July 7, 2022 - 7:00am
In the immediate aftermath of a mass atrocity, there’s an all-too-human urge to know who did it, how they did and why they did it. We loathe and fear the killer, but love the mystery and intrigue surrounding them.
Before the rise of social media, the task of explaining mass atrocities was discharged by journalists and accredited experts from the fields of criminology, psychology and even sociology. Now, the whole of the internet is in on the gig, or so it seems. Or at least the whole of Twitter, where, whenever someone goes on a killing-spree, legions of amateur criminologists come together to ‘discuss’ the collective fruits of all their sleuthing.
The response to the Highland Park shooter, who killed seven people, injuring many more, at a 4th July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, sharply illustrates this: there is now a desperate manhunt going on to find the right perpetrator and the right motive. The suspect, who has been charged with seven counts of murder, is a 21-one year old man named Robert E. Crimo III. According to CNN:
The absence of a clear motive behind Monday’s attack has done little to temper the speculations of the amateur criminologists on Twitter. Two opposing camps have quickly emerged; according to one, the suspect is obviously a Trump-supporting white supremacist. “Sorry he is a trumper. ultra maga,” tweeted one account. The evidence enlisted to support this claim are two alleged photos of Crimo: one in which he’s draped in a Trump flag and another showing him at a Trump rally: ‘You can clearly see him in MAGA gear. He was at rallies and on the streets with them. He has a political ideology and it’ll show.’
According to the other camp, Crimo is clearly an Antifa-supporting scumbag. The evidence adduced to substantiate this is that he looks like one: he is rake-thin and has multi-coloured hair and face tattoos: ‘Robert Crimo self-described himself as “woke” He has Antifa tattoos Are we going to see what a threat Antifa/Wokeness is?’
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SubscribeLet me see if I get this straight: people cherry pick data to form opinions about events which support their prejudices? And then post those opinions on Twitter? And people of similar prejudices publicly agree with them on Twitter? Hardly breaking news.
Twitter is a wasteland.
Twitter is a cult
The first thing anyone should determine about any mass-shooter is what particular drug or cocktail of drugs (more common) had he been recently consuming immediately prior to the incident.
Is America the only country with high rates of drug use and high rates of mental illnesses that is to blame???
America has the word record breaking gun violence and mass shootings, so we are unique, no?? And getting more and more shootings.
When high ranking politicians and SC approves more guns as a solution then there should be more deaths because a Good guy with a gun is always too late.
But it is too late for prevention, it is like disarming nuclear missiles – – – – no one will do it first: no body trust no one.
A mere 60 years ago, there were no mass shootings or school shootings but we now have an exciting Nation past – time, it seems to be catching on. The future looks to be more of the same as GOP is stronger and smarter.
‘The suspect is an “ethnic Dane”, which is to say white.’
I disagree. ‘Ethnic Dane’ is correct. ‘White people’ don’t exist outside of the USA.
If the “sleuths” in question are just Twitter amateurs, what’s the issue with their speculation?
The “journalists and accredited experts” are beholden to these standards, not the commentariat.
Twitter is nothing but a platform upon which the stupid and insane can give voice.to their mad rants. Unfortunately, at one point it also became the go-to source of news for journalists.
What’s interesting about this case is that from what I read he got guns despite this state having the strictest red flag gun controls, including review of social media where he posted dodgy views.
So gun lovers can claim this example shows that even strict red flag controls don’t work.
And gun control supporters can claim this example shows even strict red flag controls don’t work.
Whither next?
alas the armchair analysis has been going on for a long time!