Norway massacre

At least 92 are dead. Some eyewinesses at the camp say there was a second shooter. Anders Behring Breivik, the arrested shooter, had a vegetable farm and thus access to large amounts of fertilizer. Authorities say the Oslo bombing was a fertilizer bomb.

Initial conclusions by right wing media media was it was a Muslim terrorist attack. They of course had to eat their words when it became apparent that Breivik is a right-wing extremist. Some on the left are screaming at the right about this, and justifiably so. Comically, right wingers are theorizing that maybe he was a closet Muslim sympathizer. But the real task at hand should be to determine if this was a lone wolf attack or if others were involved, and not have another round of pointless partisan attacks.

By the way, the camp massacre, which left at least 85 dead, probably could not have happened in US states where open and concealed carry of handguns is legal or because someone would have had a rifle nearby. Just saying…

As with much extremist violence, are they committed to the cause then become violent or unhinged individuals who latch onto a cause to make the voices in their heads stop? Maybe it’s a spiral of madness and delusion. Someone rational and committed to a cause wouldn’t kill in such a random manner, the targets would be much more focused with the political message obvious.

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9 Comments

  5. would just like to point out that not just the right-wing media were reporting that it was Islamic extremists. The BBC was spreading that story within hours of the attcks, and did not change that line until the Norwegians arrested their suspect today. Islamic extremism or christian extremism makes very little difference, these attacks just go to show that something seriously needs to be done about extreme militant fundamentalism across all religions and nations. I find it hard to see how people can be so shocked that this was the work of a christian fundamentalist, when, through militant christian-right groups such as the Tea party in the USA we have all been shown how hateful and violent the extreme Christian right can be.

  6. Bob, Bob, don’t swallow the “concealed carry” coolaid.

    We’ve had a lot of massacres in the United States. A person or persons with projectile weapons can do a lot of damage in a short period of time (Columbine, Virginia Tech, Oro Valley, Luby’s massacre, etc etc etc etc)

    I think a study by the National Academy of Science found that concealed carry had no effect on gun deaths (either way) in the United States, but gun buyback programs made a significant reduction in gun deaths.

  8. Bob, really?

    This wasn’t a hunting area, it was essentially a youth camp. It was a campground, where people are staying, taking walks, exploring nature, etc. Anyone with a whit of common sense, or ANY gun safety training would realize you DON’T HUNT near populated areas. Especially one where people are camping and exploring nature!

    No, there were no guns there. I’ve gone to plenty of camp-outs as a kid, and there were never guns involved, even in the rural area I grew up in. In fact they were expressly forbidden *because* it was a camping area. The kid to adult ration is WELL over 4:1 in most cases at such camps. Do you really want guns around with that ratio?

    Ironically the un-sung heros of this was a gay couple, camping on a private island a bit away from where the shooting was happening. They got in their boat and took several boat loads of kids across the lake to get them out of harms way. But then they weren’t fundy Christians, so nobody’s going to report on that…

    • I meant a rifle for critters, not for hunting. Maybe they have mountain lion there? But point well taken.

      Frankly I suspect the heroic lesbian couple were probably secret Muslimoid terrorists being very sneaky indeed.

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