# Synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, 2018 October 27 **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 27, 2018, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600 "2018-10-27T19:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/41 "2018-10-28T04:34:26Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > For fuck’s sake, is America hellbent on keeping [Paul in Qatar’s](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=847379) mass shooting thread rocking along with new entries every few days? > > ☹ Yes. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/42 "2018-10-28T04:37:05Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You know that they say the exact same thing with the exact same words, right? Who cares? I’m sure the Nazis said all the same thing we did. I’m glad we smashed them and killed them. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/43 "2018-10-28T04:38:56Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Armed guards. You do realise that just means the guy the attacker is going to shoot _first_. > _Armoured_ guards might help. > Maybe you could [install one of these.](http://www.shehnoorgroup.com/other-2.html) Outside every school, place of worship (not embracing mosques) and mall. And oh, cinema. Pfffaw. You need an ED-209. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4-mju0HwfwA/maxresdefault.jpg "ED 209 - Robocop") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-mju0HwfwA) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/44 "2018-10-28T04:46:28Z")
Next time we overcome racial supremacist and fascists, let’s try crushing the fuck out of them. No more bringing back together for unity’s sake, no more treating like a respected adversary, no more making them into an ally of convenience against the next threat. Smash them. Tell them they are not Americans. Tell them the “way of life” they “defended” deserved to perish. And, I must say, masterful whooshing indeed, **Smapti**. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/45 "2018-10-28T05:19:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Who cares? > > I’m sure the Nazis said all the same thing we did. I’m glad we smashed them and killed them. You should care. You should if you think you can fight them without understanding them, because you won’t win that way. Know your enemy. They’re going to be fighting just as hard as you, harder maybe. Be prepared. To them, they have the moral right of it, so there’s no reason to hold back. Remember: they think they are about to be ‘wiped out’. Be prepared, or don’t bother. And remember: the more people they get on their side, the more they _will_ have the right of it, in their minds. There’s strength in numbers, as the saying goes. ETA: Aye; gotta give some props to **Smapti** eh. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/46 "2018-10-28T06:17:27Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You should care. You should if you think you can fight them without understanding them, because you won’t win that way. Know your enemy. They’re going to be fighting just as hard as you, harder maybe. Be prepared. To them, they have the moral right of it, so there’s no reason to hold back. Remember: they think they are about to be ‘wiped out’. Be prepared, or don’t bother. > > And remember: the more people they get on their side, the more they _will_ have the right of it, in their minds. There’s strength in numbers, as the saying goes. > > ETA: Aye; gotta give some props to **Smapti** eh. But what does that have to do with what either of them said? Neither said “we don’t need to understand them.” Obviously we must understand our enemy to fight them. It seems your problem is with declaring this a fight of good vs. evil. But what does that have to do with the rest of your post? Understanding evil doesn’t make it less evil. Understanding why people turn to evil doesn’t make it less evil. We still have to fight to defeat evil. The fact that other side considers us to be evil and may fight harder is only more reason we must fight. Understanding people doesn’t win battles on its own. I wish it did. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/47 "2018-10-28T06:44:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Understanding people doesn’t win battles on its own. No, but it helps come up with winning strategies. Know thyself, know thy enemy, know the field of battle, Hulk Smash. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/48 "2018-10-28T06:50:47Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Nice hat trick, **Smapti**. > [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Not bad for a Modest Post. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > And, I must say, masterful whooshing indeed, **Smapti**. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > ETA: Aye; gotta give some props to **Smapti** eh. In retrospect, I missed “we need to unite and move on”, “let the families grieve privately”, “gun control wouldn’t have prevented this”, “God works in mysterious ways”, and several other Very Important Platitudes that are ritualistically uttered by people who want to avoid discussing the problem. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/49 "2018-10-28T07:42:58Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > In retrospect, I missed “we need to unite and move on”, “let the families grieve privately”, “gun control wouldn’t have prevented this”, “God works in mysterious ways”, and several other Very Important Platitudes that are ritualistically uttered by people who want to avoid discussing the problem. Nah, your post was perfect as it was. :: Prayers for America :: ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/50 "2018-10-28T08:02:31Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > In retrospect, I missed “we need to unite and move on”, “let the families grieve privately”, “gun control wouldn’t have prevented this”, “God works in mysterious ways”, and several other Very Important Platitudes that are ritualistically uttered by people who want to avoid discussing the problem. My new favorite: “We need to speed up the Death Penalty!” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/51 "2018-10-28T08:11:56Z")
