As the search for a motive in the Orlando massacre continues, we’re no closer to an answer. Every clue just seems to further muddy the water.
Scott Fais, News 13 in Orlando:
In the midst of the chaos early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub, the team at News 13 in downtown Orlando was covering the story when a producer took an ominous phone call.
“News 13, this is Matt,” is how Matthew Gentili, a producer at News 13, answered the phone…
“I’m the shooter. It’s me. I am the shooter,” the person on the other end said…
“He did it for ISIS, and he started speaking Arabic,” Gentili said of the early morning phone call. “At the time, I didn’t know what he was saying. He was speaking so fast. But it was … he was speaking fluently. Whatever language he was speaking, he knew it. And he was speaking it very quickly. And that is when I said to him, ‘Sir. Please. Speak in English, please.'”
Gentili said the caller stopped and said: “I did it for ISIS. I did it for the Islamic State.”
Of course, this raises more questions than it answers. How do we know Omar Mateen really did it for ISIS? Where’s the proof? Did he have an ISIS membership card? Did he put an ISIS bumper sticker on his car? Did he own any “I [Heart] ISIS” t-shirts?
I mean, come on. Anybody can say they sympathize with ISIS. Anybody can claim to have committed a terrorist attack on behalf of ISIS. Does that really have anything to do with their real motives?
Not according to the NYT editorial board:
While the precise motivation for the rampage remains unclear, it is evident that Mr. Mateen was driven by hatred toward gays and lesbians. Hate crimes don’t happen in a vacuum. They occur where bigotry is allowed to fester, where minorities are vilified and where people are scapegoated for political gain. Tragically, this is the state of American politics, driven too often by Republican politicians who see prejudice as something to exploit, not extinguish.
Suddenly, it all becomes clear: Omar Mateen was a victim of the Republicans. He wouldn’t have murdered all those people if the bigotry and hatred of the GOP hadn’t driven him to it.
If that truth is hard for you to swallow, too bad. It certainly makes more sense than taking him at his word when he said, “I did it for ISIS.”
Think about it. What better way for Mateen’s Republican puppet-masters to throw everyone off their scent than to force their helpless dupe to swear allegiance to a group of supposedly scary “terrorists”? The GOP even had Mateen frequent that same gay nightclub for years beforehand, and made him register as a Democrat a decade ago. They played the long game. It was all an elaborate frame-up.
Unfortunately for the evil GOP, the New York Times can see right through their slimy scare tactics. This isn’t about Islamic terrorism. This isn’t about political correctness lowering people’s defenses and shaming them into silence when they think something bad is about to happen. This is about the people the NYT hates the most.
Nice try, teabaggers. Maybe you should try listening to Bill Ayers for a change, and put the blame where it belongs:
Isn't there a single legislator who will introduce a bill to ban AR-15s? "The Orlando Sandy Hook Commemoration Act"
— Bill Ayers (@WilliamAyers) June 15, 2016
A firestorm of hate descending, mob of angry folks gathering with torches and pitchforks. I said: "Ban one gun." Right is touchy/defensive
— Bill Ayers (@WilliamAyers) June 15, 2016
Ban guns. Ban Republicans. Ban free speech. Ban due process. Ban all the things. Just leave the designated victims alone.
(Hat tip: Sean Davis)