In the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Isla Vista, Dr. Robi Ludwig suggested the killer may have been set off by “trying to fight against his homosexual impulses” during an interview on Fox News. She has somewhat backed off the assertion and probably wishes she had chosen her words a little more wisely. But, just for the sake of argument, let’s assume she is 100% correct.
If he were attempting to fight these “impulses”, our first question should be: why? Why can’t he just embrace the feelings and be happy with what his brain is telling him? What is it about the culture of the alleged freest country in the world that causes him to suppress natural, harmless, and legally acceptable impulses? (Quickly getting to the legal part nationwide anyway.)
If Dr. Ludwig wanted the answer to that, she should realize a big part of the problem is the network in which her image was appearing, Fox News. It’s not hard to see the hatred and bigotry, much of which is very open and not the least bit veiled, on Fox News regularly, such as the pushing of state anti-gay bills or the absurdity that ensued over the Micheal Sam celebratory kiss or any other incident in a slew of despicable acts you can find over at http://equalitymatters.org/.
The fact that fighting homosexual impulses could even be plausibly given as a possible contributing factor to such a vicious act should speak volumes about the amount of bigotry that exists in the United States and it should be addressed accordingly. It is even reminiscent of racists in the distant past claiming things about African-Americans like, “the same weak impulse control that leads to such high crime rates among young black males inevitably means more disruptive behavior in school.” And by distant past I, of course, mean two months ago. But you get the idea.
The underlying reality here is people just want to feel like they are special and better than others and they will find whatever ways they can to first differentiate themselves from other groups and then explain why they are better. Whether it is race, sexual orientation, religion, or even simple geography, people want to find differences and say they are the better breed of human no matter how similar to others they actually are. And it’s this arrogant need to feel special that gives rise to this widespread hatred. It’s difficult and sometimes even hard work making yourself feel special by uplifting others. The easy and cowardly way to do it is by making others feel terrible.
If Dr. Ludwig was in any way correct, the list of questions we should be asking is not just why the killer let culturally suppressed homosexual impulses take control of his behavior and led him to commit this awful act. The question should also be why so many others let their (sometimes culturally accepted) bigoted impulses take control of their behavior and end up hurting so many.
Sparking The Left 