Nihilistic Crime, Even Terrorism, Is Afoot

Letter to Ephesians: I had just watched an old Sherlock Holmes “Elementary” show about a series of “motive-less” murders that seemed impossible to solve. Then, I read a report about experts warning an “Office shooter’s rampage shows terrifying rise of motive-free violence.” There’s a T-Factor, too ...

Sherlock’s dilemma was that the lack of motive would make it so much harder for sleuths like himself to predict a killer’s next move or victim. Apparently, our non- fictional crime experts are also noticing how recent attackers “share a common profile of alienation and despair but remain hard to identify” ... and, if you can’t identify a would-be killer, how in the world are you going to stop him or her? A case in point, the Fox coverage noted, was that mass shooting in New York City last month leaving four dead. “Nihilistic violence is destruction for its own sake,” said NY psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert. “It isn’t about money, ideology, or revenge; rather, it’s violence born of emptiness ... the act itself is the message: a statement of meaninglessness, a way of saying ‘nothing matters, so I’ll be destructive.’”

Worse, even terrorists are getting in on the act. In 2024, e.g., 65% of terrorist attacks in Western countries couldn’t be tied to any belief system. If true, the prognosis is not good, even for a Sherlock working with the CIA & FBI, since motive-less terrorists are even more unpredictable & even harder to profile.” Without hope, then, is Sherlock left with lamely uttering, “Watson, the needle?”

Davd Soul