Determining Motive in the Las Vegas Mass Murder
Note: This post will not include names or photos or links in order to not give more fame to the killer.
Definition: The TRUE "Motive" in the case of mass murder is always the same; revenge, power and control, and recognition. Media attention is one of the top reasons for mass murder as the perpetrators love the massive infamy that they are given for their crimes. However, there is a SECONDARY "Motive" which I am looking at here and that is what excuse/justification has this particular mass murderer used for his particular crime. There IS an importance to knowing this as is true with other heinous crimes - gang killings and terrorism - because there can be a promoted ideology that inspires the psychopath to act out and choose specific crimes. This is why we worry about radicalization connected to religious or political organizations and to gangs. Psychopaths will still be psychopaths and may be violent without outside encouragement, but radical ideology - as is true with our excessive sensationalistic media - can be a strong factor in a psychopath choosing a particular road to go down. Just like advertising has an effect on prospective buyers (that is why companies spend so much money and time promoting a product), ideology can also permeate the thinking of an individual when it is very excessive and persuasive.
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Many people are wondering why there is no motive yet discovered for the recent horrific mass murder and this is inspiring many theories, some fairly logical, some pretty off-the-wall. Mostly, they fall into these groups:
1) Crazy gun-toting white alt-right male proving that white males are the Number One terrorists in the world
2) Typical suicidal mass murderer with some recent disaster in his life who is getting back at society which he feels is responsible for his failure
3) Leftist/Antifa radical setting off the revolution
4) False flag patsy designed to tear apart the country
5) Isis terrorist who was radicalized through his companion and the Philippines
6) Normal guy who went nuts due to a brain tumor or recent use of Valium
Okay, lots of possibilities. Let me knock out the ones that make no sense.
6) This guy has all the hallmarks of lifelong psychopathy and he wasn't just a normal guy until a few days before he slaughtered five dozen people. He planned this mass murder for a long time. No brain tumor or drugs made him lose his mind.
5) Isis radicalization. First of all, his companion is a Catholic, not a Muslim. Secondly, there is nothing that rings of any Isis connection in his past behaviors or communications. Yes, he dropped into the Philippines, but his girlfriend was from there, so big deal. I have photos of me wearing hijab in Egypt but that doesn't make me connected to a terrorist organization. I would be very surprised if radical Islamic links are found.
4). Just no. I am not even going to argue this because there is no evidence of some Deep State stuff going on here.
.
Which leaves us with 1), 2), and 3).
Either he is just a typical mass murderer whose life was going down the toilet so he decided to get his big revenge and have his day in the sun and all the infamy from the media that goes with it....
....or he had a political motive...
...or both.
So, we need to look at his life and what has been happening.
A) We know he is a psychopath and has always been one. Psychopaths can make up reasons for doing things for their own amusement, so he could simply commit the mass murder for the fun and thrill or he could do develop a political motive for the crime (a la McVeigh) to justify his actions. McVeigh really WASN'T very political, but he found a cool story in a book about attacking the government and he decided this would be exciting to act out. Psychopaths don't actually give THAT much of a shit about politics but they may use it for their own peculiar ideation to gain power and control.
B) So far, there is little in this psychopath's life that show any big change as far as monetary loss or girlfriend loss. The ONLY change we see, so far, is a stockpiling of weapons that began one year ago.
What set him off one year ago?
C) Venue. He chose to target a largely white, conservative, Republican group of people. This was not a spur of the moment choice. He could have chosen many other venues to annihilate a large number of people. Interestingly, the media is not discussing his choice of victims. But, he chose those victims for one of two reasons, 1) convenience and familiarity - this is common for mass murderers, or 2) political reasons. Actually, it is possibly he could have chosen the venue for both those reasons. At this point in time we do not know the answer.
D) His politics. We have not heard that he has any political interest. In some sense, this could be true. He is a psychopath who only gives a crap about himself, so it is not unbelievable that he could care less about politics. It is true that his family members, from what I can determine from interviews and their Facebook pages, are pretty bland about politics. There are NO strong political comments from anyone which is pretty amazing in these times. If you look at my Facebook friends, you will see many people outspoken about politics of all sorts. The only little bit of politics I see in the relatives is a slight lean to the left with a pussy hat on the girlfriend of the nephew. Now, what is a bit more interesting is that the killer's girlfriend was married for over two decades to a fellow who was quite to the left. This, of course, doesn't mean she is, but it is interesting. We will have to wait to see if the shooter has any political leanings at all. One other thing which possibly supports a political ideation is the age of this mass murderer. Most killers of this kind are either really young (school shooters) or middle age (lost job/wife shooters), but almost none are in their sixties. Sometimes, older people get crotchety about politics (go sit in a senior center and you will see what I mean) and even psychopaths can get adamant in their later years about what is wrong with our country. If there is any political motive behind this crime, I would find it hard to believe that the shooter didn't at least grumble to people at some point in time.
