‘Bioessentialist Concepts of Gender’

Posted on | July 2, 2021 | Comments Off on ‘Bioessentialist Concepts of Gender’

My journalistic skepticism kicked in when I saw this tweet screencapped by Ace. Surely, this can’t be real? But then I checked, and indeed this is a real tweet by a real person — well, a Canadian, anyway. I’ve never considered Canadians fully human, but let’s not digress . . .

Here is the full autobiography of them:

Florence Ashley, BCL/JD, LLM (Bioeth) is a transfeminine jurist and bioethicist based in Toronto, where they are a doctoral student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and Joint Centre for Bioethics. Their doctoral project examines how science is deployed and used within the legal system to simultaneously bolster and undermine trans youth’s autonomy. Their research is supported by a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Doctoral Scholarship. Prior to their doctoral studies, they served as clerk to Justice Sheilah Martin of the Supreme Court of Canada (2019-2020), being the first openly transfeminine person to clerk at the highest court. Prior to clerking, they completed degrees in civil law and common law followed by a master’s in law and bioethics at McGill University. Their master’s thesis, written under the supervision of Dean Robert Leckey, bears on the legality of conversion practices targeting gender identity.
Florence was awarded the 2018-2019 Canadian Bar Association’s SOGIC Hero Award for their academic work, advocacy, and leadership in trans communities, becoming the youngest recipient of the award. They were a recipient of the Forces AVENIR Graduate Personality Finalist Award and were awarded a Scarlet Key by McGill University in 2019. Florence is a member of the Comité trans of the Conseil québécois LGBT and previously served as chair of the advisory board and co-director of the Montreal Trans Legal Clinic. In 2018-2019 they were a member of a Committee on sexual orientation and gender vocabulary of the Office québécois de la langue française.
Their article “Don’t Be So Hateful: The Insufficiency of Anti-Discrimination and Hate Crime Laws in Improving Trans Wellbeing”, published in the University of Toronto Law Journal, inspired the first special issue on trans law in Canadian history. Their article “Gatekeeping Hormone Replacement Therapy for Transgender Patients is Dehumanising??” was selected as Editor’s Choice by the Journal of Medical Ethics and featured in a National Post article. Florence’s work on trans conversion therapy has been cited by the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Florence has also testified as an expert before the Québec National Assembly Committee on Citizen Relations in regards to the province’s proposed ban on conversion therapy. Florence’s article “Accounting for Research Fatigue in Research Ethics??” was profiled in WIRED.
Florence’s academic work is deeply transdisciplinary and has been published in the University of Toronto Law Journal, Service social, Archive of Sexual Behavior, The American Journal of Bioethics, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Journal of Medical Ethics, Dalhousie Law Journal, The Journal of Sexual Medicine, Journal of LGBT Youth, Perspectives on Psychological Science, McGill Journal of Law and Health, The Sociological Review, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Manitoba Law Journal, Canadian Journal of Law and Society, Études francophones, ?American Journal of Medicine, Bioethics, Green Bag, and NYU Review of Law & Social Change.
They frequently contribute to media conversations, having been interviewed by various media outlets, with publications in The Globe and Mail, CBC Opinions, Montreal Gazette, Huffington Post, The Conversation, NOW Magazine, The Advocate, IRPP Policy Options, Le Devoir, La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal, and Journal Métro.
Florence uses they/them pronouns in English. In French, they use ille with feminine grammatical gender. Florence can be reached on Facebook, Twitter, or at f.ashley at mail.utoronto.ca.

Canada: An asylum run by the lunatics. We must grant them permission to go milk a bull, or wait for a rooster to lay an egg.

