Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists and neo-Nazis?

Updated 5/25/23

Is it fair to stereotype the GOP as the party of white supremacists, Christian nationalists, and neo-Nazis? It is not fair, but so long as those running for office do not disown them and tacitly or actively dog whistle to get their support, they are vulnerable to looking like it.  The leading contenders for the Republican nomination for president at this time, Trump and DeSantis, are in the active column, you say? The  NAACP just issued a travel warning to visitors to Florida that Florida is hostile to black people as the result of DeSantis' attempt to grab more of those that Trump had previously corralled. The prime reason Biden said he ran was Trump's calling fine people the neo-Nazis and other white nationalists in the Charleston tiki torch march, and Trump underlined his support by expressing his love for those similar participants on January 6. Recently he was heard saying if elected, he would pardon most of those who pleaded or were found guilty, some imprisoned for seditious conspiracy. 

 I agree with Charlie Sykes this AM on MSNBC that the more in the race that divides up the non-Trump votes and ensures Trump is the candidate in the primary. That was the lesson of 2016.  However, so long as candidates depend on the votes from these elements to win a contest and win the GOP primary too, and either dog whistle or tolerate them publicly, ..that will add fuel to anyone stereotyping the GOP.  They will leave others of are still loyal to the GOP and who object to the overt racism of some candidates sadly in a minority of their own party.. Some in my immediate and extended family are supporters of Pence and old-line Reagan Republicans (as were my parents and brother). They would be appalled at what the GOP has become dominated by Trump and fellow travelers. 

 Both Trump and DeSantis may not be white nationalists, Christian nationalists, or neo-Nazis, but they are skillful demagogues and invite, tolerate, or welcome their support. Any vote is a vote they might need. The rest of the field so far has failed to raise a voice against them, Trump, DeSantis, or the white nationalist dog whistles they utter. In that sense, their silence is complicit.  I am waiting to see any GOP aspirants speak out or attack Trump or DeSantis for appealing to these elements. It will take courage and possibly risk a certain loss in the primaries. Tell me this is not true.

A word about Christian Nationalists. They are theocrats. They want a government controlled by their religions and religious leaders. I call them theocrats because they want the government to force their citizens to comply with their interpretation.  There is no room in their world for those who follow the words of Jesus instead of those who make up or revise what He said.  There is no room for Jews, Buddhists, or atheists.  It is an exclusionary view of their democracy that is twisted to mean the priority of granting rights is for their groups of believers, and the rest should not apply, or they should just keep quiet and comply.   

It is particularly disturbing for practicing Christians like me when the theocrats of the extreme religious right go off on tangents that are not even discussed in the New Testament.  I recall growing up in the Bible Belt dominated by Southern Baptists in my youth, where only those who were baptized by dunking were considered by them to be saved or real Christians, condemning to hell or some second-class status not only my Jewish friends but those who got sprinkled such as  Presbyterians like me and Episcopalians and Catholics.  The greatest debate theological debate among my Baptist friends in the dying days of the Jim Crow South was whether Christians should go to movies on Sunday. 

 I am trying to find where Christ discussed homosexuality and abortion.   Both were practiced in His time.    In Jerusalem, the theocracy and the money changers at the Temple ruled while Caesar's appointees washed their hands of interference when Jesus preached against the corruption of the locally reigning Jewish officials and claimed He was the Son of God..a blasphemy,  paving the way to His crucifixion.  In instances where the government did play a role as a lawgiver and an enforcer, such as tax collection, as Christ said, render unto Caesar what was Caesars, but unto God that is God's. 

 The founders of our Constitution wrote the First Amendment (no establishment of a state church) in their revolt against the Church of England being the English government's "established" religion.  Examples of theocracies in today's world are in Iran, the current Afghanistan of the Taliban, and Saudi Arabia, where the mullahs or men only are the rulers and enforcers of both the temporal and religious laws.

