Everything (almost) no one's talking about re: Tyler Robinson

My roommate and I are pretty different people in a number of ways, not the least of which is his grasp of (and my indifference to) things like DragonCon, cosplay, online gameplay and social interaction outside of traditional social media. His interest in a lot of that, along with is being a regular listener of the LawFare podcast "Rational Security" lead him to recommending a recent episode: "The 'Ten Years, Still Off-Key' Edition."

In that episode's first 20 minutes or so, host Scott R. Andeson and The Atlantic's Shane Harris discuss a key element to the Tyler Robinson / Charlie Kirk assassination story that almost no one is talking about: the connections between online radicalization and young men like Robinson who are behind many recent public acts of gun violence.

The "too long/didn't listen" summation: everyone (left and right) seems eager to only make motivations about political ideology when online radicalization looms as a greater ingredient for the toxic stew that led to Kirk's assassination, along with other high profile cases Harris alludes to in this conversation.

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That being said, it was an experience of my own - having dated a closeted Mormon man for more than a year about two decades ago - that provides some insight into why a Tyler Robinson - Mormon, conservative family, southwest Utah resident with something of a same-sex attraction - found himself to be something of a 'loner' drawn to acceptance in an online community in the first place. Also, I've learned a lot about what 'stochastic terrorism' is and it turns out I've been fumbling around, rhetorically about it in recent weeks not knowing there was even a term for it, but damned if it doesn't seem appropriate to discuss now, no?

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That doesn't mean, however, the far-right talking heads like Scott Jennings and The Federalist's Brianna Lyman aren't still working hard to paint this narrative that Charlie Kirk's assassination and any social media celebration of it is somehow “representative of a large part of the left.” CNN's Abby Phillip, along with Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden, held that fire line in place ... for now.

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An op/ed I somehow stumbled onto from Unfinished Man writer Sean Shopman warns of "The Deadly Trap Tyler Robinson Fell Into: What Every Young Man Needs to Learn Before It's Too Late." I found it profound and share-worthy.

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Finally, the sudden and quizzical shelving of Jimmy Kimmel from ABC -TV late night is both mystifying (his statement Monday was factual and frankly, he's had sharper takes ...) and alarming for free speech in a tense era. It's why I believe now, more than ever, if the American experiment is going to survive this dark chapter, we're going to need independent journalists to guide us.