Category: Canada, The Transgender Cult

Guy Named ‘Khaled Awad’ Stabs Rabbi in Front of a Synagogue: ‘The Motive … Was Not Immediately Clear,’ Police Say

Posted on | July 2, 2021 | Comments Off on Guy Named ‘Khaled Awad’ Stabs Rabbi in Front of a Synagogue: ‘The Motive … Was Not Immediately Clear,’ Police Say

Pretty sure that if some rednecks in Mississippi lynched a black guy, the police might be willing to speculate about the motive:

BOSTON — A man who is accused of stabbing a Brighton rabbi eight times appeared before a judge in Brighton District Court on Friday on charges of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.
The victim, identified as Rabbi Shlomo Noginski, was stabbed multiple times in the Brighton Common park at Chestnut and Washington streets, near the Shaloh House school.
A suspect, later identified as Khaled Awad, 24, of Brighton, was arrested a short time later on Chestnut Hill Avenue, authorities said.
In court Friday, prosecutors said Awad has no criminal record in Massachusetts but has had incidents in Florida, including battery and theft.
Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins was present in the courtroom for the arraignment. “We believe this individual is a danger to our community,” Rollins said following the arraignment.
Awad was held without bail, with a dangerousness hearing scheduled for next week.
Rollins’ office is still investigating to determine if the attack can officially be called a hate crime.
Court documents say three police officers initially made contact with the suspect, before he ran.
According to the court documents, one of the officers looked around a corner and was confronted by the suspect pointing what appeared to be a black firearm at him. The other police officers drew their firearms and ordered the suspect to drop his weapon multiple times.
The court documents say after a brief, but tense moment, the suspect lowered his weapon and threw it to the ground.
Police said the suspect kicked one of the officers in the stomach as he was being assisted into a transport vehicle for booking.
Rabbi Dan Rodkin, the executive director of the Shaloh House, said Noginski was stabbed eight times.
Rodkin said the suspect approached the rabbi while he was talking on the phone, sitting on the steps of the school.
According to Rodkin, the suspect demanded the rabbi’s car keys at gunpoint but also wanted the rabbi to get in the car.
Court documents, which cite a police interview with Noginski following the incident, say the suspect ordered him to walk over to his vehicle. . . .
Investigators said the motive of the stabbing was not immediately clear.

Yeah, it’s a real mystery, this case. By the way, did you notice this news report says nothing about Awad’s immigration status? Do you suppose it’s possible that Awad came here as some kind of “refugee”? But curiosity is no longer a requirement in the journalism business.

UPDATE: Ace of Spades: “If [the suspect] were white, CNN would already be analyzing what podcasts he listened to, and calling for YouTube to deplatform Tim Pool.” He forgot to add that they would be leading every hour with coverage of the story, and demanding that Republicans in Congress denounce Tim Pool for inciting this hate crime.

Category: Crime, Massachusetts, Racism

In The Mailbox: 07.01.21

Posted on | July 1, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 07.01.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Thanks to everyone who bought stuff through my Amazon links in June. Very much appreciated!

Silicon Valley delenda est.

Today’s the anniversary of the last B-36 being delivered to the Strategic Air Command – July 1, 1954

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: The Social Justice Monster
EBL: Miss Nevada 1959 Vs, 2021
Twitchy: Virginia Dept. of Education Advises Against Gender-Based Events – Like Father/Daughter Dances
Louder With Crowder: Eddie Murphy Goes All In Against Bill Cosby, Who Somehow Got Released From Prison Yesterday
Vox Popoli: They Will Sink The Ships, also, All Ur Info Are Belong To Us

