Some seemingly normal but quite deranged young white man murders Americans in their grocery stores, malls, movie theaters, churches, bowling alleys, schools.  And on occasion they shoot at just one high profile target, in this case America’s leading provocateur and enthusiastic booster of political violence.  The guy that allegedly tried to kill Trump did not break any law until he fired his weapon.  By all accounts so far he was a patriotic Republican citizen — until the moment he was not.

 

Why is the question the authorities most want answered is why he did it?  Why?  Why ask why?  Does it matter if his social media was filled with hatred, envy or obsession?  The only question that matters is how.  How did he acquire a firearm?  How did he his father justify getting him a lethal weapon?  How did he get onto a roof with a clear shot of the president?  How could the Secret Service somehow not manage to get Trump out of sight so Trump could wave his fist in the air, wave to the crowd and shout fight?  It is almost as if Trump and the Secret Service knew he was out of danger and could return to flattering the crowd with self-serving lies.  Most of the time he is lying so it is not hard to imagine he’s lying now.

 

The proper question after a shooting — brought to you in single target, multiple target or mass casualty quantities — is HOW did this happen?  We will never be able to see into the psychopath’s mind, likely a fatal mixture of inchoate thoughts.  What possible public safety response is enabled by this understanding of his particular psycho-patholoogies. 

 

What matters is not what it is his heart or his head, only what is in his hands. 

 

We cannot know which gun buyers and owners are mentally unwell, but we can see the weapons they use.  Until and unless it becomes far more difficult to acquire not just a hunting weapon but military-grade hardware designed to kill hundreds at a time we will continue to grieve for our country.  We overtly enable lonely, quiet, disaffected young white men with weapons so they may act out their violent fantasies. 

 

And but for this particular target all the maniacal co-conspirators of mass violence — Oath-keepers, Boogalo Boys, Attomwaffen Division, Aryan Nation, The Covenant, the Order — honor and praise these racist murderers and hail their patriotism.  Had Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor Josh Shapiro been murdered these far right online hangouts for fascists would be celebrating.

 

The seemingly endless armed whitewing crazies and the loosely organized fascist organizations are not two different phenomenon.  They are one and the same.