Oh, shit. The Ohio shooter may be a "Satanist..."

This is not what non-Christians need right now.

So … like many Americans, I’m feeling stressed by the latest series of mass shootings. And like many skeptics I’m concerned about the rise of Trumpism, QAnon, White Nationalism and Christian Dominionism.

As of the moment I’m writing this, the mainstream media has come up short on any associations Connor Betts, the Ohio shooting suspect, may have. But I just saw his photo, noticed his patch, and within 2 minutes, found AGAINST ALL GODS as a design by Blackcraft Cult, an apparel company:

The image is here. (Sorry, I’m on Android.)
The Ohio shooter https://imgur.com/a/FYw0OUd

According to its website:

BlackCraft Cult are firm believers that you don't need God or any organized belief system in order to be a good person. To be kind to all man and animal kind, and do positive things for others. ...

At BlackCraft, we live by the ethos of kindness, gratitude, and positivity. We celebrate self-empowerment, self-expression, and all aspects of life that encourage personal freedom.


I don’t see the word “Satanism” anywhere, but I don’t need to. The symbology on all their products is clearly Satanic:

And by “Satanic,” I mean Satanic Temple Satanic:

The company has a blog of events including protests against the Westboro Baptist Church. It’s them.

Now… I am not a Satanist. But I am pretty well-versed in religions. I understand these Satanists are actually atheists who like “Satan” as a symbol of freedom.

The group’s “Seven Tenets” are ethically superior to The Ten Commandments:

These Satanists aren’t sacrificing virgins or killing puppies.

AND, this kid is just wearing a shirt. We don’t know if it’s his, and if it is, we don’t know if he purchased it with any intent to do anything but look cool. There is no indication anywhere of any “deviant” behaviors.

But the Christian Right is feeling super defensive right now. They will attempt to frame an entire narrative about The Godless.

I can hear it now.

Ugh.

Nothing to do with right wing white supremacist ideology??

(To Player…I don’t see a “reply” option)

The Ohio shooter? No, not as of news reports 1/2 hour ago. They found writings that he wanted to experience killing people, but nothing about political or religious motives. The crowd was mixed, and his own sister is among the dead.

And it is apparently a huge shock as he was “the nicest kid you’d ever meet” and his family APPEARED functional and loving.

 

We shall see in the following days…

the manifesto hasnt come out yet

I have read the Manifestos of the Poway synagogue shooter and the El Paso Walmart shooter.

I’ve not heard any suggestion the Ohio shooter had one. Have you?

 

Not yet. Alpha male???

The Satanic Temple? That’s new to me. They should be careful, someone will accuse them of being Communists who will turn us into Venezuela. (There was something about justice in one of their tenets, so they’re not going to be thought of well by anyone on the right.)

Oh, they have been around for 5 years or so, and people on the Right are already unhappy with them since the whole reason they were founded was to be a counterweight.

You may have seen coverage of The Satanic Temple demanding the right to put Satanic plaques and statues in public buildings. They do it to make a point about the First Amendment Establishment Clause when Evangelical Christians demand the same for Christian displays. They don’t actually believe in the Devil. And they are separate from Leveyan Satanists and the Temple of Set.

 

I don’t know.

 

Probably his situation isn’t so simple that it can be plugged into a formula of a couple of words.

Not sure if Sherlock meant to do this or not, but I just saw how convoluted the logic is. People who don’t want more gun legislation will say that guns are not the problem. A gun is an inanimate object. Only a person can cause violence. But, a movie poster with a gun in it can cause someone to be violent. A plastic cartridge with a video game in it can. It’s apparently worse if you WEREN’T raised around guns because then you don’t understand and respect them. But, if you mention that we hand guns to young people and pay them to go kill people in other countries, for, freedom, or something, well, you’re a liberal who thinks peace is won by being peaceful. Show a preacher telling soldiers that they are doing God’s work, and you’re anti-religious. Mention pretty much anything in reality to do with guns and that will be dismissed as not a cause for gun violence.

