Incels and school shooters: shooting spree in isla vista, california
- 2014 - 2014
- United States
Identification of the Source
Participation D4.4 The gender dimension in extremist and radical propaganda
Keywords
Incel, School shooting,Description
While there had previously been mass killings aimed at women, the event that plays a foundational role in Incel culture was the shooting spree in Isla Vista, California, in May 2014. The shooter was a university student at the time, and it is important dimensions of his violence and its reception are framed by the place of school shooters within North America. By 2014, he had an extensive social media presence where he detailed his anger at his virginity and his determination to make women pay for his situation. He attempted to gain entry to a female student residential hall, and finding his access blocked, he shot and killed two female students outside the residence, then returned to his car and drove shooting randomly, injuring 14 other people and killing another young man. Before undertaking this attack, the shooters had stabbed to death his three male house mates. At the point it became clear that he was about to be apprehended by police, he turned his weapon on himself and killed himself.
The Isla Vista shooter posted online a 140-page manifesto on the morning of his attack90 as well as video where he read extracts from it and announces the killings he intends to undertake. In these he describes not only his anger at his failure to develop intimate relationships with women. He offers an insight into the way he understands violence. Violence for the shooter is an act of punishment, framed within an imaginary of power:
“Humanity has never accepted me among them, and now I know why. I am more than human. I am superior to them all. I am [his name]… Magnificent, glorious, supreme, eminent… Divine! I am the closest thing there is to a living god’”
From the perspective of this greatness, the shooter’s failure to establish a relationship with women only has one explanation: the malevolent action of those who have rejected him. This frames violence as punishment, as vengeance:
“Every single time I’ve seen a guy walk around with his beautiful girlfriend, I’ve always wanted to kill them both in the most painful way possible. They deserve it. They must be punished. The males deserve to be punished for living a better and more pleasurable life than me, and the females deserve to be punished for giving that pleasurable life to those males instead of me. On the Day of Retribution, I will finally be able to punish them ALL”
The shooter’s deification of himself (I am divine) draws on a religious imaginary, as also does the idea of “just retribution”. For him, it is his god-like nature that gives him the right to take the lives of those who have rejected him.
There is a fundamental structure at work in this communication: the shooter believes that his greatness will be revealed through the scale and enormity of the killing he will undertake.
He is a university student, and he plans to take vengeance upon female students. The violence he is planning is not instrumental, he is aiming to obliterate the source of his pain. The imaginary of violence here is one of purification:
“Humanity is a disgusting, depraved, and evil species. It is my purpose to punish them all. I will purify the world of everything that is wrong with it. On the Day of Retribution, I will truly be a powerful god, punishing everyone I deem to be impure and depraved”
This phrase alerts us to the affective structure of the shooter’s communication, shaped by the affect of disgust. Disgust is above all an embodied feeling, something associated with fear of what the object of disgust might be able to do. It conveys what a scholar calls a ‘truth of the body’:93 you make me sick, therefore you must be sickening. This dimension of disgust is central to Incel culture, with the majority of images of women uploaded to Incel websites framed in way to provoke the observer to feel disgust.
An affective structure built around disgust is central to hate crime, and forms the anthropological structure of racism, captured by the anthropologist Mary Douglas (2002) as the opposition between “purity” and “danger”. The object of disgust is dangerous, it is a potential source of contamination, and as such must be destroyed. This is the imaginary of violence as purification, the shooter’s claim that he will purify the world.
This is associated with an imaginary of total power. It can only be achieved through extreme violence, and can only end in the shooter’s death. He cannot imagine a future where he is arrested, taken to court, convicted and imprisoned. This would reduce him to a state of powerlessness, back to the reality of humiliation that his violence is mean to escape. He directly addresses these issues in his manifesto:
“And of course, I would have to die in the act to avoid going to prison.”
This totalising imaginary of violence and power is so great that it is not possible to envisage anything beyond this horizon. Death constitutes the temporal horizon of the Incel, where violence will cleanse, will purify, will reveal greatness, and will obliterate.