Also, “#PittsburghStrong”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/52 "2018-10-28T08:12:16Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > No, but it helps come up with winning strategies. Know thyself, know thy enemy, know the field of battle, Hulk Smash. It does, but more than that, I don’t think y’all understand the depth of commitment that a lot of people are going to display here. They think they’re about to get ‘wiped out’, ‘taken over’, ‘overrun’… they think this is imminent. And they _know_ that they’re _right_: they are God’s chosen people. When you see a group of 30 people beating up on 2 or 3 others, what are you prepared to do?\* I think people should stat asking themselves questions like this now, before it happens. Look, I’m not quite as vocal about it all as **asahi** , but I’ve said before: I don’t think he’s wrong. \*ETA: Royal you, not you, **Nava** ; you’re cool. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/53 "2018-10-28T08:17:22Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Also, “#PittsburghStrong”. I know Las Vegas stands with Pittsburgh. Stay strong, brothers & sisters. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/54 "2018-10-28T08:26:44Z")
Now that we’ve thoroughly parodied the platitudes that get thrown around as a way of avoiding talk of actually doing anything to prevent the next such incident, my favorite not-so-platitude is courtesy of Mother Jones (the actual person, not the periodical/website): _Pray for the dead, and fight like hell for the living._ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/55 "2018-10-28T09:01:35Z")
The killer’s “screw your optics, I’m going in” may have been a reference to [this](https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2018/10/26/we-want-you-here-turning-point-usa-bans-anti-semitic-youtuber-event-only-because-optics/221879): > [@](#): > > Sharpe later posted a Periscope video in which TPUSA Director of Urban Engagement Brandon Tatum explained to him the reason he couldn’t be in TPUSA events: “the optics of the anti-Semitic rhetoric.” Tatum cited concerns that Sharpe’s record of anti-Semitic rhetoric could be reported by the press if he was in attendance. Tatum added, “You’re a grown-ass man – I can’t force you out of here. But I want you to understand where we are coming from. You understand?” He summarized TPUSA’s position as being “between a rock and a hard place” because while “personally, none of us have a problem with you – we want you here. It’s the optics. The media.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/56 "2018-10-28T09:22:02Z")
Three weeks ago, [Rudy Giuliani](https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani) [retweeted a tweet that said](https://twitter.com/jimmyotx/status/1048560118407864321), “Follow the money. I think Soros is the anti-Christ! He must go! Freeze his assets & I bet the protests stop” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/57 "2018-10-28T09:26:23Z")
Bunch more [Fox News tweets, fanning the Soros conspiracy flames](https://twitter.com/curaffairs/status/1056389619883933696) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/58 "2018-10-28T10:34:57Z")
The Guardian has an article [here](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/27/pittsburgh-shooting-suspect-antisemitism). > [@Guardian](#): > > Pittsburgh shooting: suspect railed against Jews and Muslims > > … > > The account suggested white Americans and “Western Civilization” were “headed towards certain extinction”, and that Jewish and Muslim people were to blame. > > The final post read: “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The Guardian reports more nastiness in the same vein. As regards his politics: > [@](#): > > The Robert Bowers Gab posts also repeatedly criticized Donald Trump for not being a true ally of white nationalists. > > “Trump is a globalist, not a nationalist,” Bowers wrote. “There is no #MAGA [Make America Great Again] as long as there is a [Jewish] infestation.” > > The account also shared a post criticizing of Trump for charges brought by federal prosecutors against a small number of violent white supremacists after protests in Charlottesville, Virginia last year during which a counterprotester died. The guy seems like a serious nutjob. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/59 "2018-10-28T10:47:46Z")
In less than 3 hours I have to drop my 10 year old off at Hebrew school. At a synagogue that occupies the same kind of position as the Tree of Life. In the same kind of neighbourhood as Squirrel Hill. We’re in Canada, but Trump’s rhetoric leaks up here too. The number three candidate in the Toronto mayoral race was Faith Goldy, a known white supremacist and anti-Semite. She only won 4% of the vote, but that means that of every 25 people I walk past as least one harbours these kinds of views. I shouldn’t have to explain to a 10 year old that people hate her because of her ancestors. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2018, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600/60 "2018-10-28T11:33:22Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > I shouldn’t have to explain to a 10 year old that people hate her because of her ancestors. That’s just a pretext: it’s because she’s different. It applies to race. It applies to sex. It applies to skin colour. It applies to politics. It applies to sexuality. It applies to intellect. And so on. If you’re different, there’ll be a group of people who hate you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/synagogue-shooting-in-pittsburgh-2018-october-27/823600.md?page=4)