An example of a particular theocracy-run amuck is Afghanistan.  Years ago, I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column about it. It was reposted with a note about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade in 2022.  https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

From the theological standpoint, Christ did say the two most important Jewish laws to obey (when asked by a Temple scribe) were "Love your God with all your heart" and the Golden Rule, treat your neighbors as you would like to be treated yourself. Matt. 22:37-40 He also preached, "We are our brothers' keeper'"Amen to this remarkable opinion piece that appeared in the New York Times recently.  A Wyoming Republican revolted against Christian nationalism and asked: Are we our brother's keeper? The correct answer is "yes", the writer said..    The meaning of this dating to Genesis is long debated, but I stand with this: Christ Says We Are Our Brother’s Keeper | The News and Times Politics  It is a sin to ignore this by not addressing related issues, and the writer of this piece felt so called to do so.  https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/21/opinion/wyoming-republicans-christian-nationalism.html?unlocked_article_code=7LWh8WY5ZLab6-0OI43IWcqNb0Tv74ReOU2QxN0YRcnoiMky90949LkCyYbfxDZAaWYLPWN4F_2O0tcLt4axtOG3jpqURwRn3zDkgZoHGUQoSneMROQuEUV2LF85usbpslIQnTvc8-tvMHhRFqEwnEr8V9WkVGpHQvLACbeHTUw1Mbt3uv9D3WHD6tTA07QETLBDZHxTxuuwASPKDQaTXDcRu3VeulwbtIfD5gyjKzcb4NNs3FxD2NvJQM53ieMNM157PJyapwNsldF3k5QOiirln8YvXx24wwKYzaPNJpz-kj4U_eDa6b-26EmkiymzKmhVqPDMP66FHmznGycUpGsdzC8qqf9w8ua5YYiRNAkWh4A&smid=url-share

An example of a particular theocracy run amuk is Afghanistan.  Years ago I saw an American version of the Taliban on the horizon and wrote a column on it: https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gop-is-becoming-american-taliban.html

NAACP Issues Travel Warning In Florida - Bing News

Trump Said He Would Pardon Jan 6 Participants - Bing News

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/09/us/capitol-hill-insurrection-extremist-flags-soh/index.html

How dictators make elections look free but are not fair: MAGA is a wannabe

How a dictator controls elections: Free but not fair. MAGA is a wannabe. Turkey and Hungary provide the blueprint for those who aspire to be "autocratic/" dictatorial rulers and, once prosperous, stay in authoritarian control while looking like elections were reasonably held and publicly supported. Fareed Zakaria on CNN 5/21 provided a clear and concise description of where in the world, including Turkey and Hungary, why and how elections may look free but are not fair, and liberal democracies such as ours have been destroyed. https://fb.watch/kFVpNRilsV The MAGA movement is example number one of an attempt and a desire of a political campaign to copy these tactics and destroy a democracy that is both free and fair. Trump and DeSantis, and CPAC fawn over Viktor Orban's dictatorial rule. Like him, Turkey's Erdogan had to first gain control of the judiciary and, on one pretext or another, be able to discredit, gag, or, in Turkey, jail his most threatening opponent and opposition journalists. In Turkey and Orban's Hungary, the dictators and their supporters control the media. Lies and corruption go unchallenged, and there is no platform for opposition public expression. The legislative branch was controlled early in the process by unfair elections or intimidation. The judiciary is a rubber stamp operation owned by the dictators' appointments to the bench in nearly all instances, ruling in the dictators 'interests. Their legislators nod in unified support of the leaders to whom they owe their positions.

Sadly, both Turkey and Hungary are members of NATO. Turkey has attempted to play both sides of the Ukrainian war. They are the reason Sweden has not yet been granted membership in NATO.

The MAGA GOP's current tactics reveal their attempt for their core supporter minority to control the rest of us, comprising the majority, Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans. The MAGAs further undermine the "free" election perception by attempting to claim elections are neither free nor fair. They unfairly try to make it more inconvenient for those to vote whose votes they fear and intimidation at the polls themselves. Their targets are racial minorities and younger voters. Fortunately for democracy, they have not yet sufficiently corrupted much of the judiciary, but they have seized total control of a large number of state legislatures and state houses. By claiming media who reports negatively about them, MAGA has managed a de facto control of the messaging reaching loyal supporters who view all other media reports they do not like as "fake news" or "lib" slanted, ignoring, downplaying, or cherry picking, facts, and data. No wonder they are shocked or in disbelief when national polls and elections do not go their way. "Why, everyone I know and my sole media outlets to which I tune in agreed." Those votes must be the result of fraud to explain the outcome, they believe, and the stolen 2020 election is still their mouthed mantra, the ticket into the MAGA clubhouse.

In all honesty, those of the left who also are in their media silos think most right-wingers are inhumane, hate-filled, uneducated nut cases. "We are such a divided country," the tongue-wagging pundits use as an excuse to explain away close election calls. Radicals on the left and right are also guilty, claiming anyone who compromises is "disloyal to their cause." The only way to break this curse is beginning to happen as independents and moderate Republicans revolt and vote. The midterms and recent polls of independents are revealing this new trend.

