Thread by @_centrist_

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky A little reading:

latimes.com/california/sto…

Archived copies:

web.archive.org/web/2019073109…

archive.is/a6Uo2

I'll quote ...

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "“Because I’m really angry,” the gunman replied, according to Jack Van Breen, who spoke with reporters after performing at the festival with his band, TinMan."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "Little more is known about the motive of the shooter, whom authorities have identified as Santino William Legan. But on Monday, disturbing details began to emerge about the 19-year-old Gilroy native, including possible links to the white supremacist movement."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky ...

"Before the attack, he posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, 'Ayyy garlic festival time come get wasted on overpriced ...,' using an expletive."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "He also posted a photo of a Smokey Bear sign warning about fire danger, with a caption instructing people to read an obscure novel glorified by white supremacists: 'Might Is Right' published under the pseudonym Ragnar Redbeard."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky ...

"The book, published in 1890, includes discredited principles related to social Darwinism that have been used to justify racism, slavery and colonialism, said Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "'The notion that people of color are biologically inferior is a key tenet of this book, and that biological determinism, the Darwinian view of the world, justifies aggression against diverse people and vulnerable people,' Levin said."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky But, perhaps somebody doesn't like the LA times. Thinks it's a liberal rag, or something. OK, let's see what NBC News had to say.

nbcnews.com/news/us-news/g…

Archived copy for later:

archive.is/bYYA9

Again, I'll quote:

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "The gunman who killed three people and wounded a dozen more at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in Northern California was an angry 19-year-old who had recently waded into the world of white supremacy."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "Santino William Legan, who was shot dead by police Sunday before he could do more damage, posted online about an 1890 racist manifesto, 'Might is Right or The Survival of the Fittest,' NBC News confirmed."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "'Read Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard,' Legan posted on his Instagram page. He then used a slurs against mixed-race people and misogynistic descriptions of white Silicon Valley workers, complaining about 'hordes' of them 'overcrowding' towns."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "Redbeard, which was a pseudonym, argued that only strength and violence determined what is morally right. The work, which is filled with misogynistic and anti-Semitic rhetoric, is a staple among neo-Nazis and white supremacists on extremist sites."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Is NBC not to one's liking, either? Then let's rake a look at what the AP had to say.

apnews.com/35e45f6d09e347…

Archived copy:

archive.is/Q0GuT

Quoting ...

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "Before a 19-year-old gunman opened fire on a famed garlic festival in his California hometown, he urged his Instagram followers to read a 19th century book popular with white supremacists on extremist websites"

...

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "Santino William Legan posted the caption about the book 'Might is Right,' which claims race determines behavior."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky "It appeared with a photo of Smokey the Bear in front of a 'fire danger' sign and also complained about overcrowding towns and paving open space to make room for 'hordes' of Latinos and Silicon Valley whites."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Now, let us take a look at the victims.

sfgate.com/bayarea/articl…

Stephen Romero. Our "hero" gunned down a six year old boy. Not that this makes the child's murder any more or less a murder, but let us note that like his father (whose photo we see above), he's obviously a Latino

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Here's another. Her name was Keyla Salazar. Notice a trend, yet, Mr. Widlund?

nypost.com/2019/07/29/13-…

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Let's look at the third of the three victims.

syracuse.com/crime/2019/07/…

Trevor Irby. You might have noticed that he's black.

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky So, let's sum up what we've found so far: the shooter, in advance, announced his hostility toward Latin people, and killed two of them. He promotes a violence encouraging white supremacist work, before murdering three people of color (and not even a single Caucasian).

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Why would people think that, gee, gosh, maybe, just maybe racism might have played a little tiny role in this?

Would Kirk like me to draw him a road map? How does he manage to lose his way before coming to such an obvious conclusion?

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky The answer is a simple one: Smirkin' Kirk Widlund wasn't confused on this point, at all. He's just a smirking sociopath, absolutely amoral. Here, we can watch him lie about the current discussion

http://web.archive.org/web/20190731105316/https://twitter.com/KirkKNUS/status/1156354102370033664

as he leaves no doubt as to what kind of "centrist" he is.

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky If he deletes it, you can see the archived copy, above.

https://twitter.com/KirkKNUS/status/1156354102370033664

To merely express opposition to the encouragement of racial violence is enough to get one branded a "leftist" by this "man."

And I do use that last word as loosely as Kirk used the word "leftist."

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky Maybe more so.

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky One other thing ... we're apparently supposed to stop being such negative nancies and feel more positive about the racially motivated murder of children.

https://twitter.com/KirkKNUS/status/1155905449142542337

http://web.archive.org/web/20190731122859/https://twitter.com/KirkKNUS/status/1155905449142542337

Check it out for yourself. That's actually their position.

@_centrists_ @KirkKNUS @threadreaderapp @mcspocky What sad, awful people we are for not supporting them in their incitement of racial violence? That's the position we're supposed to respect?

Yes, that's Naziism in all but name, and an unsually entitled form on Naziism, at that.