This mirrors in its entirety the structure and imaginary of violence of the school shooter. The school shooter conceives of themselves as bullied, as wrongly rejected by the school or their peers. Through violence they will fracture and obliterate their world, they will reveal their true greatness that has been unjustly hidden.
We encounter this school shooter template in the attack undertaken in Tuusula, Finland in 2007, by the Jokela shooter. He returned to his former school and killed 17 students together with the female school principal. In his manifesto, the shooter details his greatness:
“The majority of people in society are weak-minded and ignorant retards, masses that act like programmed robots and accept voluntary slavery. But not me! I am self-aware and realize what is going on in society… You can say I have a ‘god complex’, sure… Compared to you retarded masses, I am actually godlike”
Type of Crime
Mass shooting motivated by misogyny and narcissism.
Modus Operandi
The shooter was a self-proclaimed "incel", a term used by some men who blame women for their lack of sexual and romantic success.
The shooter had an extensive social media presence, where he posted a manifesto and a video announcing his plan to kill women and men who had a better life than him.
The shooter attempted to enter a female student residential hall, but failed. He then shot and killed two female students outside the residence, and drove around shooting randomly, injuring 14 people and killing another man. He also stabbed his three male housemates to death before the shooting spree.
The shooter expressed a sense of superiority, entitlement, and vengeance. He claimed to be a "god" who had the right to punish and purify the world of those who rejected him. He also expressed disgust towards women and humanity in general.
The shooter killed himself when he was about to be captured by the police. He did not envision any future beyond his violence.
People involved
The shooter, who was a university student and a self-proclaimed "incel", a term used by some men who blame women for their lack of sexual and romantic success. He had an extensive social media presence, where he posted a manifesto and a video announcing his plan to kill women and men who had a better life than him. He expressed a sense of superiority, entitlement, vengeance, disgust, and power. He killed himself after the shooting spree.
The victims, who were two female students, one male student, and three male housemates of the shooter. They were killed by the shooter either by shooting or stabbing. They were targeted by the shooter because of his resentment and hatred towards them.
The police, who tried to stop the shooter and apprehend him. They were unable to prevent the shooting spree or capture the shooter alive.
The witnesses, who were other students, residents, and bystanders who saw or heard the shooting spree. They were injured or traumatized by the shooter's violence.
Criminal History
The culprit in this case was Elliot Rodger, a 22-year-old university student who identified himself as an "incel", or involuntary celibate.
He had no prior criminal history, but he had a history of mental health issues and social isolation. He had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, at the age of seven. He had also seen several therapists and psychiatrists throughout his life, and had taken medication for his anxiety and depression. He had been bullied and rejected by his peers, especially by women, since his childhood.
He had developed a deep hatred and resentment towards women, whom he blamed for his virginity and loneliness. He had also expressed a sense of superiority, entitlement, and narcissism, claiming to be a "god" who deserved to punish and purify the world of those who wronged him.
He had an extensive social media presence, where he posted videos and a manifesto detailing his grievances and his plan to kill women and men who had a better life than him.
He called his planned attack the "Day of Retribution". He was influenced by the online subculture of incels, who share similar views and frustrations about women and society. He also admired other mass murderers, such as the Columbine shooters and the Jokela
Influential and/or vulnerable Groups
The incels, or involuntary celibates, who are a subculture of men who blame women for their lack of sexual and romantic success. They are influenced by online forums and websites that spread misogynistic and hateful messages. They are vulnerable to radicalisation and violence, as they feel alienated, resentful, and entitled. They may also suffer from mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, or autism.
The women, who are the main targets of incel violence and hatred. They are seen by incels as the source of their misery and frustration. They are subjected to harassment, abuse, and discrimination online and offline. They may also face physical danger from incel attacks, such as the Isla Vista shooting or the Toronto van attack.
The school students and staff, who are also potential victims of incel violence, especially if they are perceived by incels as having a better life than them. They may also be affected by the trauma and fear caused by school shootings, which are often carried out by incels or other disgruntled individuals. They may also face bullying or rejection from their peers or teachers, which may contribute to their isolation or radicalisation.