‘Always Agitated. Always Mad’: Omar Mateen, According to Those Who Knew Him
Source: New York Times
The massacre at the Pulse nightclub early last Sunday stands as the deadliest mass shooting by one person in United States history.
Rising amid the international grief is the aching and obvious question of why. But the short life of Mr. Mateen, who was 29, provides no easy road map to motivation.
He had shown occasional flashes of interest in radical Islam, enough to be investigated twice by the F.B.I. in recent years for possible extremist ties.
But his professed embrace of the Islamic State and its call for disaffected Muslims to attack the West seem to have come suddenly, as if something snapped. And while some reports have suggested that he was gay, federal officials say they have found no evidence in his effects or online presence to back them up.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/19/us/omar-mateen-gunman-orlando-shooting.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
It seems like some rushed to tie the Orlando shooter to ISIS or declare him a 'closeted gay' while neither one may have been the case. Maybe he was just an angry, hateful, jerk.
Response to knowledgeispwr (Original post)
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Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)Do you think that's illustrative of the movement as a whole, or just a few assholes is not representative of Bernie's message and that of those who follow him?
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)I was talking about young white male progressives in general, irrespective of what candidate they support.
Sadly, in some ways we white male Millennials as a group are more sexist than our parents and even our grandparents.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)LiberalArkie
(15,715 posts)They are so dangerous.
7962
(11,841 posts)Not as simple as some as some closeted self-hating gay man attacking a gay friendly club.
He wanted to attack, and saw Pulse as the easiest of the two sites.
he had plenty of examples of Islamist statements and acts; as far back as laughing about 9/11
csziggy
(34,136 posts)And either the security put him off or he missed the weekend of it.
Overview
The Gay Days festival started with a theme park visit, and theme park visits remain one of the most popular Gay Days activities. Always the first Saturday in June, Gay Day in the Magic Kingdom (at Walt Disney World) is still the signature event of the week. An estimated 50,000 red-shirted Gay Days attendees pack Walt Disney World's original park on that 1st Saturday in June. The 3 o'clock parade down Main Street always draws an unforgettable "sea of red" that can be seen from one end of the park to the other.
https://www.gaydays.com/Guide-to-Gay-Days/guide-to-gay-days.html
Emphasis added by me.
That would have been two weekends ago, one week before he shot up Pulse. Since the Gay Day attendees tend to wear red shirts If he had managed to get a gun into Disney he could have picked off people who supported the Gay Day celebration.
Disney security is very thorough though and he had pretty much no chance to sneak a gun into the theme park - and if he had security would have stopped his shooting spree instantly.
bucolic_frolic
(43,139 posts)Insecurity, resentment, dominance
These and others could have social, cultural, socio-economic parts
Sociopaths, borderlines have no respect for boundaries
The biophysical forms an individual too, excess energy, agitation,
vigilance, arousal, even paranoia
King_Klonopin
(1,306 posts)Things I have observed:
Whenever I have seen his father on news video, he never seems to show
sadness, sorrow, grief or such emotions. His son is dead and he speaks of
the matter as though he were referring to someone he hardly knew.
Omar Mateen was acting-out in violent ways since he was in elementary
school. He was not averse to inflicting physical harm. He was impulsive and
explosive, according to accounts of school records and his wife.
He was physically and emotionally abusive to his wife.
Things I know through experience as a clinician:
His profile speaks to a life which was probably effected by abuse or trauma
of his own. I would not be surprised if a history of physical and/or sexual abuse
is revealed, and that his father would be the primary suspect.
His ego development is thoroughly screwed up -- sexual identity confusion, lack
of empathy, sadism. It is tragic for the victims, and Mr Mateen himself, that he
fell through the cracks. There are so many classic warning signs in his past which
predict this type of outcome. Did his family prevent or interfere with efforts to
address these problems, or was he simply too ego-defensive to seek help ?
His behavior fits the criteria for antisocial personality.