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: No Hymen, No Diamond
American Conservative: Not Everything On Earth Is A Vital Interest For America
American Greatness: Has The Military Lost Middle America? also, J.D. Vance Joins Ohio Senate Race
American Thinker: Giuliani’s Suspension – Questionable Statements, But Not By Him
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Neolithic Partying News
Babalu Blog: What Cuba Doesn’t Want You To Know About Its Artists & Musicians, also, Biden Planning To Loosen Restrictions On Castro’s Dictatorship?
BattleSwarm: San Jose To Tax Law-abiding Gun Owners For Criminals’ Actions
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, Bezos Invites Original Female Mercury Astronaut Candidate To Join Him On New Shepard Launch
Cafe Hayek: It’s Not A Rigorous Empirical Study, But…
CDR Salamander: Diversity Thursday, also, Why Is 2027 Important?
Da Tech Guy: Hot Tuesday Morning, The National Sodomy League, & Other Thoughts Under The Fedora, also, Hypocrisy On The Fourth
Don Surber: Subterranean Homesick Blues 2021, also, Unplug The DC Judge Machine
First Street Journal: Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council Votes To Further Hamstring Law Enforcement, Alienate The Police, also, Today’s Left Really Do Hate Them Some #FreedomOfSpeech
The Geller Report: SCOTUS Upholds Ban On Ballot Harvesting, also, Pelosi Picks RINO Liz Cheney To Sit On January 6 Committee
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, Election Integrity
Hollywood In Toto: Beneath Us Parodies “Socially Conscious” Horror (By Accident), also, Lara Croft-Tomb Raider At 20 – Angelina Jolie Does The Impossible
The Lid: “Human Infrastructure” – The Progressives’ Plan B for Achieving Socialist Utopia
Legal Insurrection: UNC-Chapel Hill Caves to Pressure, Gives Nikole Hannah-Jones Tenure, also, RI Mom Involved In High-Profile CRT Public Records Fight & Targeted By NEA Gets High-Powered Legal Help
Nebraska Energy Observer: Laughing All The Way
Outkick: LSU Gymnast Olivia Dunne Could Become A Millionaire This Week Thanks To New Law, also, Caitlyn Jenner Rips Gwen Berry Protest – “It’s Disgusting”
Power Line: Court Orders Minneapolis To Hire More Police, also, SCOTUS Delivers Major Blow To Dems’ Campaign Against State Election Laws
Protein Wisdom: The Secular Beatification of Nikole Hannah-Jones
Shark Tank: Progressive Omari Hardy Says He Won’t Take PAC Money & Won’t Work With Republicans
Shot In The Dark: Ye Shall Know Them By Their Berg’s Seventh Law Violations, also, What’s A Cubit?
STUMP: Happy Bobby Bonilla Day! In Praise Of Valuable Annuities
The Political Hat: Mad Science! Monkeys Playing Ping-Pong With Neural Implants, Lab-Grown Tear Glands, & 24,000 Year Old Animals Revived In Siberia
This Ain’t Hell: SCOTUS Upholds Arizona Voting Restrictions, also, Soldier Indicted On Multiple Charges In Protester’s Death
Transterrestrial Musings: Chaos, also, Conscious Choice
Victory Girls: Facebook Debuts “Extremist Content” Warning
Volokh Conspiracy: SCOTUS Ends Term With Two 6-3 Splits Along Familiar Lines
Weasel Zippers: Cartels Reportedly Have Operational Control of The US/Mexican Border, also, Biden Confuses Val Demings With Maxine Waters
The Federalist: Southern Baptist Elites May Be Woke, But Southern Baptists Aren’t, also, AMA Journal – Masks Are Bad for Your Kids, Quit Forcing Them To Wear Them
Mark Steyn: Dominion Of The Dead

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In The Mailbox: 06.30.21

Posted on | June 30, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 06.30.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

Especially important this time of year.

OVER THE TRANSOM
Ninety Miles From Tyranny: The 90 Miles Mystery Box, Episode #1399
357 Magnum: Cognitive Dissonance & Crime In Big Cities
Red Pilled Jew: Quick Takes
EBL: MAGA Help To Surfside
Twitchy: Robin DiAngelo’s New Book Nice Racism? Taibbi Says It’s “A Juggernaut Of Cringe”
Louder With Crowder: Ilhan Omar Doubles Down On Antisemitism During CNN Appearance & Then Triples Down
Vox Popoli: A Public Service, also, Why We Fear The Night

