Its become apparent to most that Jared Loughner is probably suffering from some form of mental illness. While that's an important part of understanding what drove Loughner to launch his deadly attack, it is only one component. Loughner postings on the internet including sites like YouTube and the conspiracy site Above Top Secret arwe important clues to Loughner's state of mind at the time of his shooting rampage.
This morning N.P.R. featured a piece by Wade Goodwyn on Loughner's state of mind that sheds some light on this controversial topic.
I've transcribed some of the audio, but people should listen to the complete five plus minute piece at the link below.
A Look Inside Loughner's Mind Reveals Our Own
Wade Goodwyn: Giffords accused gunman Jared Loughner left a trail of evidence on the internet, clues about his state of mind. Mark Potok is the director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and he's been combing through Loughner writings.
Mark Potok: And I saw quite clearly overall he was very mentally ill, and also virtually illiterate, extremely difficult to follow.
Wade Goodwyn: Potok says beneath the rambling discourse, a hint, an outline of political ideology is evident.
Mark Potok: I also felt this was a person who was mentally ill, who had absorbed some very particular ideas from the Radical Right, and in particular from conspiracy theorists on the Radical Right.
Wade Goodwyn: Potok believes that though Loughner is mentally disturbed, its no accident that he allegedly targeted Giffords.
Mark Potok: It seems to me just as likely that someone like Loughner might have targeted his own family, or a McDonald's restaurant, or an elementary school God help us. But he choose to attack the highest representative of the Federal Government in his area. So I think its legitimate to wonder how did this man select his targets. That seems to me distinct from somehow trying to blame Sarah Palin.
Loughner's writings on YouTube, My Space, and a conspiracy website called Above Top Secret reveal above all a deep distrust of the Federal Government. Some of his posts reflect relatively conventional Far Right Wing ideas, for example that American currency is worthless because its not backed by gold and silver.
snip
Wade Goodwyn: Loughner also wrote about the Government trying to use grammar to enslave citizens through mind control. A theory he may have borrowed from patriot conspiracy theorist David Wynn Miller.
Chip Berlet of Political Research Associates says Loughner also wrote about something called the Second American Constitution. That refers to the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments after Reconstruction, which freed the Slaves, and granted citizenship to anyone born in the U.S.
Chip Berlet: In White Supremacist Circles and in certain Right Wing Conspiracy circles the argument is that these Reconstruction Amendments invalidated the actual first legitimate Constitution, and that ever since then the Government of the United States has been operating illegally.
We have no way to know for certain exactly what was going through Jared Loughner's mind when he opened fire on Gabrielle Giffords and the people around her. We do know Loughner was probably mentally ill. We also know that Loughner was a believer in a number of far fetched Right Wing conspiracy theories.
I can't help but wonder if the delusions of a mental illness could have meshed with the delusional world view of the Far Right, feeding off of each other is a kind of feedback loop from hell, building up an extremely volatile mixture that eventually erupted in a deadly shooting spree.
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Jared Lee Loughner apparently sought community online at Abovetopsecret.com