Kirk & the Sick Face of Online Gore Forums

Letter to Ephesians: Is there any doubt online “gore” forums are a ‘gateway to extremism’, not only in the senseless murder of Charlie Kirk, but as almost prophesized in earlier mass shootings that have been normalizing horror for kids?

The Fox News coverage noted how authorities are looking at the online activity of the 22-year-old suspect charged with the murder of the conservative & Christian activist & how experts are warning “digital subcultures are increasingly fueling such acts of violence.” This time, the accused Tyler Robinson is said to have carried out a carefully planned attack. But, unlike most mass shooters who expect to die during their attacks, we're told, "Robinson devised escape routes & left behind a detailed digital trail” before supposedly being talked into turning himself in to authorities to protect his sorry hide. Almost as if ala a video game or with the aid of an online forum? “This one is incredibly interesting because of how long he says … he had been planning this & for how long it seems like he laid in wait,” said George Brauchler, a prosecutor who has handled some of the nation’s most high-profile mass shootings. “Most of them have plans to die right there, either by their hand or the good guys who stop them.”

Remember the Columbine school slaughter, for instance, and compare. What’s changed since 1999, Brauchler said, is the “digital landscape,” in which “online forums amplify manifestos, glorify killers & celebrate body counts like video game scores.” It was no coincidence, we’re told, that “After Kirk’s murder, graphic crime scene images spread within minutes – a chilling reminder of cultural desensitization.” It’s also a chilling reminder of how the Internet & social media has also been weaponized, arguably turned into a “participant” in real time mayhem. Some social interaction. Some entertainment.  

Davd Soul