There are many known and obvious tactics of voter suppression. Among the tools the MAGAs use in the South are reducing early voting windows, mail-in voting, eliminating ballot drop boxes in targeted neighborhoods, claiming fraud that the election was stolen when they lost without providing evidence, gerrymanders, and district boundary drawing by legislative bodies they control that give their side more districts resorting to distorting the public will and sentiment, approving violence or threatening and intimidating racial or ethnic groups with antagonistic partisan poll watchers and unleashing or otherwise protecting violent constituents like the neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, Three percenters, Oath Keepers, and others from prosecution. To them, all judicial system prosecutions are just political, laws and evidence and juries to the contrary notwithstanding. While Trump's role in inciting January 6 is still being revealed in various court cases, he recently stated in a rally that he would, if elected, pardon those already convicted for everything from vandalism to criminal conspiracy to overturn the election of 2020. The "House" sub-sub-committee on government overreach led by Jim Jordan to attempt to prove a conspiracy of the "lib" FBI against MAGA Trump in 2020 or another committee to try to show "the Biden crime family" has so far fizzled. This was thanks to when the Durham special investigation final report failed to find evidence of widespread conspiracy in the FBI's Russia election interference cases and the disappearance of the key witness to Hunter's laptop. That the AG Barr and 63 federal judges and the Supreme Court found no evidence of widespread election fraud in 2020 points to the importance of an independent judiciary holding its ground. The MAGA crowd blithely ignores and is still missing judicial findings.

Current figures on those identifying as conservatives most loyal to FOX, AON, NEWSMax , especially after Hannity's departure, in 2021 (impacting the 2022 midterms) are available: Newsmax and OAN News Consumers Also Likely To Turn to Fox News | Pew Research Center

 

The GOP's attack on personal freedoms and Ron DeSantis is leading the charge

Update 8 11 2023  Consumers are rejecting the anti-woke...a warning to the corporate world: Consumers are rejecting the anti-woke movement to demand CEOs speak out on important social issues: ‘Today, you cannot say nothing’ (msn.com)

If we thought Trump was a threat to our personal freedoms,  DeSantis has just doubled down. DeSantis and Trump both hurt their election chances with their threats to democracy and their attacks on personal freedoms we have enjoyed.  Democracy was under threat by stop the steal lies and election deniers in 2020 and January 6 violence, and CPAC and others fawning over the strong leadership of foreign dictators like Putin and Viktor Orban of Hungary. In 2022, women, younger voters, and independents handed unexpected defeats to the GOP. reflecting, the end of Roe v Wade  That trend is not a one-off. recent polls show. Protection of democracy in 2024 it will take on a different sense of urgency when it is also linked to attacks on personal freedoms, especially important to women and younger voters. Particularly top of women's concerns is the inability of women to control their reproductive health care and the impact of this on family economics, as well as their safety from mass shootings.

DeSantis has moved from advocating banning women's control over their reproductive lives,  don't say gay, and hearing and learning nothing that looks like"woke", to putting it into law so it is now enforced by government action. His state has now gone ban crazy.  The pushback effort to ban the banners has just begun in upcoming local and state elections. DeSantis has also embraced poison pills that very likely ensure he will be the loser if he ever makes it to the general presidential election. Nearly every one of the recent bills he signs addressing cultural issues poll very unpopular outside of Florida., especially for women. The extreme 6-week abortion ban is a loser for DeSantis' hopes and his own self-administered poison pill. Nearly 60% of women polled nationally say they will vote against a candidate that supports such bans in spite of the condition of the economy and inflation.. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/08/poll-women-struggling-dread-burnout/11413303002/#Economy%20Concerns%20and%20Financial%20Struggles. 

 That he brags he is a strong effective leader makes him more frightening to those who oppose him because he uses the government to suppress personal rights they once enjoyed, and he makes his right-wing cultural issues enforced by the government in Florida. For those who object, what weapons still left to push back are (quoting Obama), don't get mad, vote  (up and down the ballot), and court constitutional challenges.  The First and 14th Amendment-based lawsuits are just being filed since freedom of speech and anti-discrimination are at issue.

