here:

Beto O'Rourke jumped in on Sunday, declaring that Trump was responsible for the shooting in El Paso, Texas, which claimed 20 lives and injured 26 more. O'Rourke declared that Trump "is a racist, and he stokes racism in this country. And it does not just offend our sensibilities, it fundamentally changes the character of this country, and it leads to violence." O'Rourke went on to claim that "We've had a rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years during an administration where you have a president who's called Mexicans rapists and criminals." O'Rourke is hardly the only one blaming Trump. Critics instantly seized on a manifesto allegedly penned by the suspected shooter, in which he complains about the "Hispanic invasion of Texas," to link the shooting to Trump.

Turns out it's not always Trump. Inconveniently for this argument, the Dayton shooter, who copycatted the El Paso shooter, who copycatted the Gilroy shooter, who copycatted the Poway shooter, who copycatted the Christchurch shooter, was this big Elizabeth Warren–supporter. He also was a fan of Antifa. And he liked Satanism, that very court-protected "religion" these days. That's funny stuff, given that he was copycatting a supposed Trump-supporter who was copycatting a supposed greenie. What it shows is that the beliefs of these people are unimportant. There's no mass movement, no ideology, no "white nationalism" in any organized sense. There's just this sicko with copycat instincts and a repulsive desire to outdo the last guy. Whatever the hell he "thinks" is garbage because he doesn't think; he's just a malevolent id.

According to Red State:

Heavy.com got access to the shooter's social media. Contrary to the media narrative currently boiling over, this shooter was not a Trump fan. In fact, he hated Trump, hated Republicans, was an avowed leftist, used antifa style language in his posts, and loved Elizabeth Warren. Here's some of what was found. Bett's Twitter profile read, "he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i'm going to hell and i'm not coming back." One tweet on his page read, "Off to Midnight Mass. At least the songs are good. #athiestsonchristmas." The page handle? I am the spookster. On one selfie, he included the hashtags, "#selfie4satan #HailSatan @SatanTweeting." On the date of Republican Sen. John McCain's death, he wrote, "F--- John McCain." On Nov. 2, 2018, he wrote: "Vote blue for gods sake." Ironically, he was even a rabid supporter of gun control, using it to levy attacks against Republicans.

So does Warren get put on the spot for this freak's vile deed? Is there something in the air about "Warrenism" that makes alienated congenital losers want to shoot into bar crowds in Ohio? The answer is obviously no. Not any more than Bernie Sanders was responsible when some loser shot into a group of Republican congressmen playing baseball a couple years ago.

There's a strange alienation problem in the U.S. in which a small part of the young male population feels insignificant, alienated, and craves some kind of status. They have no community, they have no purpose, and most have never been taught right from wrong, just that they're on the wrong end of the wokeness spectrum. They are now getting visible what with the Internet bulletin boards and social isolation accelerating their evil actions, which is why we have seen them pick up the torch from al Qaida's isolated losers and taking up mass murder, too.

Merline at Issues & Insights nails the matter extremely well:

Clearly, the country faces a terrible problem — one that will not be solved by another round of gun control laws, since none of the shootings in the past would have been prevented by the laws gun control advocates want to pass. Nor will blaming Trump achieve anything. Those who truly care about saving innocent lives will focus on things that might actually make a difference. Like whether increased social isolation and realistic first-person shooter video games contribute to mass shootings. Or whether there should be more armed security in public places. Or the merits of allowing people to carry concealed weapons for self-protection. When Democrats make these things the topic of conversation after a mass shooting, you'll know that they actually want to do something about it.

Next time a leftist brings up President Trump as the reason for a mass shooting, maybe Warren can be presented with the same questions. Better still, maybe these leftists can start looking for real answers. Read the whole thing here.