15
mass shooters as well, including
Dylann Roof, who killed nine Black
parishioners during a Bible study in
Charleston, S.C., in 2015. He situates
his act as part of “the movement,”
discusses “techniques that increase
media coverage,” and encourages
fellow extremists to “use edgy humor
and memes in the vanguard stage,
and to attract a young audience.”
“This is not just violence in
the name of what they believe to
be a righteous cause. It’s also
performance. It’s signaling...
to potentially like-minded people,”
says Seyward Darby, a journalist
and researcher of the evolution of
white- nationalist movements.
“There’s no such thing as a lone
wolf,” Darby adds. “Racism and
white supremacy are not mental
illnesses. They are learned behavior.
Saying that is a way for people in
positions of privilege and power to
comfort themselves that they have no
responsibility here.”
TECHNOLOGY
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The scene at the Tops market in
Buffalo, N.Y., is examined two
days after the shooting