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: On Race & Nationhood
American Conservative: You Still Have To Bake The Cake, Bigot
American Greatness: Question The Cowards, also, Zampolits Of Wokeness
American Thinker: Lester Holt, Poster Child For Media Bias, also, The Fifty-Year War On America’s Soul
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Hump Day News
Babalu Blog: Today In 1961, Fidel Declares Any Art Outside The Revolution Unlawful
BattleSwarm: Democratic Power Grab In Harris County
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted American, also, SpaceX Launch Scrubbed After Pilot Wanders Into “Unreasonably Gigantic” Launch Zone
Cafe Hayek: If Only Foreigners Were Willing To Hold Even More U.S. Dollars Indefinitely
CDR Salamander: PLAN Submarine Recce Guide
Da Tech Guy: New Statue Rules & A California Warning Under The Fedora, also, Report From Louisiana – On Blogging & New Platforms
Don Surber: Shut Up, Obama, also, Help Red China Collapse
First Street Journal: We Can See It Coming, also, It Only Takes A Slight Omission To Completely Skew The Story
The Geller Report: NYC’s Mayoral Vote Voided After 135,000 Ballot “Discrepancy”, also, “This Is Xi-N-N”
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, A Question Of Taste
Hollywood In Toto: Why We Need Mel Brooks Now More Than Ever, also, Black Widow – That Old MCU Magic Is Gone
The Lid: RIP Donald Rumsfeld, A True Public Servant
Legal Insurrection: Democrats & White House Double Down On Claim That GOP Wanted To Defund The Police, also, Insiders Reveal Kamala Harris’ VP Office Is Toxic, Abusive Mess – Just Like Her Campaign
Michelle Malkin: Corrupt-A-Homa – Judicial Abuse In The Heartland
Nebraska Energy Observer: A Protest In Blighty & Pretty Girls In Frocks
Outkick: Gwen Berry Claims “I Never Said That I Hated The Country”, also, College World Series Attendance Soars Even After Kicking NC State
Power Line: The More I Learn About Ron DeSantis, also, The NSA Vs. Tucker Carlson – An Update
Shark Tank: DeSantis Vetoes No-Fault Rule Bill
Shot In The Dark: The Real Problem, also, “Mussolini-Like Power” & “Single-Man Autocratic Rule” Must Not Be Polling Well
The Political Hat: When There Is Nothing More Racist Than Racial Healing, also, Critical Race Theory Gaslighting FAIL
This Ain’t Hell: Ex-CSM Accused Of Desertion During CID Probe Into Sexual Assault, also, Capt. Donald Rumsfeld (USNR, Ret.), Twice Former SecDef, Dies At 88
Transterrestrial Musings: Space Solar Power, also, The Agent-Escape Problem
Victory Girls: Bill Cosby Conviction Overturned, He’s Released From Prison
Volokh Conspiracy: Update From S. Dakota – Judge Kornmann Appoints Special Prosecutor To Try U.S. Marshals For Contempt
Weasel Zippers: House Democrats’ Solution To Border Crisis Is To Defund Immigration Enforcement Agencies, also, Democrats In Ohio Statehouse Chimp Out Over Introduction Of “Anti-Transgender” Bill
The Federalist: The CDC’s Latest Poll On COVID Natural Immunity Totally Backfired, also, If You Only Listen To Corporate Media, You’d Never Know Churches Are Burning
Mark Steyn: Weight Grifting, also, The Erasure Was Forgotten

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Category: Linkagery

In The Mailbox: 06.29.21

Posted on | June 30, 2021 | Comments Off on In The Mailbox: 06.29.21

— compiled by Wombat-socho

Silicon Valley delenda est.

See how deep the rabbit hole goes?

OVER THE TRANSOM
357 Magnum: Another Banner Weekend In Chicago
EBL: Tucker Carlson – NSA Spying On Me & Undermining My Show
Twitchy: “I Won’t Be Pathologized For Being White”
Louder With Crowder: Congressman Tells Jim Acosta How Much He Sucks Before Riding Off
Vox Popoli: “Unmarked Graves”, also, Flight Cancellations Increase
Stoic Observations: Something Hegelian This Way Comes