 DeSantis may think the only group he needs to  control are Republican registered primary voters for president, but Florida is no template for much of the rest of the United States. that he needs to support him to become president.  Even if he defeats Trump in the primary.  DeSantis' legislative wins in Florida and support for these codified cultural issues are potential poison political pills in a national contest.  Polls show his agenda is unpopular., from  book banning to  don't say gay, 6-week extreme abortion ban, ensuring he would be near certain loser in the nationwide presidential run if 2022 midterm GOP losses are any indication. With his fight with Mickey Mouse because Disney refused to agree to his don't say gay edicts, he has shown a willingness to use governmental power to force a private business to bow down to his government-enforced cultural edicts. This is as big an anti-business posture as one could imagine.  Disney countered by withdrawing billions of additional investment and jobs in Florida

Talk about governmental overreach and "autocracy"; DeSantis is on steriods. He may not be a narcissistic sociopathic demagogue scoff-law like Trump, but the baggage of his actions in Florida on cultural wars will make him a very likely loser in a nationwide election. His extreme positions on these issues that poll unpopular in swing states and suburban women are on the very visible public records in both his state's legislative success and public pronouncements. This means it will be impossible for him to appeal to independents and women by moderating his dire on-the-record positions should he survive the primary.   I can see the opposition political ads being formulated now.   

 In 2024 not only are personal freedoms at stake but so is a democracy, regardless if the GOP candidate is Trump or Desantis.   Biden had begun the theme of democracy's connection to personal freedoms,   He is on to something and others are beginning to make the connection, too. Not only are businesses' ability to object to government policy under threat of retribution by a control freak-led governor going national but so are women in particular.    It is not just about the freedom for women to control their reproductive health, it is about much more. It includes threats caused by lax gun laws against the lives of their children in schools, and erosion of their own parental control of what their children are taught or permitted to read,  or about health care decisions endangering their own health, family financial stability, and gender-affirming care of their children.  

Democrat Donna Deegan flips the Jacksonville mayor's office in a major upset (nbcnews.com)

Florida school district sued for violating first amendment rights with book bans | Florida | The Guardian

Disney DeSantis Dispute On Dont Say Gay - Bing News

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/new-voter-study-outlines-3-trends-powered-dems-2022-help-biden-2024-rcna84955

This poll was taken before the "chaos at the border' did not materialize as predicted with the end of title 42 and Biden has shown a policy of even stricter enforcement of existing laws and improvements of application methods.  Biden maintains edge over Trump in 2024 US election -Reuters/Ipsos poll | Reuters

Here is what I wrote last month regarding the threat to freedom and democracy by Trump second term,   I am reprinting it here.  

From my April blog postings:

April 24: Biden just did it: For better communication, what do you call authoritarianism in a few words? Biden just did it. .... Joe Biden confirms 2024 re-election bid in video announcement - Bing video    He put democracy on the ballot as an implied contrast with the dark, anti-democratic Trump. He defined what democracy is in terms of personal freedoms and then showed how he was protecting them now and in the future.  It is a context into which so many issues fit, women's choice, voter suppression, a priority of the middle-class well-being, of student debt, Ukraine, and more.

The next Biden task should be to link the issue of personal freedoms to the economy and economic well-being of those who benefit from personal freedoms.  The two easiest, of course, are women's rights to control their reproductive schedules and health in the abortion issue. Women cannot go to work if they are always"barefoot and pregnant" and earn the money they need to help maintain their family's standard of living.   It is particularly difficult when women earn less than men for the same work and doubly difficult if racism interjects the ability to earn equal pay.  Equal rights have serious economic implications. Voter suppression speaks to the loss of political power, which cripples the rights of access for those who need public policies to give them a leg up.  Student debt is the millstone around my flock of grandkids' necks setting back for years their ability to be able to have the freedom and independence to support their families.   Preservation of democracy is what Ukraine is all about, theirs and ours. It is in a way a far lower-cost proxy war than what a full confrontation with Russia would cost us in the Baltics and Poland as we protect our own national security interests.  Yes, gas prices are high, but a stitch in time saves nine. 

From my April 21, 2023 posting: So what is this "democracy" for which so many died? What is "freedom" we claim to want and protect? The American style of democracy means that those who are not the majority still have rights that give them hope they can eventually be the majority, too. Diversity is the real enemy of wannabe tyrants, especially if those in the minority still have rights, the rule of law still rules,  and the ability to be heard remains in place. That is good news for the US. Those who are in the minority still have rights since the rule of laws protecting them is upheld by the judicial system.  It also bodes ill for a vocal minority that supports policies that are wildly unpopular but is attempting to force the majority to accept them, such as extreme anti-abortion laws and ignoring gun safety measures. 

