Provisional Lone Nut Theory

at

oregon

Ah.

Here.

A social media profile [on Myspace (!)] of the alleged shooter (top centre) [named as Chris Madeupname Harper Mercer, top centre], contains a video featuring archive footage of the IRA, a number of images of IRA members in military uniform and a reference to an edition of An Phoblacht magazine.

Seems legit and entirely credible and not fake at all.

Anyone?

Oregon gunman identified by US media (RTÉ)

Oregon Gunman Was IRA Supporter (Sunday World)

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62 thoughts on “Provisional Lone Nut Theory

  1. Count Chuckula

    Naming this individual, displaying his image and discussing his beliefs and motivations is giving him exactly what he wanted.

      1. Count Chuckula

        Wanted, past tense.
        Rampage shooters crave the spotlight and denying them a media reaction is regularly cited as a measure towards stopping incidents like this from happening in the future.
        This is a long article, written by the director of a forensic mental health institute, that explains it better than I can
        http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303309504579181702252120052
        Short version:
        Don’t publish names or faces
        Don’t publish biography or speculate on motive
        Don’t sensationalise.
        Never publish the murderer’s propaganda or agenda

        1. ReproBertie

          None of that changes the fact that he gets nothing out of it due to being dead. He’s not looking down from some cloud grinning at the publicity. He’s gone and will never know anything about the reaction to what he did. Despite any and all advice to the contrary he’s going to be named so he should be ridiculed for the utter pointlessness of his actions and the fact that he wasted his life through his own stupidity.

          1. Prop Joe

            Surely the naming of him at all will lead to potential future maniacs to see the publicity gained and see it as motivation.

          2. Count Chuckula

            You’re missing the point. He knew beforehand that his actions would create a news story, that he would be named and his photograph displayed. He doesn’t have to sit on a cloud to know this. See how the New York Times, for instance, reported the story:
            “Sheriff Hanlin [the police official in charge of the investigation] said at a news conference that he would not speak the gunman’s name. “Let me be very clear, I will not name the shooter,” he said. “I will not give him the credit he sought prior to this horrific and cowardly act.” He also encouraged reporters “not to glorify and create sensationalism for him. He in no way deserves it.”

          3. ReproBertie

            The New York Times also opens another article on the story with “Chris Harper Mercer, the man identified as the gunman in the deadly rampage at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore” so despite the encouragement from the Sheriff they went ahead and named and profiled him.

          4. Dόn Pídgéόní

            Media in behaving like idiots and ignoring sensible advice shocker. They are the reason someone had to come up with suicide reporting guidelines.

        2. Nigel

          I’m not sure pretending that the shooting was committed by a magic flying gun is going to be useful.

      2. Dόn Pídgéόní

        Given that he specifically said he was inspired by other shooters and their fame kinda suggests a good idea would be not to mention them at all.

        1. Zuppy International

          You’re discussing this lad like he was a flesh and blood man but you have no ‘Proof of Life’. All you have are hearsay reports from known liars; the mainstream media.

          1. Zuppy International

            When Don gets called out on his simpleton ramblings he often lashes out with fruitless invective.

    1. Jimmy

      That’s not his real name though, “Chris Harper Mercer” is actually an anagram of “Tiocfaidh ár lá”

          1. Prop Joe

            It’s not a dumb question, what Jimmy said looks like a joke. Doesn’t seem appropriate to me to be making stupid f*****g jokes

          2. Prop Joe

            I don’t see that this is making fun of the shooter, rather making light of the whole incident,
            Which is not okay.

    2. TheQ47

      +1

      I came on here to say the exact same thing. Don’t name them, don’t show their picture, don’t speculate “why they did it”, don’t give them or their propaganda the time of day. instead focus on the victims and their families.

      1. Nigel

        ‘Something awful happened. People are dead, others are grieving. We won’t say what, just trust us, it was nasty.’

        1. Dόn Pídgéόní

          Ah come on Nigel. Of course you can, and most definitely should, talk about the fact that people were shot and talk about how he accessed those weapons. But you can do so in a way that doesn’t give the shooter what he wanted. It’s really not hard.

          1. Nigel

            I sympathise a lot with the idea that people don’t like to see murderous losers get their ideas publicised, but I can’t see any way of covering a shooting like this, even with the greatest of restraint, tact and intelligence, that does not examine the shooters thoughts and motivations. (And, yeah that sort of coverage is not the norm, sadly.) How would you exercise the kind of control over the media to cut out such a crucial part of the coverage? I get that the media is garish, sensationalist and shallow and… ah God, I don’t know where I was going with that. What did the shooter want? A happy and fulfilling life and appropriate treatment for the worms that were eating his brain to shreds. What did he get? Publicity as a deranged monster. Will that publicity drive more brain-worms into a feeding frenzy? Maybe. What’s needed is still treatment for the worms, not further interference with the already-laughably-dubious concept of press freedom.

