Jeff Handley
Robert ReichThere is no such thing as a “lone wolf” shooter. The horrific acts of violence against marginalized communities are inextricable from the homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and racism that far-right political leaders stoke every day.
Will Bullimore@rbreich they are only acting upon the information they are given imho which is unfortunately against all of us minorites
Kevin Curry@rbreich I can’t help but believe it’s been the point all along. Calling the left pedophiles, satanists, groomers, etc… wasn’t just an insult to the left, it was a rallying cry to the right.
Harry Tuttle, heating engineer@kevincurry @rbreich rationalizing mass murder
@CinciMike @rbreich better to just not understand and never do anything about it, right?
BethBramble@kevincurry @rbreich exactly right. They soften the ground for these attacks by dehumanizing LGBTQ+ with lies about them repeated enough times & in enough spaces.
Kay Dub@rbreich it’s sickening!
ⓙEN ⓑRUCE@rbreich Far-right politicians AND the media outlets that spread the propaganda.
Jake Is Writing (Allegedly)@rbreich I hate the term "gunman" too. He's a murderer. A criminal. A terrorist. I wish writers and TV folks would stop calling them "gunmen."
David Olson
pmoreau
deeceeteeee@rbreich
No more than there is such a thing as a self made billionaire either
No more than there is such a thing as a self made billionaire either
Mira Kamdar@rbreich It takes a village -- or a concerted effort to foment hate by a host of bad actors.
Determinerik 
🇵🇸@rbreich part of the strategy is to count on the willingness of lone wolves to act, with plausible deniability for the leaders.
John@rbreich also parental and societal failings.
Roger Farquhar@rbreich
The misapplication of “wolf” as a descriptor has quite a history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves_in_folklore,_religion_and_mythology
@rbreich made easier when you vilify education and put a pay wall in front of anything remotely fact-based but offer Fox and the like free. Easy to keep an uneducated population frightened.
@rbreich and then we got people like Tim pool saying they deserved it makes me sick thinking about it
Gregory@rbreich "Lone Wolf" is used by the Right in order to seemingly separate their association with their beliefs. Unfortunately, it works. Mostly. I think we are catching on though.
@rbreich I can imagine someone like that being raised, by parents and/or media, to believe LGBTQ people deviants and perverts would jump at the chance to explain away their desires and "unnatural" urges as indoctrination. Grabbing a gun to ensure no one else ever has to feel like they do is God's work.
teledyn 𓂀Google "stochastic terrorism" 😔
The Big R@rbreich well there really are people who are just plain crazy and end up shooting people, these include the Aurora shooter and others.
Alyssa@rbreich A lot of liberal/progressive types talk about LGBTQ rights and acceptance as if continued progress is a fait accompli, and there’s no going back. They once talked about abortion rights and Roe v Wade like that. Backsliding can happen, and it is happening, even as progress is being made in other areas.
Bonnieprob
ShaneLee@rbreich let’s not forget Fox “News” and it’s role in instilling fear anxiety and bigotry
Pamand we need to stop letting them distance themselves.
We need to name them and shame them, and where possible sue them.
SaltyCoyote@pm_mcdaniel @rbreich
Ive not noticed restraint from the left in this regard.
Yall are really good at leveraging tragedy for political gain.
And blaming people that had nothing to do with it.
Ive not noticed restraint from the left in this regard.
Yall are really good at leveraging tragedy for political gain.
And blaming people that had nothing to do with it.
An earthquake is a tragedy.
A Republican-incited attack on the LGBTQ+ community is a crime.
See the difference?
Ty Ross@rbreich That’s a great point. Very, true
Scott the F is implicit Baxter@rbreich Every lone wolf shooter has a history, family, friends, social circle, means of income, place they sleep.
Atlantic Canuck 🇨🇦@rbreich You forgot MISOGYNY, but you’re right about the rest.
RandoMuse@rbreich This language is intentional reframing#. It distances these mostly young, white males from the rest of the young, white, male population. In other words, it’s sending the “not all men!” Message without using those words.
cancername@rbreich Quite agreeable. And the issue is that many conservative outlets are encouraging or otherwise downplaying it. It's really very sad and it makes you think about where the US is headed.
WesDym@rbreich I think some nuance is called for here. There are definitely SOME lone-wolf events. I think what you meant is that MOST notable events like that are not strictly personal, but stochastic violence guided by external messaging. And yes, those who foment such hate are morally answerable for the consequences.
Storm Robinson@rbreich you’re using a shooting at a gay bar to push a political agenda and as a gay man, I find that pretty disgusting. It may very well have been a homophobic attack, but we should let the facts come out first and regardless of what the facts might be, we shouldn’t blame political figures for the actions of an individual. Personal accountability is crucial to a healthy society.
