Georgia Shooter's Motives. The Scramble.

     "Please don't let it be one of ours."

That is the silent prayer of politically-engaged people upon news of another mass shooting. First the breaking news. Then, almost immediately, the motive-blame-game.

Whose team was he on? The murders were a symbol, of course. But of what?

Accused killer

On Tuesday, March 16, apparently Robert Aaron Long, a White 21-year-old man, went into two spa locations in Georgia and shot and killed eight people. That was the breaking news.  

Then the scramble. Who was this guy and what was his motive?  Motive would be the hook that would justify commentary on the bigger story of the deep rot in American culture. The big question is which deep rot. 

Is this a story about a lone-wolf crazy guy--and therefore evidence of the failure of our mental health system?

Is this a story about an abusive parent or ugly divorce--and therefore part of the narrative of American family disfunction?

Was Long a drug user--so is this a story about the dangers of drugs?

And then, the most consequential question: which political team to blame.

Was he Muslim? Was he an immigrant? Oh, how delicious for Fox News and Trump and their narrative of radical Islam or immigrants bringing crime.

Was he a Trump supporter? Oh, how delicious for the left if the narrative of violent lawless Trump-supporters was re-energized, linking this event to the Capitol assault.

Was he a church-going Evangelical Christian, motivated by Christian Nationalism? Oh, how delicious for secular Americans to witness another iteration of hate-thy-neighbor Christian hypocrisy.

CNN

Was this a racial hate-crime, in the form of White-against-Asians, or perhaps more narrowly, White against sexually-objectified and fetishized Asian women? 

There was a scramble to define where the rot is, and the winner was race. 

Mainstream news sources are publishing multiple stories premised on this event being another iteration of  the long history of White prejudice against Asians--with a little boost from Trump calling COVID the "China virus." The women killed were from Korea, not China, but most White Americans cannot tell the difference and don't care.

There is a rich vein to mine for story angles. Discrimination against Chinese miners in 1849 California. The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. The Japanese Internment in World War Two. Attacks on convenience stores owned by Koreans. Harassment incidents. College admissions ratios. Tiger moms.  Asian women objectified. Low numbers of Asians in Congress.

The accused murderer himself reported a motive. He said he had a sex addition and he wanted to eliminate the source of his temptation.

The very first news about Long mentioned his close association with a Baptist congregation. The early scramble to cast blame left open the potential that the real story was going to be "Evangelical Christian terrorist goes on killing spree inspired by violent teachings of his racist church." His Church--the Crabapple First Baptist Church--deflected this potential story line, promptly repudiating his actions as antithetical to their beliefs. 

We were absolutely devastated at this senseless loss of life and callous disregard for human beings created in the image of God. . . . These unthinkable and egregious murders directly contradict his own confession of faith in Jesus and the gospel.

We want to be clear that this extreme and wicked act is nothing less than rebellion against our Holy God and His Word. Aaron’s actions are antithetical to everything that we believe and teach as a church. In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the actions of Aaron Long as well as his stated reasons for carrying out this wicked plan. The shootings were a total repudiation of our faith and practice, and such actions are completely unacceptable and contrary to the gospel. Click for full statement

The consensus mainstream media stories are a mixed blessing for the political left. It continues the narrative that racism intrudes everywhere. That looks like a "win," and certainly it is better for the left than a clear narrative loss, as would be the case if the murders were done by a Muslim, an immigrant, or a person carrying Biden campaign material. 

But the left is making a persistent error in political consequence. The establishment media jumped to a conclusion that this is a race crime. That isn't demonstrably untrue, but it is far from proven. Maybe Long is just a pathetic, conflicted, murderous criminal who killed the spa workers because they were workers in a spa where he got "happy ending" massages and felt guilty about it. Or did not get them, but wanted them and was angry. 

Race is an important problem in America, but the politics of it are terrible for the left. The left is talking about race when they could be talking about reducing child poverty. White Americans are touchy about being called racist or anti-Semitic even if--especially if--there is some truth to it. They think the left is over-eager to find racism in everything, immediately. Possibly, in time, there will be good evidence that Long was motivated by racial animus, but the quick jump to that conclusion is what a great many Americans think is wrong with the left.

His church gives a different explanation for what might have motivated their church member. Humans are miserable sinners inclined to do evil.

III. OF THE FALL OF MAN

We believe that man was created in holiness, under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy state; in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but choice; being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse. [Statement of Faith, Crabapple Baptist Church]