There's been a lot written about Jared Loughner, and what might have motivated him to go on his horrific killing spree in Tucson. There have been lots of theories and accusations and suppositions, but very little in the way of concrete data. All we have to go on are his incomprehensible videos and 2nd hand anecdotes from aquaintences. I hope this will be my last treatise on this sick and twisted individual.

The most popular meme in the circus of talking heads is that the "angry rhetoric" and violence-suggestive gun-focused talking points from Republican leaders and pundits is to blame. I initially felt that way as well. After all, it hasn't been that long since a church was shot up for being "liberal", and an abortion doctor was killed. It all fits the pattern, right?

I believe it fits a pattern, yes, but not one provoked by violent gun rhetoric. Instead, I think it falls under the umbrella of paranoid delusion, inflamed by a drumbeat of "the government is out to get you" conspiracy theory.

To get a better understanding of why this might be the case, there is this excellent piece focusing on the semantics of the ongoing discussion. In his conclusion, he writes:

So - does this get Glenn Beck and the others off the hook? Not really. One can only speculate whether they intended this as a result of their rants. However, they should have at least considered their target audience. The vast majority of the people that hang on every word from Beck and the others would never conceive of picking up a gun and using it against their fellow citizens. There are those, however, diseased of mind or devoid of soul, that will internalize that creeping paranoia, that sense of desperation and futility, and lash out.

What about those on the left? I certainly remember during the darkest depths of the Bush administration the paranoid conspiracies promulgated on message forums and hushed discussions in the corners of taverns. We all thought that the facists were going to create a false flag attack and use it as an excuse to invoke Marshall Law. Smart, sound-of-mind friends had plans to escape to Canada, or what they would do when the Blackwater thugs came to round us up. Certain things just weren't discussed on cell phones, because everyone thought theirs might be tapped. A bit of hubris on us all, perhaps?

The big difference here, of course, is the reaction. Most people, from the far left to almost the far right would not dream of taking up weapons against the government, should the government come banging down the front door. Despite macho talk to the contrary, most people know that a firefight against US soldiers is an exercise in futility and an instant death sentence.

What kind of person, though, would make a pre-emptive attack against a perceived threat, be it a member of Congress or a church, or an IRS building? I submit that the more liberal a person is, the less likely they would be to do so. We are, after all, anti-war and anti-violence, and - according to the fear-mongers on the right - trying to take away everyone's guns. How likely is it, then, that someone on the left would use a gun to commit a violent act against another human?

This is not to suggest that Jared Loughner was a right-winger. He likely did not hew left or right in a traditional political way. I DO suggest that the paranoid conspiratorial drumbeat from the right-wing politicians and pundits fed the anger and paranoia in his diseased mind until it saw only one answer.

Regardless of who is in charge (Republican or Democrat or Other), I expect that there will always be those who make a living feeding the fear of those in the minority with ridiculous theories concocted from bad logic and supposition. Unfortunately, this will push the ill of mind to make plans to "get them before they get you".

Trust me.