IGF CultureWatch

Walter Olson takes down the now-trending meme that the blame for the Orlando massacre falls on the attackers “gay self-loathing,” rather than radical Islamic jihadism:

Then there are the witness accounts, both of survivors at the Pulse scene and of those who knew Mateen before the attack. Survivors describe him as shouting during the attack about US policy toward “his” country (by which he apparently meant Afghanistan, though born in the US) and as declaring his solidarity with the Tsarnaev brothers, of the Boston Marathon massacre. … Note that he did *not* shout out his solidarity with famous conflicted gay persons, nor did he swear allegiance to some quack “ex-gay” therapist. …

[The massacre] is attributable not to the hypothesized “push” of self-loathing due to whatever may have gone on in his sex life, but to the “pull” of a malign and evil ideology. And it is to that ideology we should look for explanations of the Orlando atrocity.

More. Via New York Magazine, The Myth of the Violent, Self-Hating Gay Homophobe:

Internalized homophobia has been linked to depression, loneliness, a sense of helplessness about the future, and increased risk of suicide. Perhaps unsurprisingly, people with high levels of internalized homophobia often have problems sustaining healthy romantic relationships…

Only if you’re steeped in an ideology of fanatic hate do you get a rampaging murderer.

Also, many may be too quick to assume “Grindr use and Pulse attendance as evidence that [the murderer] himself was gay,” the article suggests, alluding to “the possibility that even if he were curious about same-sex behavior or attraction, that wouldn’t necessarily mean he’s gay.”

The Washington Blade thinks Donald Trump represents the greatest threat to LGBT lives and liberties.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton claim laws restricting gun ownership will keep firearms out the hands of murderous jihadis (they don’t, of course, actually believe this). As Glenn Reynolds writes:

Gun control is much stricter in Europe, but that hasn’t stopped mass shootings like the ones at Charlie Hebdo’s offices or at the Bataclan concert hall. (It’s also very strict in California, but that didn’t stop the shootings at San Bernardino.) Talking about gun control is mostly a way of avoiding a tough problem.

The killer was able to could acquire his weaponry because he was a licensed security guard, making the claim that more gun restrictions would “prevent” such crimes all the more grossly disingenuous. But if a few of the patrons had been carrying, and perhaps members of the Pink Pistols, they could have defended themselves (but hey, only the state should be allowed to defend people, right, right).

And this: Virtually all mass shootings happen in “gun-free” zones.

National Public Radio said there are conflicting reports over whether the shooter was motivated by loyalty to Islamic State (as the police report) or hatred of gays (as his father states), as if the two didn’t go together.

The Log Cabin Republicans get to the point:

“It’s no secret that abroad men who are gay — and merely suspected of being gay — are targeted for execution; today, that threat has reached the United States. … If the shooter’s suspected motivations are indeed confirmed, we call upon President Obama and the presumptive nominees of both parties to condemn the attacker and acknowledge in no uncertain terms the cause of this massacre: Radical Islamic terrorism.”

More. James Taranto in the Wall Street Journal:

But the point is, the Islamic terrorist who carried out the deadliest attack in America since 9/11 chose as his target a sexual minority. Such an atrocity posed a test for those on the multicultural left: Would they see clearly the threat of Islamic terrorism when it targeted a minority whose interests they vigorously champion against far lesser threats?

For the most part the answer was no. [Slate’s Mark Stern] turned his rhetorical fire on the near enemy, in a piece titled “Republicans Are Erasing LGBTQ People From Their Own Tragedy.” He specifically faulted Marco Rubio and Mike Huckabee for tweeting sympathy for the victims without noting that most of them were gay (or, as Stern again put it, “LBGTQ people”).

Stern ignored Donald Trump, who in a statement put the matter straightforwardly: “Radical Islam advocates hate for women, gays, Jews, Christians and all Americans. I am going to be a President for all Americans, and I am going to protect and defend all Americans.” He also ignored Ted Cruz, who, according to Politico, “called on Democrats as ‘loud champions of the gay and lesbian community’ to denounce ‘an ideology that calls for the murder of gays and lesbians.’ ”

Furthermore. ACLU Blames—Wait for It—’Conservative Christians’ for Orlando.