I’m aware that he considered targeting other events. I’m aware that the federal building McVeigh targeted was in OK. None of that explains why a supposed right-wing terrorist would target a country music festival. If you’re saying he looks like a right-wing terrorist, you need to explain why he would target a country music festival. That’s a huge, gaping hole in your argument. White nationalist, you say? Then why target an event that predominately attracts right-wing whites?
This attack was carefully planned by an obviously intelligent man. If he wanted to make a political statement, he wouldn’t have carelessly neglected to do that.
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I see. And did he continue to shoot for most of the other 60 minutes?
no. He shot for 10 or 11 minutes.
Again, it’s all in the timeline I linked and several others now online.
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Why would I need to explain it? Right wing ideology isn’t limited to anti-liberalism, or racism or anti-gov’t. It’s also about nihilism. That self-destructiveness component is inherent to a number of such strands of thought. You’re assuming that this person would not view most country music festival attendees as within the scope of legitimate targets. That’s an assumption you’re making that’s simply unsupported. Lots of terrorists kill people they might be ok with on personal terms. They’re all pawns to them.
Some people just wanna blow stuff up to watch the world burn as an act of defiance against a society that they think is corrupt or unjust or doesn’t serve their needs. You don’t have to be a brilliant tactician to be a terrorist. You just have to have the desire and motivation to kill based on some desire to espouse an ideology or make a statement. Think of all the attacks that Muslims have launched in Muslim countries which killed other Muslims. Many of the people they killed were probably people that the terrorists could have been connected to by religion or even familial. They didn’t care. They were out to make a statement and blow stuff up.
One thinker I’d suggest you read is an old professor of mine, Christopher Coker, who predicted the rise of extremist and nihilist movements way back in the late 80s and early 90s.
Well, it’s a good thing he stopped shooting then, because he certainly could have done a lot more damage.
Indeed. The WaPo article on him was revealing about the family. Also, this article refers to Danley as his “live-in girlfriend”. According to that, she never spent more than ten days at a time at his house, and then would leave for several months. Not the term I would use for that kind of relationship.
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Strawman argument. Terrorist targets are chosen to make a political statement. Symbolic targets that make clear statements. Tree spiking protests clear cutting by making the trees fight back. Anti-federal-government McVeigh targeted a federal government building. 9/11 terrorists targeted a prominent symbol of U.S. global economic oppression. Strange fruit lynchers target black men. The München Massacre targeted Israel’s national representatives and was carried out by stateless Palestinians.
Give me examples of demonstrated political terrorism where the only goal was to kill people with no symbolism in the choice of target. Or better yet, give me exmples where the political terrorist purposefully chooses a target that is aligned with his own political allegiances. For example, an eco-terrorist bombing an Earth Day event.
ETA:
There’s nothing inherently right wing about nihilism.
