byWilliam Skink

James Conner isn’t making himself any new friends with his coverage of the David Lenio spectacle, and that’s because he’s made the prescient assertion that this case is being groomed for the national spotlight. To counter this assertion, Jonathan Hutson took on Conner directly with a guest post at Cowgirl.

This story is now getting much wider traction, thanks to Hutson’s efforts (because Conner was right). Here is Hutson with piece at Huffington post, titled: White Banker’s Son Threatens to Shoot School Kids and Jews, Gets ‘Get Outta Jail Free’ Card. And here’s the title of another article, this one at Raw Story: Banker’s son from Montana who threatened to shoot kids and Jews is back online despite ban.

What does Lenio being the son of a banker have to do with this case? Both articles go on to say virtually nothing about Lenio’s father, but I guess it’s good framing for a liberal audience.

Everything about this case is starting to stink. Who benefits from politicizing this and hyping it for national consumption?

What angers me about out of state interests jumping on the prosecution of this unstable young man is that prosecuting him to fullest extent of the law won’t alleviate the threat this person represents to local communities. If he’s mentally ill, prison will worsen his mental status. If he gets on probation, he will have to remain in Montana unless he gets cleared to leave. His job prospects will be that much worse, which is significant because throughout his tweets his perception that he’s a “wage slave” seems to be a primary factor in his rage toward the malignant forces he perceives are oppressing him.

David Lenio is a microcosm of the macro crisis facing young men around the world. Lack of economic opportunity combined with an absence of fulfilling personal relationships makes young men much more susceptible to extremists ideologies.

Last month I came across an article making this very point. I can’t remember if I linked to it, but here it is:

There’s a Way to Stop Mass Shootings, and You Won’t Like It.

That’s right. You’re not going to like it because it’s going to require you to do something personally, as opposed to shouting for the government, or anyone to “do something!”

You ready? Here it is:

“Notice those around you who seem isolated, and engage them.”

If every one of us did this we’d have a culture that was deeply committed to ensuring no one was left lonely. And make no mistake, as I’ve written before loneliness is what causes these shooters to lash out. People with solid connections to other people don’t indiscriminately fire guns at strangers.

I know what you’re thinking. That’s never going to work because no one is going to make the effort to connect with the strange kid sitting by himself at lunch each day. No one is going to reach out to the gawky, awkward guy at work and ask him about his weekend.

You’re probably right and that’s an absolute shame.