Another person radicalized by 4chan

Discussion in 'Political Discussions' started by Dustin, May 16, 2022.

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  1. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    The recent shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo was a "racist hate crime", police say. The shooter, 18, killed 10 people and wounded 3 others.

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-sunday/index.html

    I've been reading the 180 page manifesto he uploaded before the murders. It's explicit about the way he was radicalized via 4chan. Some of it is plagiarized from another shooter's manifesto who he describes as his inspiration.

    A lot of the manifesto is made up of memes. Much of it is false: there are references to passages in the Torah that aren't really there. Statistics that don't bear out. It has the veneer of being researched until you actually know anything about the topics at hand.

    He describes himself as an intolerant fascist racist anti-Semitic neo-Nazi...but not a conservative.

    What responsibility do content hosts like 4chan have in preventing people from being radicalized? I don't mean legally, Section 230 isn't going away just yet.

    Morally though? He said that the thing that "opened his eyes" was seeing video of the Christchurch shooting on 4chan and reading /pol during the 2020 lockdowns. He was exposed to these racist memes with no counterpoint.

    I worry that my kids will find themselves radicalized in this same way, especially as they share less of their online activities with me.
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  2. JBjunior

    JBjunior Active Member

    It is scary & very concerning. Our children, and anyone, can learn in the privacy of our homes in spectacular, rewarding, and disturbing ways. Are the hosts responsible? Sure. Do I wish they didn't exist in this manner? Absolutely. Ultimately, for our children at least, it is our responsibility to navigate them through these sort of things. I have found having honest discussions with my children about what exists out there, internet or otherwise, allows me to be part of the conversation instead of hoping they never find these things out on their own. The radicalization happens in isolation; they think they aren't isolated because they find a "support" system of people to help wade through the process but it is filled with trolls and anonymous people that often don't even believe the things they are espousing and are doing it for their own enjoyment "playing" online. The strange phenomenon of people's behavior on the internet, when they say and do things they would never do otherwise, is fascinating.
     
  3. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  4. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    . I'm heartbroken with this evil act. had use a search engine to understand what is 4Chan. One of several mega boards. It appears they all servers communication hubs for all sorts of illicit and evil actors, as well as others with diverse interests. As you may remember, I fear 'Big Brother' but, I wonder could and should the DoJ monitor the users, particularly the ones that frequent the violent and very illicit sections of these megaboards without interfering with the rights of the innocent.
     
  5. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    They already monitor everything.
     
  6. Flelmo

    Flelmo New Member

    I'm 1000% sure the FBI monitors these boards already. Monitoring doesn't trample on any rights. The problem is where does free speech end and where does criminal conspiracy begin, and how many resources need to be dedicated to "shitposters".
     
  7. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    Yes, the FBI monitors 4chan (and other boards). This was made most obvious in 2015 when the FBI tipped off Wilfried Laurier University about a threat on 4chan received between 5 and 6am: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/wilfrid-laurier-university-lockdown-1.3274032

    They wouldn't have seen that by chance.

    There's a couple interesting documentaries on this. One is called Enemies of the State, about a man named Matt DeHart who was charged with sex crimes which he claimed was retaliation for possessing classified information about the US involvement in a variety of crimes. (I don't believe him but it's an interesting journey through the government surveillance apparatus.)

    The other is called Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop, about an NYPD patrol officer named Gilberto Valle who was discussing plans to kidnap a woman and eat her. He was charged with conspiracy, and the documentary asks the question when do thoughts become a conspiracy? For example, he talked about building a torture chamber in his basement, but that was a lie. He discussed preparing for the crime by buying tools, but he didn't actually buy any. He maintained it was all a work of elaborate fantasy - however he did access the NCIC database to find a "target" and posted their information on one of these chatrooms.
     
    Charles Fout likes this.
  8. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    Yes. I wonder could they go granular and focus on particular individuals to engage in preemptive policing.
     
  9. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    White replacement theory is many decades old. I'm an old white man. I'm proud that I've done my part. My three offspring are half Mexican.

    What made me cry was an interview with a black women. She said she was now afraid of white people when she went out in public. This is EXACTLY what that worthless creep was trying to accomplish! Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump have both contributed to this caustic horrible replacement theory nonsense. The Republican party, in general, pushes this disgusting replacement theory nonsense.
     
  10. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    White replacement theory: yes, in a decade or so the white component of the US population will no longer be a majority. The racists in this country need to get over it. It is not some stupid conspiracy. It is just the way the birth rates of various communities are working out. Minorities have been told, "work hard and the American dream is possible for you". What the racists don't realize is that that rule is true for us white folks as well. I'm looking forward to whites being a minority. Hopefully it will dilute the racists and make them an even smaller minority. Heck, eventually if the Republican party is to survive even they will have to start pursuing minorities to join their party instead of just figuring out how to prevent them from voting.
     
  11. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    I have a morbid curiosity that I'm not proud of. I watched the video. It was bad. That's all I can bring myself to say about it. In an unfortunate way, watching things like this helps me to understand the need for empathy, to comfort those who are grieving, and to appreciate the life I have. My problems seem embarrassingly trivial right now.

    Which isn't a problem in and of itself. But in today's political climate, those loudly cheering it on absolutely don't come off as passive observers of the phenomenon.
     
  12. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Well, I guess I did cheer it on. I was trying to make fun of the folks that fear it though. I really didn't get married to a Mexican so my offspring wouldn't be white. I just didn't think about it and don't really care about that. I don't remember seeing anyone really cheering it on except perhaps in the same way that I did?

    If I came off as a maniacal manipulator in control of our social fabric and the balance between the minorities and white folks then I guess the truth has come out about my secret powers?

    :eek::oops::rolleyes::p:cool::D
     
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  13. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    I don't get what you try to imply here.
     
  14. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Only one party is doing this.
     
  15. Charles Fout

    Charles Fout Active Member

    Fascinating. 'Mexican' is a nationality. Mexicans may be of any ethnicity. I have no doubt your family is beautiful inside and out, regardless of the color of their eyes and hair.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  16. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    She was Mexican when we got married. She later became a US citizen.
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  17. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    Growing up 10 miles from Mexico, I can say that, in practice, this isn't so. "Mexican" where we lived meant someone of Mexican heritage, not only someone from Mexico. I went to school with a lot of Mexicans who were born and raised in the US. We sometimes used "Mexican-American" in the classroom, but they were Mexicans or Chicanos, no matter where they grew up or lived.
     
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  18. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

    Very true for half of the places that I have lived, El Paso, Phoenix, and San Diego. Not as true in Utah, Sacramento and Berkeley.
     
  19. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I speculate about who funds sites like these and feeds the hate material, sows the seeds, if there is in addition to local also Chi-com money, Russian and others who are contributing to destabilization and polarization of the people.
     
    Bill Huffman likes this.
  20. Bill Huffman

    Bill Huffman Well-Known Member

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