Santa Barbara shooter promised "retribution"

[qara_isuke]

Isla Vista, California (CNN) -- After promising a "day of retribution" on YouTube, a heavily armed, mentally disturbed 22-year-old went on a killing spree in a California college town, authorities said

Comments

[kangofu]

Everything about this is just so enraging, I just can't even. The entitlement men are taught that they have to women's bodies and lives.

And then it's all, "well, he's mentally ill, that's the problem."

THAT'S NOT THE REAL PROBLEM HERE. They are taught not to respect boundaries, not to respect women's autonomy and lives, that consent doesn't matter, and that they are entitled to women's bodies by virtue of the fact that they are males.

RIP to the victims who died and I hope the ones that are still alive pull through and are ok. What a horrible situation.

[qara_isuke]

To be fair, there seems to be some genuine evidence of mental illness in his case. I caught a bit of an interview with a Forensic Psychologist that was reviewing the manifesto left behind, and he mentioned several red flags suggesting a very severe "Personality Disorder

[lovedforaday]

maybe so, but it sounds like rodger had been getting help for years. i suspect if he had any type of diagnosis, the family lawyer would have said so, he didn't hesitate to say rodger had aspergers. this person had all the resources, money and access to mental health care in the world and he was still an entitled goon.

[girly123]

He had the best care that a hollywood director's salary could buy and was seeing multiple therapists. There is no "to be fair" in this case.

[squeeful]

His dad is second unit assistant director. It's very very different in job and payscale from "a Hollywood director". Assistant directors are set managers. They prepare paperwork, schedules, call sheets, and keep things organized. And second unit? That's pick-ups and action shots, B-roll stuff. So dad's a paperwork logistics guy for a crew that might not even film with anyone over extras. Paid well, oh yes, if he's working union jobs like "Hunger Games". But hardly famous director bigwig.

[girly123]

While that's definitely fair and good to know, he was still rich enough that paying for healthcare would not be an obstacle (which is the primary point) and seeing multiple therapists.

Extrapolating on his ~mental illnesses~ is derailing from his violent misogyny, which was the real culprit behind his actions.

[squeeful]

Extrapolating on his ~mental illnesses~ is derailing from his violent misogyny, which was the real culprit behind his actions.

SO MUCH THIS.

My main irk isn't that he couldn't afford help -- he so could -- but that people are leaping from "assistant director and directed a small documentary" to "daddy was a famous Hollywood director". It starts to feel like it's shifting blame from white male entitlement to making it about fame and socioeconomic status and privilege. Which could have played a part, but it's so far secondary behind the gendered elements as cause.

[ginger_maya]

I disagree. This isn't a zero-sum game. It's not an either/or situation. He was mentally ill AND a violent misogynist, both of which contributed to what he did. Denying either of those influences is the actual derailing.

[ar_feiniel_]

I agree.

[moonshaz]

This, absolutely.

[blackjedii]

I guess my question - and it's a genuine question because I am not knowledgeable enough to make sense of it -
Where's the line between "this person has a mental illness and is getting treated but has the potential to be a violent individual" versus "this person is mentally ill and is bound to be a violent individual and a ticking time bomb" and how do we as a society make that judgment call? At what point is mental illness no longer something to be treated and understood at at what point do you say "nope, there is no helping this person."

It isn't that he was just a violent misogynist. He killed three dudes - STABBED them which is a very very personal way to kill someone - and injured both genders. He was violent - period.

eta: which isn't to say he was enabled by misogynistic bullshit and egged on by some serious dicks but that he was at a point where he was happy to take anyone down because VENGEANCE!

[emofordino]

with the two genders thing, it seems like he was not only trying to punish the women who he believed would have rejected him, but ALSO the men, to punish them for dating and sleeping with the girls that he can't get. :/ entitlement issues ABOUND. iirc he even said in his manifesto that "if I can't have them, no one can." it grosses me out so bad.

[blackjedii]

Eeyup. I only read a slight bit of it (which also included racism on top of grossness) and it's very... very self-centered and narcissistic. Disturbingly so.

[darth_eldritch]

Very true

[countrygirl_914]

Source? Was all this in an article or his manifesto or something? (And really, if it's in his manifesto, are we really sure it's all true?)

[darth_eldritch]

It's in his manifesto