 

100% agree.

I have never been able to comprehend it.

I fired a gun one time, a 357 Magnum on a shooting range, with a cop. It kind of freaked me out. I realized I had the power to suck another’s life away, with my finger. I never wanted to touch one again.

Well, the thing about violence in TV, movies and videogames is a factor… but look at Japan. Their teen videogame culture is extraordinarily violent, yet they have virtually no gun crime because they have virtually no guns.

 

The entire debate about “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” insanely misses the point: Yes, people kill each other with knives, baseball bats, guns, cars, etc. etc.

But just yesterday in the US, we had a kid kill 9 people and wound 27 others in 33 seconds. Had he not been shot dead at that moment, police say, he could have killed hundreds, based on the ammunition he brought. And this happened within 24 hours of another shooting that killed 20 and injured dozens more, within minutes.

No knife or rock will kill that many people in that period of time. Other methods of mass killings, like bombs, take much more expertise.

Hunt deer. Protect your home. I’m fine with that. But there is literally no reason for the average person to have this kind of weapon.

Guns are tools that have been specifically designed to kill. Many guns are designed primarily to kill people. They are quite effective in that respect.

My best friend was a lover and collector of guns. He had many. He died almost immediately when he accidentally shot himself earlier this year.

It was not hatred or mental health issues or white supremacy that killed him. It was somehow awkwardly and unintentionally getting a finger on the trigger when the gun was pointed at his body, and causing the gun to do its job - to kill.

I’m tired of guns killing innocent people. F#@k the right to keep and bear arms. Regulate the crap out of them or get rid of them.

Amen.

No manifesto. Just your plain jane average joe lunatic

This is not what non-Christians need right now.

So … like many Americans, I’m feeling stressed by the latest series of mass shootings. And like many skeptics I’m concerned about the rise of Trumpism, QAnon, White Nationalism and Christian Dominionism.

As of the moment I’m writing this, the mainstream media has come up short on any associations Connor Betts, the Ohio shooting suspect, may have. But I just saw his photo, noticed his patch, and within 2 minutes, found AGAINST ALL GODS as a design by Blackcraft Cult, an apparel company:

The image is here. (Sorry, I’m on Android.)
The Ohio shooter https://imgur.com/a/FYw0OUd

According to its website:

BlackCraft Cult are firm believers that you don’t need God or any organized belief system in order to be a good person. To be kind to all man and animal kind, and do positive things for others. …

At BlackCraft, we live by the ethos of kindness, gratitude, and positivity. We celebrate self-empowerment, self-expression, and all aspects of life that encourage personal freedom.
I don’t see the word “Satanism” anywhere, but I don’t need to. The symbology on all their products is clearly Satanic:

And by “Satanic,” I mean Satanic Temple Satanic:

The company has a blog of events including protests against the Westboro Baptist Church. It’s them.

Now… I am not a Satanist. But I am pretty well-versed in religions. I understand these Satanists are actually atheists who like “Satan” as a symbol of freedom.

The group’s “Seven Tenets” are ethically superior to The Ten Commandments:

These Satanists aren’t sacrificing virgins or killing puppies.

AND, this kid is just wearing a shirt. We don’t know if it’s his, and if it is, we don’t know if he purchased it with any intent to do anything but look cool. There is no indication anywhere of any “deviant” behaviors.

But the Christian Right is feeling super defensive right now. They will attempt to frame an entire narrative about The Godless.

I can hear it now.

Ugh.


Yeah, satanism of that kind is just something for misanthropic nerds. Anton LeVey’s Church of Satan is the original and this one looks like a cheap rip-off of it. Harmless in itself but a lot of young atheists could easily fit in there.

The only problem is that social miscreants like this kid are inevitably drawn to these kind of fringe organizations because it’s one of the few places they think they’ll be accepted, and these individuals always have a long list of problems.

No matter though, “satan” is at the bottom of the list of potential influences the public will focus on. Racism will be at the top.