By now, you've heard about Elliot Rodger, the man who killed six people and wounded thirteen others in a deadly shooting rampage near UC Santa Barbara on Friday night. Hours before the killing began, the 22-year-old Santa Barbara City College student posted a YouTube video in which he expressed rage over his perceived rejection by women and vowed to exact "retribution."
Video Rant, Then Deadly Rampage in California Town
Rodger also outlined his intentions to kill as many people as possible in a rambling, hateful 140-page manifesto, with graphic, detailed descriptions of how he would "punish" his enemies, starting with his two Asian roommates to the members of Alpha Phi, which he called "the hottest sorority of UCSB."
The killing rampage started in his apartment in Isla Vista, where Rodger repeatedly stabbed his roommates, James Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, and George Chen, 19, and their friend, Weihan Wang, 20, who was apparently visiting. All three victims were students at UC Santa Barbara, and hailed from the Bay Area.
Santa Barbara Killer Began By Stabbing 3 in His Home
The violence spilled onto the streets, where Rodger, armed with three semiautomatic handguns, opened fire on bystanders and shot to death three UC Santa Barbara students. They were identified as Katherine Breann Cooper, 22; Veronika Elizabeth Weiss, 19; and Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, 20. At least 13 others were wounded before Rodger took his own life.
If you've watched the video or read the manifesto -- and honestly, I wouldn't recommend it -- it's frighteningly apparent that this is not simply about one "crazy" individual. That's too convenient.
I've been sifting through the deluge of news articles, commentaries and tweets about this tragedy, trying to make sense of Rodger's motivations and what led him to his murderous spree -- an obsession with white women as some sort of prize; his involvement with the pick-up artist community and that Men's Rights bullshit; his declaration of "War on Women"; feeling different because of his mixed-race identity; his disgust for other Asians. It's dizzying.
I'm not going to take up space pretending I have any answers, but I know for sure that the world -- and especially women -- did not owe Elliot Rodger a goddamn thing. Here's all I can come up with, for now: fuck this guy. Fuck this coward and fuck the misogyny, entitlement and self-hatred that blinded him into believing that violent "retribution" was his only option. This was a hate crime. And Elliot Rodger hated a lot of people.
Some more reading:
All 6 victims in Isla Vista slayings were UCSB students
Weihan "David" Wang Wanted to Move Out of Isla Vista Apartment With Elliot Rodger: Parents
Shooting Suspect Elliot Rodger's Misogynistic Posts Point to Motive
#YesAllWomen Shows That Misogyny Is Everyone's Problem
Campus Killings Set Off Anguished Conversation About the Treatment of Women
What a close read of the Isla Vista shooter's horrific manifesto, "My Twisted World," says about his values -- and ours
Elliot Rodger's manifesto shows self-hate fueled anti-Asian violence that kicked off Isla Vista rampage
Race, Gender and Rage: My Peek Into the Twisted World of Elliot Rodger
On Not Reading Elliot Rodger