 It seems unbelievable we need to make the case for democracy in order to contrast it with the anti-democracy alternatives.  However, in every generation, the case for democracy needs to be dusted off and rephrased because so many have forgotten how it benefits them. Even with its failures to live up to the idealism of our founders, we can still strive for this more perfect union so long as small d democracy survives.

My own case for democracy is based on the reason for the American Revolution and the ability to be free to pursue life and happiness in a country treated with consideration and fairness even those they oppose. This is the way to live in a stable, tranquil society with the hope staying alive the future can be better. So long as that hope lives, so will democracy. 

Trump's blue print for a second term laid out in the CNN town hall

Edited and revised: 5/12/23

Trump's CNN town hall was Trump unplugged from any constraints of social norms of morality or abiding by any laws or ethics. His fawning live audience of obviously mostly dedicated followers were just as unplugged and egged him on, laughing at his wisecrack response to softball questions as if he were a stand-up comedian. It also shows what we could expect if he got elected in 2024 with his second term. He, too, would be even more unplugged and consider himself free from conforming to the constraints of law or ethics since he would not have to answer to voters in 2028.

Here is what we would get if he won in 2024. In the town hall, this is what he promised us and it was consistent with his past. This CNN town hall served as a sharp, jarring reminder for anyone who may have forgotten. We could expect a president with a third finger raised against the rule of law and supporting and advocating the use of violence as a weapon of his political power advancement.

He would upend American foreign power by "settling" Ukraine in 24 hours. Putin had to be cheering this one. His unplugged remarks included his calling the victim of his abuse a "wack job", never knew the woman (his standard response to 24 or any other similar public accusers. ) He just ignored the jury of 6 men and 3 women in the same week that held him liable for his sexual abuse and defamation of E Jean Carroll. Carroll was a stand-in victor on behalf of every woman who had been such a victim, not just her, who also did not scream and report to the police when so attacked. This silence about abuse had been for good reason. since until the "me too" movement and a few brave women like Carroll who went public. She, too, faced, fearing she too would be subjected to public humiliation and additional abuse by men who blamed them as a way to avoid their own guilt. Trump's performance on CNN was exhibit number one of the reality of such abuse, as he continued to defame Carroll in spite of the $5 million fine levied against him by the unanimous jury. He was undeterred. from his pattern of behavior, a boasting sexual predator. and the same denial when any woman accused him, always the response which should be getting old by now.. He never knew them, but they were all nuts or sought fame or fortune. In the Carroll trial deposition, Trump claimed stars like him had been p grabbing and finger-raping for a thousand years, and, in the Access Hollywod tapes, he said women liked that when stars like him did it to them. His calling his CNN inquisitor a "nasty woman" got cheers and applause from his delighted audience.

He called January 6 violence a "beautiful day", full of those acting out of love (for him) and that he would pardon most of those 500 who have been convicted or pleaded guilty. More applause from his audience.

Those left in the GOP who still support him are equally culpable, turning a blind eye to all evidence to the contrary and swallowing his lies about the election being stolen yet dismissed for lack of evidence by 60 plus judges and the Supreme Court and the court of public opinion. The rules of law and its process, civil or criminal, are simply ignored and defied by Trump and his loyal followers. To what purpose? They and their candidates will have to answer to that in the 2024 campaign.

The CNN format gave Trump plenty of rope to hang himself even though he was not fact-checked in real-time. Not only did he admit to responsibility for taking the classified documents to his Florida home, but he may also have hung himself on some other prosecutorial charges in the works.

The most positive result from this town hall performance was Trump's gift he gave to the prosecutor's cases against him, admitting openly he took classified documents to Mar a Lago and said he had the right to show them to whomever. A sound bite we are sure to hear in political ads and prosecutors' evidence was regarding his admission on CNN that he "took what he took" of classified documents to Mar a Largo, not done by some staff error as his attorneys had claimed.. Unsettling to anyone concerned about US national security was his obvious avoidance of answering the question if he had shown them to anyone.

He doubled down in defense of accusations of his Georgia attempt to force Georgia officials to "find" the missing votes and took it a step further. He continued with the line the 2020 election was rigged. He simply asked election officials to "recalculate" the report of the count to reflect he won. It is not just "finding" the missing votes but just "recalculate".

Regarding his culpability and intent of his actions on January 6, here is the best evidence yet of his state of mind in those minutes of inaction. He was approving mob violence. It came from his own mouth on CNN: "It was a beautiful day.. full of love (for him)."

