A teachable moment

I'm surprised there hasn't been more comment on the lefty blogs about George Sodini, the wingnut who shot up a Pittsburgh gym full of young women, killing three. Pandagon covered it from the "nice guy" angle, but the overall effort seemed half-hearted. I understand. We know all about these people. Wingnut on a murder spree? It's like commenting on the weather. Sure is hot. Yep. The New York Times didn't even mention it.

But he fact that Sodini is an archetypical wingnut should be played for all it's worth. Sexually frustrated, bullied, Christian fruitcake, gun nut, Obama hater:

Sodini's first entry on Nov. 5, 2008, was a racist rant about President Obama and black men. The seeds of slaughter were sown in subsequent entries, where he complained about not having had a girlfriend "since 1984."

Sodini dismissed his dad as a "useless sperm donor." He raged against his "useless bully" brother. He called his mother "The Central Boss." He blasted his former pastor.

"This guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven," Sodini wrote.

Couldn't get laid for 20 years? Hell, I'm no great catch these days and women still occasionally flirt with me. That guy was in decent shape and had a job and couldn't get a date. Dude must have put off a seriously fucked up vibe. And Jesus gave him permission to kill. Now he's in heaven.

The wider audience, the regular people who don't read deep into the news, need to be introduced to these people. Mass murder is what some refer to as a "teachable moment." Oh well, it looks like there will be way too many of these teachable moments. Maybe next time a wingnut goes on a murder spree it will get the coverage it merits. Maybe tomorrow. It won't be long.