I wonder if there was any history of brain injury -- whether by some accident,
or at the hands of the father, or suffered at birth. Something was wrong from
a very early age. A combination of factors could be to blame. More shall be
revealed, no doubt.
bucolic_frolic
(43,139 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)He was a jokester and at the time didnt have an issue with the LGBT community.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/12/drag-queen-orlando-gunman-omar-mateen-was-my-friend.html
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)nt
oberliner
(58,724 posts)My reason for posting what I did was to show how much conflicting information there is about this killer from different sources. I urge people not to jump to conclusions that suit their preferred narrative with so much still being unknown.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)You make conclusions, others should not. Got it.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I do this because this is a discussion board and I am sharing my thoughts on perspectives on the situation.
People are obviously going to disagree with my assessment, which is the nature of being a participant in a discussion forum.
Hopefully the comments I share are food for thought for a few people.
I regularly read insights and perspectives here that have that effect on me.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)Not surprised he incorporated what he was taught by his Taliban supporting father.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Or what his home life was like when he was a child.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)49 funerals were being planned. That says much and it says it clearly. If he'd said that about any other minority group no one would excuse it. Because it is inexcusable.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I think it is unreasonable to jump to conclusions about his childhood based on those comments.
I find it frustrating how everyone becomes an authority and makes definitive statements based on a few news reports.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,999 posts)At the last minute. The two groups, one of them ISIS, hate each others guts. The shooter was just messing with our minds.
Fundamentally angry angry angry and everybody knew it.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)People Control, Not Gun Control
This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that werent secured are out of control in our society. As such, heres what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. Im not debating the legal language, I just think its the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because its clear that they should never have had a gun.
1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learners license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special carry circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.). If you are carrying your gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you lose your gun and license.
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.
Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a drivers license you need a license to fish, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.
christx30
(6,241 posts)either didn't talk to the FBI, or they didn't care about the investigations. I guess as long as he has the fee, it's all good.
Or they didn't want to be accused of profiling. Either way, they messed up.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)That's what I meant by a "proper license". He had a history of problems in school going back to elementary school and tossed from a HS, problems at several worksites, and he had made threats.
Any reasonable licensing process that included logical references and an insurance application would have likely denied him access to possessing guns.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)1) Once you vow loyalty to ISIS publicly the FBI will be down your throat. That's why people are doing it right before the attacks or even during them, as did the San Bernadino couple. This is still more true for this man, who had already been investigated twice by the FBI. If he had posted earlier I am sure the FBI would have been on his tail - they are supposed to be monitoring social media.
2) Since 2007, when he apparently got mad at others in his class in training for corrections officers, and threatened death for pork, following which, after a threat to bring a gun on campus, he was escorted off campus by police officers, there have been a string of incidents. In 2001 multiple fellow students have reported that he was excited and by 9/11 and claimed connection to the perps.
3) This included the courthouse incident in 2013, following which the security company was asked to get him out of there, and the county authorities notified the FBI:
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/security-firm-moved-mateen-after-al-qaeda-boast-didn-t-n593031
Those remarks prompted courthouse officials to request Mateen's immediate removal from the St. Lucie County Courthouse, and to make "the appropriate notifications to inform our federal partners," including the FBI, according to county Sheriff Ken Mascara.
There's no mystery about the guy's motivation at all, nor is there any sudden radicalization. I guess he was attracted to this sort of thing. The guy has over a fifteen year history of making statments supporting Islamic terrorism, beginning in school.
The G4S company looks terrible - so far it's come out that the psychiatrist who was listed on his screening paperwork has denied ever interviewing him; the company left him with his company-issued firearm even after the courthouse incident, and it's apparent that his employment records at the company have huge gaps relating to the violence-advocacy speech.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)suicide but they don't have the guts, so they do a spree killing and hope that the cops will do it for them. suicide by cop with collateral damage. Stupidest thing on the planet.
SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)What about all these people...And his ex-wife's Brazilian interview?
http://nypost.com/2016/06/13/shooter-used-to-visit-orlando-gay-club-use-gay-dating-apps/
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen-was-gay-former-classma/nrfwW/
Response to knowledgeispwr (Original post)
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Ash_F
(5,861 posts)I would rather hear about the victims and their families.
closeupready
(29,503 posts)You see the very same dynamic at play with Catholic priests, and the Vatican hierarchy.