E) But, there are three things put together which might mean something. He started collecting a huge amount of weapons at election time last year, he shot conservative white people, and it is the 100-year anniversary of the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks, know as Red October. Coincidence? Perhaps.
So, where are we with motive? I am not sure I can answer that. This is what the investigation will at some point determine, I certainly hope. It would be very unlikely there are zero clues although we are seeming to be told that today. Most of the time it doesn't really matter what the so-called motive of a murdering psychopath is because it is usually only really important to him, but with the festering civil war in this country and increasing hatred and intolerance, I would like to know if this massacre is another blow to a civil society. If it is, it is a call to all citizens and to the media that we need to start behaving like intelligent adults, able to respect differences of opinions, and to not see everything in black and white when it comes to race and politics. We need to grow up and start acting like civilized human beings and not savage idiots. While attacking each other with words is probably sufficient for many people, adding violence can become the method of communication for those with sicker mentalities. If we don't want to be like some countries in this world with terrorist acts being a hazard of daily life, we need to get our act together.
Criminal Profiler Pat Brown
October 5, 2017
So, where are we with motive? I am not sure I can answer that. This is what the investigation will at some point determine, I certainly hope. It would be very unlikely there are zero clues although we are seeming to be told that today. Most of the time it doesn't really matter what the so-called motive of a murdering psychopath is because it is usually only really important to him, but with the festering civil war in this country and increasing hatred and intolerance, I would like to know if this massacre is another blow to a civil society. If it is, it is a call to all citizens and to the media that we need to start behaving like intelligent adults, able to respect differences of opinions, and to not see everything in black and white when it comes to race and politics. We need to grow up and start acting like civilized human beings and not savage idiots. While attacking each other with words is probably sufficient for many people, adding violence can become the method of communication for those with sicker mentalities. If we don't want to be like some countries in this world with terrorist acts being a hazard of daily life, we need to get our act together.
Criminal Profiler Pat Brown
October 5, 2017
10 comments:
Pat, my first thought was he attacked this group to get at mostly conservative whites. But it seems he also considered the concert in Chicago which would have mostly been an entirely different group. What stopped him then? Didn't have all his ducks in a row yet? Still gathering weapons? ???
Most people would know you wouldn't need that many weapons in the hotel room to carry this off. One or two and the necessary, preloaded clips.
I do think his brother, based on his off the wall interviews that really want to explain his brother, while feeling no sympathy toward the victims, may have had an idea he was about to go off.
And it seems he shipped his girlfriend out at the perfect time.
So, I don't know. I agree with you, this country is ready to explode in a civil war, so who knows. Maybe it's all part of a much larger plan that we have no control over.
Hi Rob!
One thing is very interesting with this new information that he scouted out other sites. Mainly, that they were NOT connected with casinos or Las Vegas, so that eliminates any anger issue he might have had with the casinos themselves or Las Vegas.
The other sites were overlooking venues but it is hard to say if he was scouting the site itself or picking that particular site for what was happening that day. If it was the first, we won't probably ever know what the victim target would be. If it was the actually what was happening there on that day, that would indicate he is going for numbers alone and not any particular group.
I think the MOST important issue is what changed one year ago to encourage him to stockpile rifles. This is the indicator something changed right then for him. Prior, he may just have been purchasing weapons on and off to add to a collection. But, to suddenly buy a shitload of rifles since October of 2016, you have to wonder why?
His brother seems to suffer from a narcissistic personality disorder, probably similar the girlfriend. He loved being in the limelight, in spite of the circumstances, much of the interview was about him, much was about how much money they had and his brother made, and how great they all were. Then he slips up and actually gives some descriptions of his brother that match psychopathy. And he slips up when he starts describing weapons. Rather interesting.
The girlfriend knows more. Her reaction to her brother's call was beyond bizarre. Not just someone in shock, but someone who WASN'T in shock...and she should have been horrified, blown away, devastated, humilated, etc. But, she told him to relax and not worry, that she would fix it (what?) and she had a clear conscience (really?). She also seems to suffer from narcissism and as long as her needs are being met (attention and money), she can overlook other stuff. That is what the investigators are trying to pull out of her. I am still wondering why she made a three day trip to Hong Kong from the Philippines after her boyfriend bought her a cheap ticket there.
As for all the weapons, yeah, it DOES seem excessive. Hard to say why. Was he expecting a couple of helpers who bailed? Was he just an overkill (pun not really intended) kind of guy and so he just had to bring in a massive bunch of weapons that he could use without reloading anything? Just in case? Not sure, but no one WAS in the room with him when they burst in, so that is kind of an indicator that mostly this is him.
his former marine neighbor said he spent several nights on and off talking to him at a local bar and he said they were both Trump supporters. not sure how this might fit in, but there it is.
ANon 6:19,
It would be interesting if it is true. I know the investigators are searching for what his politics was - whether or not it means anything it remains to be determined.
