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On the attack in Sagamihara, Japan, today (x-posted from Tumblr)
News article from the BBC (26 July, 2016 ~05:00, UCT) -- TRIGGER WARNINGS abound.
From what little I’ve seen (the largest mass killing in Japan since World War II, and I’ve seen a total of three print news stories about it), this is getting spun as yet another “lone killer with mental illness” story. ...
Yeah.
I am highly skeptical of any claim that all acts of hate must be “crazy” just because they are extreme. In fact, I think that assumption is exploited by bigots, who deliberately perform the expected symptoms of mental illness leading up to their (very rational, carefully planned) attacks, so that they can literally get away with murder.
But:
Even if that were true in this case: The shape of an individual’s mental illness is strongly influenced by the dominant schema of the culture they’re living in.
Four hundred years ago, the fears people were obsessed with were witches, demons, and “fairies.”
Today, it’s germs, extraterrestrials, immigrants, women, people of color, and the disabled.
No way, no how, should anyone foist the responsibility for these horrors onto isolated loners, whose ‘crazy’ beliefs just pop, fully formed, into their minds.
It’s time to stop asking: “How can we fix those people?”
We need to ask: “What’s wrong with us? How can we change for the better?”
From what little I’ve seen (the largest mass killing in Japan since World War II, and I’ve seen a total of three print news stories about it), this is getting spun as yet another “lone killer with mental illness” story. ...
Yeah.
I am highly skeptical of any claim that all acts of hate must be “crazy” just because they are extreme. In fact, I think that assumption is exploited by bigots, who deliberately perform the expected symptoms of mental illness leading up to their (very rational, carefully planned) attacks, so that they can literally get away with murder.
But:
Even if that were true in this case: The shape of an individual’s mental illness is strongly influenced by the dominant schema of the culture they’re living in.
Four hundred years ago, the fears people were obsessed with were witches, demons, and “fairies.”
Today, it’s germs, extraterrestrials, immigrants, women, people of color, and the disabled.
No way, no how, should anyone foist the responsibility for these horrors onto isolated loners, whose ‘crazy’ beliefs just pop, fully formed, into their minds.
It’s time to stop asking: “How can we fix those people?”
We need to ask: “What’s wrong with us? How can we change for the better?”
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This was the largest mass murder attack in Japan since the end of WW2. And I have seen no similar outpouring of grief for these victims.
And you want to know another twisted detail?
July 26th, 2016 was the 26th anniversary of the signing of the Americans With Disabilities Act
I know America is not really the center of the world. And I don't expect people in other countries to pay attention to (or even care about) specific dates in American legislative history.
...But considering the fact that this was a clearly premeditated act committed by someone trying to send a political, ideological, message, I can't help but wonder if he picked the date deliberately.
Which makes the fact that this dropped out of the news so quickly even more disturbing.
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