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES
Adam Piggott: The Anthem Of Gen X
American Conservative: The Cruelty Was Never The Point
American Greatness: Did Police Attack & Provoke Peaceful Protesters On January 6?
American Thinker: Delta Variant – The COVID Sequel
Animal Magnetism: Animal’s Daily Two Americas News
Babalu Blog: Cuba’s 29-Year-Long Whinefest At The UN, also, Cuba’s Communist Regime Thanks DNC Member For His March In Support Of The Regime
BattleSwarm: Open Borders & Critical Race Theory Deeply Unpopular, also, Why Is Texas Creating A Critical Race Theory Office?
Behind The Black: Today’s Blacklisted American, also, Venus’ Atmosphere Too Dry For Life
Cafe Hayek: Minimum Wage Advocacy & “Intelligent Design”
CDR Salamander: Midrats Pre-July 4 Melee!
Da Tech Guy: This Man Left Facebook For Six Months – Here Is His Compelling Story, also, Chicago Has A Street Gang Problem, Not A Gun Problem
Don Surber: Readers Explain White Rage, also, Milley Bombs Desert To Change Subject
First Street Journal: This Is What Happens When The Woke Try To Think, also, Le Tour De France
The Geller Report: Red China Appoints Military Biowar Expert To Head Wuhan Lab, also, After Waiving SAT Requirement, Princeton Brags Incoming Class Is 68% “Of Color”
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, An Official Denial
Hollywood In Toto: Why Bugsy Belongs In The 90s Gangster Movie Pantheon, also, Six Angels In The San Fernando Valley Exposes Hollywood’s Seedier Side
The Lid: Twitter & Facebook Allow Cynthia McKinney’s Antisemitism But Ban Trump’s Conservatism
Legal Insurrection: BET Founder Still Demanding $14 Million In Reparations, also, Illinois Teacher Sues School District Over “Equity” Push
Nebraska Energy Observer: Good Lord Deliver Us
Outkick: Reggie Miller Brings Logic Into Pippen Racism Allegations, also, CNN Is Lost Without An Identity
Power Line: Stan Evans’ Six Rules For Political Combat, also, War On the Suburbs, Infrastructure Style
Shark Tank: Murphy Doubles Down On Venezuela, Promotes Freedom
Shot In The Dark: Speaking Past, also, Belyy Ruskiy
STUMP: Mortality With Meep
The Political Hat: Critical Race Theory Handbook
This Ain’t Hell: AC-130 Gunship Crew Decorated For Saving 88 Lives In Combat, also, Professor Praises Stalin As “Great Leader” Of The 20th Century
Transterrestrial Musings: Wokeness
Victory Girls: California Does Us All A Favor By Banning Travel
Volokh Conspiracy: Eminent Domain Prevails Over Sovereign Immunity In A SCOTUS Case Both Sides Deserved To Lose
Weasel Zippers: NYC Mayoral Candidate Raises Concerns After 100,000 Votes “Suddenly Appear”, also, Crime “Out Of Control” In Oakland As Democrat-Run City Strips Police Of Another $18 Million In Funding
The Federalist: Is The Entire Democratic Party Compromised By Red China? also, Jill Biden’s Vogue Cover Proves The Magazine Prioritizes Politics Over Fashion
Mark Steyn: Section 13 Rises From The Dead, also, Misty

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Category: Linkagery

‘White Supremacy’ Jiu-Jitsu

Posted on | June 29, 2021 | Comments Off on ‘White Supremacy’ Jiu-Jitsu

If you read my post about Officer Curtis Brown, you’ll see I’ve updated to include my reply to someone who accused me of being — of all things! — a “self-hating white.” Readers familiar with my reputation as a dangerous neo-Confederate extremist will perhaps laugh at this, but you see how the absurd accusation offers an opportunity to clarify some important issues.

What do liberals mean when they accuse their opponents of “white supremacy”? If it’s not merely a political smear, then surely this accusation must have some actual meaning. What it is, really, is an insulting accusation of ignorance. The liberal considers himself to be inherently superior to others, and thus endowed with greater knowledge and moral virtue about everything, including race relations. The fact that you disagree with the liberal is, to him, proof of your inferiority.