It is also possible that the former marine was not accurate in his assessment and this is why we need to find out more. Unless he scrubbed everything from his phone, computer, house, etc., there should be some indication of something unless he was truly apolitical which, quite frankly, his family seems to be somewhat in that arena.
I am still very curious what set him off one year ago. There is SOMETHING that made him veer toward mass murder at that point in time.
Okay Anon 6:19
Here is where the problem comes in with witnesses and misinformation. I listened to the Michael Savage show where this neighbor was interviewed.
First of all, he believes the crime was Deep State and the man identified as the killer was just a patsy. He totally believes the guy had no interest in guns and just was a happy, beer drinking fellow who played video poker. He knows NOTHING about the man at all because clearly he had no clue as to the weapons he bought, his gun room, his Las Vegas gambling, etc. He also states that they NEVER discussed politics or religion. He claims the man was a Trump supporter simply because he didn't diss his MAGA cap. Really? Okay. Also, he only was in Mesquite until June of 2016, so he is far back on what was happening in the last year of this man's life.
So, very little value in what this man told us. We will have to wait until we get more solid info.
One thing we DO know now is that he wasn't targeting the casinos or Las Vegas because he checked out other targets. So, he wasn't bent out of shape about the fall he took in the casino or losing money there.
Couldn't agree more. Can't help thinking that the MSM has blood on its hands. Witness a now former CBS executive Hadley Geftman-Gold who tweeted that she had no sympathy for the victims because "country music fans are often republican gun toters"
Pat - Thank you for not including his name! The notoriety and knowing that people will spend their precious lives, time, and money thinking about his actions, writing and reading books about him, and looking for his motive gives him the infamy and immortality he wanted.
Here's my amateur theory...
A psychopath can't really positively connect to life on an emotional level which means other people, animals, music, etc. don't bring the sense of connection, laughter, joy and shared experience as it does for neurotypicals. However, they can feel a dopamine rush and his high stakes gambling (which is more common with psychopaths) is an activity that gave him that reward/dopamine rush which provided some relief in his otherwise emotionally shallow life of anger and boredom.
So, as he was doing one of the few activities that allowed him to feel something besides anger and boredom, he was also constantly surrounded by the crowds of neurotypicals on vacation in Vegas having the time of their lives; enjoying music, laughing, creating joy, getting married, etc. which probably annoyed his to no end as well as subconsciously reminded him of how he was 'slighted' in life with the inability to have these experiences; thus creating a jealousy and desire for revenge.*
By methodically planning the worst mass shooting (so far) in history and not leaving a manifesto/note he gets his revenge on us as he knows many people will spend their lives in emotional pain thinking about him, his motive and some may even comment how 'intelligent' he must of been to carefully plan and execute this violence with such rigor. Since he could never feel love, joy and connection, what better revenge on us than to create a global incident of emotional pain?
* I know psychopaths have disdain for us and see us as weak and easy to manipulate puppets because of our emotions and conscience, but I also think there may be an unrecognized/subconscious jealousy since they will never get to experience the peace and connection that comes with love. Many a movie, song, etc. are written about how "love is all we need" which a psychopath will never feel in their emotionally stunted and disconnected lives plagued by chronic boredom.
Regarding the political leanings of country music fans being his specific target as the other music festival (Lolapalooza) is a completely different socially and politically leaning crowd; it may be just music fans in general...as they say: psychopaths know the words, but not the music. And now he will get a lot of words written about him and many people may never go to another concert or if they do, they will now be in fear of this kind of being murdered...music is one of those ethereal experiences connects many of us and he could have been trying to to break that.
HI PAT, i think its wise to wait for some more back ground information, i agree that its inevitible that things end badly when a psychopath is on the ramage, a loose cannon, and their unpredictable violence towards innoccent people? His behavior mirrors his inner insecurities, in paranoia to stock pile weapons, over a enemy that does not exist in reality? Psychos fantasies over killing people, anyone unfortunatley, they see normal people as meat not human? Its all about themselves, because they never experience the true warmth of human understanding, and think nobody else deserves love, its called filling a void with material things, money and guns, egocentric and entitled to kill? Not self defence, and some one attacking him, as all gun owners know that home defence is legal providing guns are not overstocked to fall into criminal hands, or members of family getting hold of such weapons that are loaded? The weapon used was ott, And there should be mental assements made over the type of guns being sold?
Since first reading this, I heard law enforcement say that he planned to escape after doing this crime. How on earth? And no way he could have carried all those weapons with him. What scenario did he wish to create when they came into the room and found that amount of guns? Did he also have another room rented on the same floor or nearby that he thought he could quietly move to and act like- what the heck just happened? He couldn't have moved the guns there, I'd feel certain they would have checked in every room after this.
there are so many cameras in LV hotels, you can't have people winning a butt-load of money, cashing in their chips, with everyone watching, then walking to the elevator and getting off on the 24 floor, and feeling safe about it.
So many questions still floating around. Probably never be answered.
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