So, there was yet another school shooting Friday, this time in Arapahoe, Colorado. The only person killed this time was the shooter himself (one 18-year-old Karl Halverson Pierson… it seems criminal nuts always have to have all three names mentioned), though two students were injured. And it turns out that this time, the shooter *was* heavily opinionated on matters of politics.
We’ve become accustomed in the past several years to understand that whenever someone does somethign horrifying, the chattering classes will leap to blaming Republicans, Tea Partiers, Conservatives, right wingers, Glenn Beck listeners, Sarah Palin fans. It’s their go-to position. And in virtually every case, it turns out that the nut is either apolitical, or leans left. Well, how about in this case? Where did Pierson stand? Fortunately, some research has already been done to find out just what kind of horrific Tea Party Wingnut he was:
Arapahoe High gunman held strong political beliefs, classmates said
In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith, who through his invisible-hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as “Keynesian.”
“I was wondering to all the neoclassicals and neoliberals, why isn’t the market correcting itself?” he wrote. “If the invisible hand is so strong, shouldn’t it be able to overpower regulations?”
Pierson also appears to mock Republicans on another Facebook post, writing “you republicans are so cute” and posting an image that reads: “The Republican Party: Health Care: Let ’em Die, Climate Change: Let ’em Die, Gun Violence: Let ’em Die, Women’s Rights: Let ’em Die, More War: Let ’em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?”
Interestingly, the Denver Post article has been edited from its original version. Original, a classmate is quoted as describing the nut as a “very opinionated Socialist,” and now it simply says that he was “very opinionated.” Odd, that.