The subject of your disagreement is irrelevant, and it doesn’t matter why you’re disagreeing with the liberal, or what facts or logic you might be able to muster in defense of your position. what you have done, by your disagreement, is to deny the liberal’s superiority. His entire identity — his sense of his own worthiness — is invested in the belief that his political opinion proves him to be a better person than you.

Liberal superiority is tautological in this way, a circular argument in which the conclusion is a restatement of the first premise.

The best single-volume analysis of the psychology of liberalism is Thomas Sowell’s The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy. Once you have read that book, you understand that liberalism is not a coherent political philosophy, but merely an attitude, a pharisaical sense of self-righteousness. This is the reason why liberals are always engaged in hypocrisy, judging by double standards, and contradicting the logic of their own arguments. For example, we are expected to believe that liberalism is all about lifting up the downtrodden masses in the name of Equality (with a capital “E,” signifying its pseudo-religious status among liberals). Yet when you examine the lives of eminent liberals, and look at who it is that actually supports liberalism, their alleged egalitarianism is exposed as a fraud. The reason billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg are not pouring money into the coffers of liberal organizations is not because of some humanitarian philanthropic impulse, but because liberalism benefits the rich, who can afford to avoid the negative consequences of the policies they support. Whatever havoc liberals policies may inflict on the working class, Zuckerberg isn’t going to lose his yachts or his mansions as a consequence. At the end of the day, no matter what, he’ll still be a billionaire and, even if America becomes a desolate dystopian wasteland of neo-feudal warlords fighting an endless tribal conflict over the ruins and scaps, Zuckerberg can just hop in his jet and move to Dubai or Seoul, or whatever outpost of civilization still remains on the planet.

Liberalism is an expression of elite decadence, an ersatz political substitute for moral virtue. Think of Harvey Weinstein, who was once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood (and a big donor to Democrats) before he was finally exposed as a disgusting sexual pervert.

Or what about Hunter Biden? A lazy, spoiled brat, addicted to drugs and sexual degeneracy, spawning bastard children with strippers — yeah, but he’s a liberal, which proves that he’s better than you.

And this presumption of their own superiority is what liberals are exhibiting when they point the finger and scream: “RAAAAACIST!”

Who are they, to judge others in such matters? Where is the evidence of their moral authority to act as arbiters of public virtue?

Joe Biden’s son wouldn’t even admit he’d impregnated a stripper until she got a court to order a DNA test proving his paternity, so please spare me your moralistic lectures, you godless liberal hypocrites.

As to the accusation of “white supremacy,” however, I understand this to be intended as an insult, implying that the person accused is an ignorant adherent of some disproven and obsolete theory. Others may defend themselves against such accusations however they wish, but I merely ask my accusers to offer evidence that I endorse any such theory.

What I do not deny — indeed, it is the summation of my political creed — is the belief that liberals are always wrong about everything.

Liberals are wrong about race in the same way that liberals are wrong about economics, foreign policy, education, you name it. Whatever specific policy liberals may advance on race, as on any other issue, I will oppose with every fiber of my being. They’ve been wrong about everything, forever, and I don’t expect them to be right in the future.

Joe Biden’s entire career is a testimony to the absolute bankruptcy of liberalism. When it behooved his own political interests, Biden opposed school busing and advocated mandatory sentences for drug offenders. But once these positions became a political liability, he abandoned them and adopted new positions almost diametrically opposed to what he had formerly avowed. Yet at all times, Biden was a liberal — including when, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he presided over the disastrous carnival of the Clarence Thomas confirmation history that the nominee rightly called a “high-tech lynching.” Despite Biden’s awful record, liberals now insist that anyone who voted against Biden for president is a “white supremacist” and perhaps even a terrorist threat!

Well, slap the cuffs on me and throw me in prison, I guess, but I damned sure ain’t about to start apologizing to such despicable trash.

