Is it really this bad??????

[SagaciousDom]

At least from what I have read about this particular situation, I simply feel that it is inaccurate to attribute this person's actions to misogyny. He targeted a specific class of women as indicated by the fact that the first place he went was to a sorority house when he was ready to start shooting. He went elsewhere only when he was unable to gain entrance there. There has been no evidence he hated all women but the specific class of women he viewed as his preferred sexual partners and coveted. He saw himself as being victimized by them because due to no fault of his own (in his own twisted perspective of course) such women were unfairly discriminating against him by their unwillingness to enter a relationship or sexual liaison with him. He also shot and killed men in addition to women and one story I read also indicated that he blamed other men who he believed were having sex with women because he felt that they were less worthy than he and were also responsible for preventing him from experiencing what he believed he was entitled to and that which would bring him happiness and fulfillment. I think mental illness is clearly the primary causative factor and I think what would have prevented this tragedy would have been an effective mental health system which does not exist in this country. In addition, mentally ill people are prohibited from purchasing firearms in this country but lacking an effective system of identifying the mentally ill and flagging them as disqualified for purchasing weapons, individuals who are a danger to themselves or others and capable of violence, it is quite impossible to enforce the prohibition and a mentally ill person who has no business accessing a firearm finds it just as easy to do so as a sane person. That said a person who is a misogynist is I believe mentally ill to begin with. Hatred, dislike, mistrust or mistreatment of women in general is not something normal, mentally healthy men do. There is simply no excuse for having those kinds of feelings toward other human beings. It is simply abnormal.

[Thorne]

I think mental illness is clearly the primary causative factor

I've seen no evidence that this man suffered from any diagnosed mental illness, despite the fact that he had apparently been seen by therapists or doctors. Yes, we like to claim that this is not "normal" behavior, that only someone who is "crazy" would do something like this, but the truth is there are a lot of otherwise normal people who have done far worse! Don't be so quick to attribute this to mental illness.

I simply feel that it is inaccurate to attribute this person's actions to misogyny.

I would suggest you look up something called, I believe, the Slymepit. It is reputedly a rather disgusting collection of misogynistic men (and women!) who are actually praising Rogers as a martyr! Hatred of women, such as he related in his video, is par for the course among these people. And how many times have we read about someone who kills his wife or girlfriend just because she left him? Are you claiming they're all crazy? No, they are just men, mostly, who have been raised to believe that their needs are all that's important, and that all women, especially the hot ones, must submit to those needs at all times. Any woman, or even another man, who denies those tenets, who speaks up for the rights of women, who do not believe women are property, are automatically considered the enemy.

From everything I've read, Elliot Rogers was a privileged, over-indulged punk who finally snapped. I would speculate that, for much of his life, he was rarely denied anything he wanted, so when women didn't flock to his door, throw themselves at his feet, or worse, went out with someone he deemed "lower" than himself, he viewed them as attacks upon himself.

So, was he insane? I doubt it, though I would like to hear from the psyches about that. He apparently suffered from Asperger's Syndrome, but from what I've learned just about everyone in the world suffers from that to one degree or another. And I don't think it's classified as a mental illness.

He targeted a specific class of women as indicated by the fact that the first place he went was to a sorority house when he was ready to start shooting. He went elsewhere only when he was unable to gain entrance there.

His plan was to START at the sorority house, since he considered those women to be the worst of the worst, and then proceed to killing randomly in the streets, based on the transcripts of his video which I've read. While he may have had a specific type (he did mention blondes) it sounded to me like he was going to target everyone, eventually.

There is simply no excuse for having those kinds of feelings toward other human beings. It is simply abnormal.

Sadly, it is far TOO normal. Look at fundamentalist Muslims, who will kill a woman for speaking out of turn, or fundamentalist Jews, who want separate buses for women, or fundamentalist Christians who blatantly pronounce women to be a subservient class. Look at the hardcore politicians who would rather see women die than give them control of their own bodies. It may be evil. It may be horrifying. It's sadly not abnormal.

thir asked "Is it really that bad???" Read about the MRA's. Read about Rebecca Watson. Read about Ashley Miller. Not only is it really that bad, it's worse!

[thir]

"thir asked "Is it really that bad???" Read about the MRA's. Read about Rebecca Watson. Read about Ashley Miller. Not only is it really that bad, it's worse!"

I think maybe a lot of these idiots are just blowing off steam, but unfortunately now and then they run into someone who starts taking it seriously. Not that 'blowing off steam' online is innocent fun, it is disgusting, and one wonders what on earth is the matter with these people.