The convoluted logic of assassins and the completely forgettable political statements that they made.

[polywog999]

First, I would like to offer my deepest sympathies to all Americans during this very sad time that we have all been forced to deal with.

When I look back into the history of assassinations, I am struck by the very clouded reasoning that has been applied by the perpetrators of political shootings over the last couple centuries.

Some of them matched up somewhat, at least.

John Wilks Booth and Abraham Linclon....The attempt to "blow up" Adolf Hitler...

Most others, however, made very little connection to the actual politics of the victim as the primary motivation for the killing.

Lee Harvey Oswald was a mal-content. His primary motivation in the assassination of John F. Kennedy seemed to be that Kennedy, was the president of the country that Oswald hated. He wanted to use this as a spring board to enter a communist country.

John Hinckley? He just wanted a date with Jody Foster.

Although not a politician, John Lennon was killed by a deranged fan who believed that he could become "somebody" by killing a man who deserved to die for being a "phony."

The reasoning behind killing most of these public figures, seemed to do more with the fact that they were famous and the person committing the act of violence against them was using their fame as a vehicle to make a statement.

What that statement actually was, is most of the time anyones guess.

Timothy Mcvie's reasoning behind the Oklahoma bombing was so off track that I still scratch my head. He did it because of Waco. The government caused a bunch of people to die- so he killed even more to somehow make it right.(?)

Most of these people were just plain unhappy. They killed to let the world know that they counted. The assassins crossed all lines of stereotypes, some considered themselves to be "real Americans" others were enemies that sought to rid the world of a tyrannical anti-Christ.

They certainly made a name for themselves. Who hasn't heard of Lenette "Squeaky" Fromme, or James Earl Ray?

It's sad, but unfortunately this gig has been going on for quite a while....and seems to actually work, in a sick, twisted way. :-(

[LD0506]

Really good point poly, you can go back further to a Leon Czolgosz that espoused anarchy but was at heart a loner, bullied in his childhood and a social outcast that thought being a copycat after the assassination of King Umberto of Italy sounded like a good way to make himself known.

This is not something new.

[polywog999]

Really good point poly, you can go back further to a Leon Czolgosz that espoused anarchy but was at heart a loner, bullied in his childhood and a social outcast that thought being a copycat after the assassination of King Umberto of Italy sounded like a good way to make himself known.

This is not something new.

Sirhan Sirhan was the exactly the same. I mean, it just did not make any sense politically.

The thing about Oswald, why everyone smells conspiracy in what he did....was that it really did not make very much sense at all. Almost none, and that made it easy to blame it on....well....everybody in the world.

[LD0506]

Absolutely right, and you could probably go down through the centuries and find that the overwhelming majority of political assassins were disconnected, operating on very limited and biased info and had long before armored themselves against any outside observations that they were loopy.

I honestly feel that unless you catch them early on, there's no stopping them.

[polywog999]

People in very visible positions of authority need to be extremely careful and on the lookout, not just the big wigs, but the the lesser knowns as well. It's a new day and age. Because of the internet, many more people are famous than even realize it.