Is mass murder becoming a form of protest?

Arguably, extrajudicial murder of African-Americans and their white sympathizers – a form of murder known as “lynching” – was a form of protest during and after the US Civil War. These were highly political acts, a form of domestic terrorism. Lynchings were intended as warnings to people who supported abolition, emancipation, and equal rights for African-Americans. It was murder as a form of protest.

Lynchings continued until the 1960s, by which time most (except, perhaps, the most radical of white supremacists) no longer saw them as a legitimate type of resistance to civil rights.

Mass murder as resistance?
The examples above show how the repertoire of contention evolves. Could mass shootings join the repertoire next?

It certainly seems as if mass murder with a gun is a more familiar and more easily conceptualized way of expressing one’s discontent than it was, say, pre-Columbine. If a person is outraged by some state of affairs, mass killing is a readily available way to express that outrage both technically (thanks to gun regulation) and cognitively (because it is now part of the recognized repertoire).

Dylann Roof wanted to register his discontent with the place of black people in American society, abortion opponent Robert Lewis Dear stormed a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, Omar Matteen likely killed dozens to express his (internalized) disgust for homosexuality, and Gavin Long communicated his sense of rage and helplessness in the face of black deaths by killing police.

We may never know why some resort to violence. But in at least some cases it’s to make a point. At some point each of the aforementioned men thought, “What can I do to get my point across?” And mass murder came to mind.

In the aftermath of such events, the news media routine contributes to the idea that mass murder is a form of protest by searching for an explanation above and beyond the desire to kill. That explanation often positions the rationale for the murder within the realm of politics, whether we call it terrorism, resistance or prejudice. This further sends the message that mass murder is political, part of the American repertoire of contention.

The terrifying part is that once protest tools become part of the repertoire, they are diffused across movements and throughout society. It’s no longer just civil rights activists who use the sit-in; any and all activists do. Perhaps that’s why we see such a range of motivations among these mass murderers. It has become an obvious way to express an objection, and the discontented know they can get their point across.

Lisa Wade is Professor of Sociology, Occidental College. This article is published courtesy of The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution / No derivative).