The Yr Wonkette Proofing/Editing Dept is always at your disposal. I never pointed that out to you, because you rarely need proofing, with your badass writing chops.
<When questioned by the FBI Colt denied the account was his, an assertion that seems laughable now but at the time was all that was needed for the local sheriff’s office to close the case as “the user behind the Discord account that made the threat cannot be substantiated.”> It's called a fucking subpoena pursuant to which you can confirm who owns the account. Since when does your local sheriff's office take the word of a kid suspected of posting stuff so disturbing he's on law enforcement's radar? Pathetic.
The Trans hatred blows my mind. Thanks for this revealing piece. I remember watching a movie from the UK about a little boy born Trans and how his family began to accept him and love him for who he was.
I'm quoting this passage for no other reason than, in a few sentences, this crystallises exactly why it is an honour to have you not just as a colleague, but as a friend. That's as Sally Field as I'm gonna get.
Thank you, also, for amplifying Brooke's work. I always try to point all eyes to her pieces as well. We may not have her frequently, but she is unfailingly brilliant.
I have about a thousand other things I feel I should say, but I'm not focused enough to do anything other than spit out white hot rage on one hand, or have my heart hurting not just for the victims, but for Colt or Adam Lanza, failed by so many, from professionals to their own parents, on the other. So...I do what I do, which, for now, is report the stories. If anything, I do know how to get the commentariat talking, that's the goal. Increasingly, I feel that I need to be creating content (cringeworthy phrase, I know) myself. Coming soon, in a very short period of time, as someone said.
“But if you’re attached to your sexism, if being a man is part of what makes your life worth living, then destabilizing the category of man threatens to make life not worth living.”
Sexism In a nutshell- power and fear!
I feel lucky in that my gender has never meant much to me, except when others think it does, and then it feels false and gross. I have grown to believe it matters only insofar as there is power in it mattering.
I'm a white, cis, middle-aged guy. I often wonder what I can do to show - outwardly - that I'm "safe" for anyone and everyone to be around. Talk with me for a minute and you'll know, but I feel I need to do more than that. I wish it was as easy as a tattoo or piercing or something - like a metaphorical light on in the dark.
I might have missed it in this piece, but supposedly, this kid asked many times for help with his deteriorating mental state. It wouldn't be the first time we've heard parents ignoring pleas for help. My own parents did when I was in high school - they took me to the family doctor, who told them I just needed to exercise more or something.
This is when educators as mentors become more and more important. But more and more states and school districts are passing legislation mandating that there be no "secrets" between teachers and students, that anyone who outs themselves to a teacher needs to be outed to their parents. Way to eliminate the only safe place so many kids have.
>> I might have missed it in this piece, but supposedly, this kid asked many times for help with his deteriorating mental state. <<
I'm certain he must have. But it wasn't in the piece that I mainly based this story on, and I've read a few other pieces but none of them mentioned it either.
That said, part of the psychology of some mass shooters is self-isolation, often out of fear. While it's inevitable that Colt would have asked for help, it's at least possible that he downplayed how much he needed that help even as he was asking for it. For instance he could have asked for help, been told "not now" or something similar, and then said that was okay because it wasn't important.
Adults have an important role to play that goes far beyond just responding to explicit requests for help. The ideology he ended up adopting is revolting and terrifying, but as a 14 year old it wasn't inevitable that he would believe these things, nor is he doomed to always believe them simply because he did so in his earliest teens.
We have a juvenile justice system for a reason. I wish we wouldn't throw it away right when it's most needed.
Thanks to Lisa for catching three garbles in an unexpected and non-consensual proofread. Sorry, Lisa! Fixed now!
The Yr Wonkette Proofing/Editing Dept is always at your disposal. I never pointed that out to you, because you rarely need proofing, with your badass writing chops.
<When questioned by the FBI Colt denied the account was his, an assertion that seems laughable now but at the time was all that was needed for the local sheriff’s office to close the case as “the user behind the Discord account that made the threat cannot be substantiated.”> It's called a fucking subpoena pursuant to which you can confirm who owns the account. Since when does your local sheriff's office take the word of a kid suspected of posting stuff so disturbing he's on law enforcement's radar? Pathetic.
The Trans hatred blows my mind. Thanks for this revealing piece. I remember watching a movie from the UK about a little boy born Trans and how his family began to accept him and love him for who he was.
You teach me so much, CD. Thank you for your diligent work.
It’s sad. You could tell just looking at that kids mug shot that he was a victim of child abuse.
𝐼𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝. 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐; 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛, 𝑐𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕.
I'm quoting this passage for no other reason than, in a few sentences, this crystallises exactly why it is an honour to have you not just as a colleague, but as a friend. That's as Sally Field as I'm gonna get.
Thank you, also, for amplifying Brooke's work. I always try to point all eyes to her pieces as well. We may not have her frequently, but she is unfailingly brilliant.
I have about a thousand other things I feel I should say, but I'm not focused enough to do anything other than spit out white hot rage on one hand, or have my heart hurting not just for the victims, but for Colt or Adam Lanza, failed by so many, from professionals to their own parents, on the other. So...I do what I do, which, for now, is report the stories. If anything, I do know how to get the commentariat talking, that's the goal. Increasingly, I feel that I need to be creating content (cringeworthy phrase, I know) myself. Coming soon, in a very short period of time, as someone said.
“But if you’re attached to your sexism, if being a man is part of what makes your life worth living, then destabilizing the category of man threatens to make life not worth living.”
Sexism In a nutshell- power and fear!
I feel lucky in that my gender has never meant much to me, except when others think it does, and then it feels false and gross. I have grown to believe it matters only insofar as there is power in it mattering.
I'm a white, cis, middle-aged guy. I often wonder what I can do to show - outwardly - that I'm "safe" for anyone and everyone to be around. Talk with me for a minute and you'll know, but I feel I need to do more than that. I wish it was as easy as a tattoo or piercing or something - like a metaphorical light on in the dark.
I might have missed it in this piece, but supposedly, this kid asked many times for help with his deteriorating mental state. It wouldn't be the first time we've heard parents ignoring pleas for help. My own parents did when I was in high school - they took me to the family doctor, who told them I just needed to exercise more or something.
This is when educators as mentors become more and more important. But more and more states and school districts are passing legislation mandating that there be no "secrets" between teachers and students, that anyone who outs themselves to a teacher needs to be outed to their parents. Way to eliminate the only safe place so many kids have.
Yes
>> I might have missed it in this piece, but supposedly, this kid asked many times for help with his deteriorating mental state. <<
I'm certain he must have. But it wasn't in the piece that I mainly based this story on, and I've read a few other pieces but none of them mentioned it either.
That said, part of the psychology of some mass shooters is self-isolation, often out of fear. While it's inevitable that Colt would have asked for help, it's at least possible that he downplayed how much he needed that help even as he was asking for it. For instance he could have asked for help, been told "not now" or something similar, and then said that was okay because it wasn't important.
Adults have an important role to play that goes far beyond just responding to explicit requests for help. The ideology he ended up adopting is revolting and terrifying, but as a 14 year old it wasn't inevitable that he would believe these things, nor is he doomed to always believe them simply because he did so in his earliest teens.
We have a juvenile justice system for a reason. I wish we wouldn't throw it away right when it's most needed.
Yes!
Just for reference: https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/teen-asked-for-mental-health-help-before-ga-shooting-aunt-says/
Couldn't agree more on the juvenile justice system. We have so much to answer for as a society.
Yes!!
Thank you!