FYI Trump and your followers: Violence by any group redressing grievances is not protected in a democracy or in the Constitution. Peaceful protest and voting are or should be protected as the alternative to violence. For Trump, with his third finger raised against democracy, violence is "beautiful" if wielded by white people on his behalf. That is his promise to us in his second term:. It is not just chaos but violent chaos and those who commit it will not be prosecuted. Just "stand down and stand by".

MSN.COM

Donald Trump CNN Town Hall Highlights—Five Key Takeaways From Interview

FactChecking Trump's CNN Town Hall - FactCheck.org

 

Expect the GOP to gripe about migrants at the border; their answer: cut funding for border patrol

 The falls in to the category of putting money where their mouths are. For those who will be bitching about governmental failure to stop the surge in migrants, the GOP's answer is to cut funding for border security and enforcement. Contained in the GOP attempt to hold hostage spending for certain federal programs in their strategy to force budget cuts to be accepted as  condition fortheir approval to raise the debt ceiling would make it even harder to handle the migration. : Taking appropriations back to the level the GOP wants would cut  9% in discretionary spending compared to this year’s spending. Particularly dire in these spending cuts would be the ability to enforce federal laws from the TSA, food inspectors, border patrol, the justice system, and more.

 This illustrates the madness of trying to get future budgets to reflect their priorities by holding approval of raising the debt ceiling hostage to their budget demands.  If this is not what the GOP intended, then they should take their budget concerns through the budget process separately from the strategy of trying to force the government to fail to meet last year's financial obligations by voting against raising the debt ceiling. 

THIRDWAY.ORG

The Republican Debt Limit Plan Will Devastate Public Safety – Third Way https://www.thirdway.org/memo/the-republican-debt-limit-plan-will-devastate-public-safety?fbclid=IwAR1w-jUOCQnTpv_VFapEKDGzqNCpLtogXLimvEwdzoVbgD-tld8VhhjIKgo.

Why better mental health services are not a panacea to mass shootings

https://www.vice.com/.../nearly-all-mass-shooters-since...
This was written before the Allen Texas shooting. Note: shooter had nazi symbols all over him and the designation of a nazi death squad. He related and considered himself part of the movement.. However, there is also something more profound going on here. I found this study to explain much: It also speaks to why mental heath services are important, but not a panacea.

From the article reporting on the study:

Between 1966 and 2000, there were 75 mass shootings. Of those, 9% were motivated by racism, 1% by religious hatred, and 7% by misogyny. Of the 32 mass shootings that have occurred in the U.S. just since 2015, 18% were motivated by racism, 15% by religious hatred, and 21% by misogyny......

From the study reported by this article: the largest single study of mass shooters ever funded by the U.S. government has found that nearly all mass shooters have four specific things in common.

A new Department of Justice-funded study of all mass shootings — killings of four or more people in a public place — since 1966 found that the shooters typically have an experience with childhood trauma, a personal crisis or specific grievance, and a “script” or examples that validate their feelings or provide a roadmap. And then there’s the fourth thing: access to a firearm.

The increase in ideologically motivated mass shootings has coincided with the emergence of a newly emboldened far right, who’ve forged national and even international alliances of hate online. The sharp rise in misogyny-inspired shootings also squares with the rise of the “Incels,” short for “involuntarily celibate,” an online subculture comprised of angry young men who deeply resent and blame women for their isolation.

MENTAL HEALTH IS A FACTOR — BUT RARELY THE CAUSE

Two-thirds of the mass shooters in the database had a documented history of mental health problems. While this seems high, researchers point out that roughly 50% of Americans have experienced some kind of mental health problem at some point in their lives.

Moreover, the percentage of shooters whose crimes were directly motivated by the symptoms of a mental disorder (such as delusions or hallucinations caused by psychosis) is much smaller: roughly 16%. That is a smaller percentage than shooters motivated by hate, a workplace grievance, or an interpersonal conflict. 

It does not help that Colorado ranks near the bottom in mental health services for adults. Most of the mass killers fall into the category of males, younger adults.   The attempt by the legislature to set up a coordinating agency last year  to resolve the issue has devolved into a heap of personnel problems and the firing of the agency head.  

That 2022 study by Mental Health America, a national nonprofit that advocates for improvements in behavioral health care, found Colorado had the nation’s highest rate of adult mental illness and lowest access to care.  The State of Mental Health in America | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)