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   timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:41:07 JST timberwraith

   "Suspect showed few signs of political extremism before lawmaker shootings"

   Let me fix that title for you:

   "U.S. society showed few signs of recognizing violence inherent in common right wing political beliefs as extremism before lawmaker shootings"

   https://www.startribune.com/suspect-showed-few-signs-of-political-rage-before-lawmaker-shootings/601373498

   • GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Rich Felker (dalias@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:41:07 JST Rich Felker

     in reply to

     @timberwraith Wow, WTF were they smoking?

     This happens every time there's a shooter too. Maybe not quite as extreme/obvious as this loser's signs, but it's the same pattern of "oh, he seemed so normal, there were no signs, he was always like X and Y and Z" where X and Y and Z are all red flags.

     Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:45:39 JST timberwraith

     in reply to

     What we know about the assassin:

     - He was an evangelical christian
     - He was filmed giving an extremely bigoted religious speech against queer people.
     - He was a Republican and a Trump supporter
     - He opposed abortion, and thus opposed people's right to control their own lives and their bodies.

     Any and all of these things SHOULD be understood as inherently violent and extreme political beliefs but they are normalized as everyday, acceptable views in the united states.

     https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:m65ifh7vn5zdgs7izcmht4gy/post/3lrnlgmyiic2q

     Rich Felker repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:51:03 JST timberwraith

     in reply to

     "He seemed like such a nice guy."

     Yeah, he seemed like a nice guy to you because what should be understood as extremist, violent, and harmful ways of being are treated by much of u.s. culture as good, healthy, and moral.

     He was never a nice guy. It's your understanding of "nice guy" that is, right down to its core, extremist and violent.

   • Embed this notice
     timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:51:04 JST timberwraith

     in reply to

     And this begs the observation that the united states IS an inherently violent society that fosters violent political beliefs as a matter of course and does so with such regularity that the extremism of these perspectives is rendered invisible.

     That's what makes the Vance Boelters of the world possible. The united states normalizes bigotry, violence, and violent, fascistic belief systems as average, everyday qualities of "respectable, normal" citizens, politicians, celebrities, etc.

     Rich Felker repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     timberwraith (timberwraith@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 17-Jun-2025 04:51:04 JST timberwraith

     in reply to

     None of this is new. None of it.

     I mean look, I grew up in a family and community where a deep hatred of POC, queer people, non-christians, immigrants, and girls/women were everyday things.

     Couple that with the idea that violence and domination of others were normal, healthy qualities associated with masculinity and maleness.

     All of this was *normal*.

     It never stopped being normal.

     The Vance Boelters of the u.s. are the inevitable outcome of this widespread understanding of "normal."

     Rich Felker repeated this.