          2. Dόn Pídgéόní

            Press freedom? What? Its not press freedom, it about responsible reporting, especially when you have people like this guy saying that other shooters and their perceived martyrdom inspired him. It is easy to report it with saying his name. Say “gunman”, its not hard. You can still talk about their motivations for whatever they have done but taking away what they wanted most of all and what can inspire others is really really simple to do. Would you say that guidelines around reporting suicide to prevent clusters is restricting press freedom or being a bit clued up?

            I’m surprised at you Nige.

          3. Nigel

            I suppose I’m conflating your sensible guidelines suggestion (which is sensible) with people apportioning too much blame to the media for things like this. The kind of coverage you’re objecting to can be an aggravating factor, and God knows I loathe the way media covers stuff myself, I just loathe turning the media into scapegoats almost as much. Which you weren’t doing. A quick knee-jerk at lunch-time, Don, sorry about that.

          4. Dόn Pídgéόní

            The media are to blame though. This guy explicitly said he got inspiration from someone would had done a similar thing and got a lot of press attention and I’m sure others have as well. I don’t think you can just say that people are blaming the media without reason, I really don’t. Not when there is 24/7 reporting on this for the next 2-3 days without any consideration of how this might feed into future events. The experts say this but no one listens. And the media wouldn’t report their role in it which means people don’t notice.

            Not at all. I’m probably more than a little mad and bored by sh*** media at the moment :)

          5. Nigel

            It would be nice if the media indulged in a little self-examination and self-control, they’re incredibly stupid and irresponsible at times, but I’d be leery of apportioning too much blame, inasmuch as there are so many other factors in a person’s life that drive them to the point where they go looking for role models in the form of mass murderers. Unfortunately when they go looking the media is happy to provide. I entirely sympathise with your anger at revolting saturation coverage though, for all that I’ve been avoiding it like the plague, and therefore it could be much more egregious than I’m aware of and I’m probably talking through my hat.

          6. Dόn Pídgéόní

            It’s the internet, we all talk through something a little lower I think :)

            Sure, be wary but when the media and fame are cited, you have to look at that, you can’t ignore it. Though they ignored feminism being a reason for that other guy, so hey.

          1. sǝɯǝɯ ʇɐ pɐq

            Using BitTorrent is NOT ,illegal, actually.

            What I do with it is, certainly.

            -Don’t tar everyone with the same stick, as my Grandmother used to say when she had two sticks with tar on them.

    1. realPolithicks

      Shush…or Clampers will be on telling you they were part of a Sinn Fein sleeper cell infiltrated into the US.

      1. bubbleandsqueak

        Not a lot of difference between the names Mercille and Mercer………..
        Anyone seen them in a room together ever??????

    1. Jake38

      Ms McDonnell will fully confirm that he was NEVER officer commanding of the Belfast Brigade of the Provos and he had NO idea his brother was a kiddyfiddler. EVER. There.

  2. Barry the Hatchet

    Broadsheet, that video you linked to is INSANE. Why are you giving traffic to someone like that?

      1. newsjustin

        Huh? You’re joking right Bodger?

        “…he goes on and lives his life somewhere else, maybe on an island..”

        Weird thing to include on a serious post.

        1. Bodger

          Newsjustin, he is trying to convey the impression that the shooting is fake and that no one died.

      2. rotide

        Many people think the moon landings were faked also, it doesn’t make them any less deranged. I’d understand linking to that video in an article that was specifically for the purpose of ‘this is what some people think’ but it does seem like you’re almost condoning this guys view

    1. ReproBertie

      The guy claiming that the shooting (and, indeed, every shooting in the US) is fake is also claiming the Pope and the UN and Obama timed their statements about climate change and water on Mars to coincide with the blood moon as just another step on the road to revealing that there is life on Mars and the Martians want us to unite and work together and that’s how they get their new world order.

      He seems like a sane and sensible source of information.

    1. Clampers Outside!

      I thought you were right for a minute, as it would be a typical FG thing to do, but (un)fortunately you are COMPLETELY wrong.

      She doesn’t mention SF once, not even hinting at SF but only giving her tuppence on what news is out there, and it’s not just Irish news, it’s US news, who are feeding the world’s news on this story.

      Now, unless you are telling people that SF as they are now are somehow connected to the IRA, if they are operating, then it is you that is making the connection, not the minister.

      PS – The ‘unfortunately’ is for the SF supporters who like to say the media is out to get us any time there’s a bad word said about them….well, not this time, play the bael bocht elsewhere…. soz…..

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