Category: Racism

What Happened to Nathan Allen? Troubling Omens of ‘The Crazy Years’

Posted on | June 29, 2021 | Comments Off on What Happened to Nathan Allen? Troubling Omens of ‘The Crazy Years’

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you . . .
. . . you’ll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling’s once-famous poem came to mind this afternoon while I was pondering the bizarre case of Nathan Allen, a 28-year-old from Massachusetts who seemed to have everything going for him. He got married last fall and had recently completed an advanced degree in physical therapy and . . . Well, appearances can be deceiving:

Nathan Allen was named as the gunman who shot and killed a retired Massachusetts state trooper and an Air Force staff sergeant after crashing a stolen box truck into a building in Winthrop, Massachusetts, on June 26, 2021. He left behind white supremacist writings targeting Jews and Blacks, authorities said.
He told neighbors he worked as a physical therapist, according to The Boston Globe.
The incident unfolded in Winthrop in a chaotic scene on the street and ended with police shooting and killing the suspect. Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins released Allen’s name. “Two innocent people lost their lives,” she said, adding that the murders are being investigated as a hate crime. Both victims were Black. She believes Allen, 28, acted alone.
On social media, the gunman painted a picture of a mundane and apolitical life, writing about his rabbits and being featured with his future wife in a flattering Boston Globe article that described how they got married in a nursing home so her grandfather could attend in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had no criminal history and had earned a Ph.D., according to Rollins. Prosecutors say those attributes were a front that hid a darker side, fueled by racism.

In nearly all such cases, there are warning signs — “red flags” — that have been overlooked prior to the suspect’s deadly rampage. For example, the infamous “incel” killer Elliot Rodger was clearly a ticking bomb whose behavior had been troubled for some time. In this case, however, there seems to have been no warning signs at all, and the only evidence of his motive comes from what Allen had scrawled in a notebook:

Rollins revealed that the suspect wrote antisemitic and racist statements.
“There is some troubling white supremacist rhetoric that was found in Nathan Allen’s own handwriting, antisemitic and racist sentiments against Black individuals,” Rollins said in a news conference. “This is a sad day. These two people protected our rights and fought for us to be safe. They were executed yesterday and we will find out why.”
In a news release, she wrote:

At this preliminary stage of the investigation, the excellent work of law enforcement has already unearthed troubling white supremacy rhetoric and statements written by the shooter. This individual wrote about the superiority of the white race. About whites being ‘apex predators.’ He drew swastikas.
There is a growing national, and global, problem with extremism and white supremacy. The FBI believes the most serious domestic violent extremist threat comes from ‘racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocated for the superiority of the white race.’
This shooter was married and employed. He had a Ph.D. and no criminal history. To all external sources he likely appeared unassuming. And then, yesterday afternoon he stole a box truck, crashed it into another vehicle and a property, walked away from the wreckage interacting with multiple individuals and choosing only to shoot and kill the two Black people he encountered.

We will almost certainly learn more about Allen’s descent into murderous madness. When did he start drawing swastikas in his notebook? Did he have any online communications about his beliefs? Had something happened in his life recently that triggered this deadly rampage? Until we have more actual facts, it is irresponsible to speculate, but the disconnect between Allen’s superficially normal life and his secret racial hatred leads me to suspect that his radicalization (if we can call it that) must have been rather recent, and was probably triggered by some problem in his personal life. Nearly all hate-crime sprees like this are committed by people who could generally be labeled “disgruntled losers,” whose personal failings lead them down the rabbit-hole of racial paranoia. This guy “doesn’t fit the profile,” so to speak; Allen was employed and married and seemed to have a promising future ahead. Why would someone like that go so completely off the rails, and do it so suddenly?

Like I said, we can expect to learn more about why this happened, but at the moment, it’s a disturbing mystery, perhaps an omen of hidden danger in what Heinlein called The Crazy Years, “when rapid changes in technology, together with the disruption those changes caused in mores and economics, caused society to, well, go crazy.” When you’re surrounded by insanity, it can be a struggle to “keep your head,” as Kipling said. Somehow, I’ve managed to avoid the craziness so far.