Karl wrote: The equivalent would be blaming "YouTube videos!!!". I'm not doing that - nor am I actually blaming any individual other than the shooter - I'm just pointing out how the political movement of which Pewdiepie is a part can lead to radicalisation and ultimately events like this one.
Precisely. One can say the shooter was influenced by something, or at the very least found in a figure like PDP something to latch his awful beliefs onto, without applying direct blame.
Preezy wrote:I do think though that you need a big dose of mental illness to cross the line from embedding yourself into the alt-right mindset and actually picking up an assault rifle and shooting people. That's not to say the rhetoric isn't a factor, but the mental state of the person is the largest factor in this whole sorry mess.
Firstly, mental illness is often held up as an exculpatory factor in situations like these. We do not know the shooter had any sort of mental illness and the immediate suggestion that this is the 'primary' cause does a huge disservice to those people living with mental health issues.
Secondly, beliefs do not form in a vacuum. The will to go out and act in this manner does not pop into a person's head fully formed. The disgusting views this man held, that his country was being invaded by Muslims, that The Great Replacement was real, come from conspiracy peddlers and misinformation plied through YouTube channels and personalities like Candace Owens.
No one factor can be said to be 'the largest' here as each factor is itself a consequence of another.