Ned Yeung@rbreich
Muslim Shooter: Entire religion blamed.
Black shooter: Entire race blamed.
"Blue" shooter: Victim blamed.
White shooter: Lone wolf gunman.
Muslim Shooter: Entire religion blamed.
Black shooter: Entire race blamed.
"Blue" shooter: Victim blamed.
White shooter: Lone wolf gunman.
@ned @rbreich
Nobody punished all muslims for terrorist acts. No one was deported, arrested or jailed except the perps.
Nobody punished all blacks for crimes committed by black people. Nobody but the perps are arrested and jailed. We have programs that help PoC against discrimination.
Cops usually dont shoot unless their is some kind of crime scene going on.
Hyperbole is a lie, you know. And isnt helpful.
@SaltyCoyote @rbreich This is exactly the type of dismissive rhetoric that is "not helpful" and is grossly misleading.
Notice how you've spun this comment into something nobody was even talking about? Punishment and blame are not the same thing. We are not talking hyperbole, we are talking a completely different topic.
As for your comment about law enforcement, that's just outright laughable (I won't point out your grammatical errors, btw. You can slide on that one).
@SaltyCoyote @rbreich *whoosh* Everything went right over your head. Please stop trying to argue concepts you simply don't understand.
Palin@rbreich What gets me is that it isn't the far-right political leaders committing the acts of violence. They are safe and sound in their ivory towers, getting their peons to do the work.
For years and years its been said that males who commit acts of violence upon gay males are acting from fear and shame at their own hidden thoughts, that they might be gay too.
But suddenly, its because Republicans?
Duchess of Umbrage@rbreich And the grandmother of all hatreds, misogyny. These dudes almost always start out abusing women before graduating to mass murder. They don’t learn to do this in a vacuum.
at home in my headExactly. What a coincidence that this Lone Wolf targeted a marginalized community that also happens to be targeted by a bunch of conservative politicians and media outlets with huge platforms... and *influence*.
The Voltist@rbreich I have to disagree. The "lone wolf" shooters are acting alone, no one has told them to kill, or has helped them kill. They've been misled, lied to, and radicalized for sure. But this is arguing semantics. I do believe that the right has lit these fires in hopes that some lone wolves will act.
Dave The Grey@rbreich If the perpetrators were influenced by internet content shared by ISIS, these incidents would be referred to as "extremist acts of terrorism".
Whenever it's a far-right white perpetrator, the focus is always on "mental health problems".
Whenever it's a far-right white perpetrator, the focus is always on "mental health problems".
Sam Han@rbreich exactly!
Berserker@rbreich All we really know right now is that he has been a criminal for a long time and known to be so why was he getting slaps on the wrist for his previous crimes? If we would punish law breakers really hard the first time they would have a record , think twice before committing another crime and would NOT be able to have a gun. The way our legal system works it creates people who escalate.
Amish Super Model@rbreich Remember how we used to ask how terrorists “got radicalized”?!?!
I wonder how that’s happening here in America.
Jean-Philippe 
@rbreich in my opinion, it doesn't matter if it's far-right or far-left. Radicalized extremism is a problem no matter the source.
Everything in moderation is the key!
Katie@rbreich during the midterms the GOP stoked fear & hatred of the LGBTQ community. Rubios ads said drag queens want to talk 6 year olds into getting sex changes, DeSantis demonized the community & Beobert constantly posted bigotry on the Twit-verse. These same people win their elections. The pander to the worst of humanity & will continue to until we reject them enough to force a change .
Bret Plate@rbreich So great to see you here on Mastadon. It's become clear over the past few days that Musk's plan is to turn Twitter into right-wing propoganda platform. Hoping all the sensible people migrate to Mastadon!
Jenni McMurray@rbreich Throughout history and across all countries, conservatives can only get a large base by stroking fear. Right now, they are attacking the most vulnerable group, transgender children. I'm an intersex transgender woman. As a child in the 1990s, I was constantly beaten and also lit on fire, urinated on, and sexually assaulted. I hoped what happened to me wouldn't happen to any trans child from the current generation. With Republicans attacking trans kids, I fear history will repeat itself
ChookyMcChook@rbreich It's terrorism, plain & simple. Paraphrasing Dan Savage: it's not that the terrorists want LGBTQ+ people to be hidden away in their own spaces, they want them gone completely.
@rbreich can you give us overall percentage of mentally ill people who are conservative vs dumocrats?
#summeroflove
#summeroflove
@rbreich give us facts not fiction
C'mon man you can do it
C'mon man you can do it
@rbreich and unfortunately we also see examples everyday of evangelicals also stoking this violence. It simply defies logic that those who claim to follow Christ spew such hatred!