By Matt Underwood The Minneapolis shooter “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable.” It’s a chilling reality, but it seems to be a common thread woven through these tragedies. Thinking about it, it makes you wonder if the goal was pure chaos, a desire to ignite conflict and have everyone talking, no matter the cost. This person seemed to want to be the center of attention, to have their actions fuel political narratives. It’s a sad, twisted way to try to achieve some kind of infamy.
It’s easy to say, “violence is bad,” but the sheer volume of these events demands we delve deeper. The core issue, as it appears, is a complex cocktail of factors. These include our consumption of media, the state of mental health care, and access to firearms. It’s like the perfect storm for these devastating acts. The shooter, it seems, may have used every social media platform possible, potentially allowing their self-hatred to externalize in every direction. If you’re exposed to that much content designed to inflame, it’s no wonder they ended up hating everyone.
The focus often shifts to the individual, trying to find some specific reason to blame them. It’s understandable, but it also distracts from the larger picture. These are often acts of suicide, albeit incredibly violent ones, meant to inflict the pain they feel onto society. They felt abandoned, hurt, and isolated, driven to a final act of revenge. It’s a reflection of deeper societal failings, the broken promises of a system that hasn’t offered support, creating a breeding ground for bitterness and rage.
The fact that these acts are becoming almost commonplace is a symptom of a sick society. Mental health services are lacking, and the ease with which firearms are acquired is a significant factor. Though the shooter’s account may have existed on multiple social media platforms, the focus should remain on gun violence. The fact that they had the guns and ammunition is the key point. This isn’t normal. We should focus on how we can better protect our children.
It’s also telling when certain groups are seemingly shielded from criticism, like white supremacists. The focus on motive, in these cases, can be a distraction, but ignoring it entirely would be wrong as well. This person, it appears, was a misanthrope. It is important to remember that you can’t hate without fear. It appears that the shooter may have been an American, acting out in a pattern that has become unfortunately familiar.
The situation is that the root of the problem is deep. The algorithms and the online communities that create them. The question remains, what is happening in our communities that makes people feel so unwelcome that they’re driven to these extremes? Pre-internet, people directed their hate at those immediately around them. Now, all “others” are constantly in front of you, allowing self-hatred to be projected in all directions. The constant influx of hatred may have radicalized the shooter.
If someone is exhibiting signs of violent intent, who do you even turn to? The police, the FBI? The system isn’t set up to effectively intervene in many of these situations. The fact that the authorities had been called multiple times over many years, yet nothing was done, is deeply concerning. This individual, it seems, was suffering for a long time. This person’s behavior may have been dismissed or simply not taken seriously.
It would be reasonable to conclude that the person’s behavior may have been driven by a desire for notoriety and recognition, a reflection of the society we live in. It’s a sad reality that a violent act may lead to fifteen minutes of fame, in the form of a hot take on the internet, which could have been the shooter’s goal.