by Cheri Roberts, Challenging the Rhetoric, The Guerilla Media Network

See part 1 HERE.

There is no question both Elliot Rodger and Ben Moynihan shared extremely misogynistic views. Even though they both desired women, their hatred of them is palpable in their sinister words and subsequent actions. Moynihan allegedly compared himself to serial killers. He referred to women as the, ‘weaker human breed’ and couldn’t understand why they didn’t want him. Rodger called himself, ‘magnificent’ the ‘perfect man’ and felt women were stupid and deserved to die for not recognizing it.

Interestingly, in Moynihan’s his arrest interview he tells authorities,

“I’ve had about 17 girlfriends in the past five years. I started getting a bit bored, I was a bit fussy, I couldn’t find the right woman.”  [emphasis mine]

That’s 17 more girlfriends than Elliot Rodger ever had and seems an unusual statement from a guy who says he can’t get a girlfriend.

Was Rodgers one of those ‘serial killers’ Moynihan likened himself too? Did he fancy himself a copy-cat commiserator? Or, had Rodger’s killings gone completely unnoticed by this teenage boy who was feeling and speaking his same misogynistic language while making violent plans of his own?

I don’t know the answer to that. What I do know is our own acceptance of the results of our declining Humanity is astounding. And these types of crimes? They are, in part, a result of this decline.

More Than Just Misogyny 

As society continues to evolve, that evolution is not always for the betterment of those fundamental things that make societies work and as history has proven, all societies have the potential to fail and fall.  I’m not talking Apocalypse tales; I mean real humanity and what that means, or used to mean; how we interact and engage with one another; what we think and feel about ourselves as well as others; our beliefs in life, love and even death.

What have we genuinely lost in community by way of perceived connectivity?

It’s frightening to admit I am wholly unsure whether we could, let alone would, be able to cut through our righteous denial of a societal problem we all bear some responsibility for. But, clearly we are too busy defending our disassociated existence born of our ever increasing technological lives to accept and acknowledge that maybe, we aren’t doing ourselves any favors here. In fact, I would challenge it is our own fault that we are crumbling as a civilization and the profound nature of such a crumbling is coming from within ourselves as people, not from climate change, corruption and nuclear ambitions.

Some say the responsibility for these kinds of crimes lays fully, and solely, on the one who committed the crime. I disagree although I do agree it is about choices, but it’s more about the choices we have all made as human beings experiencing and contributing to this thing we call life and what those experiences and contributions give back to the whole.

Plenty Of Perspectives

I sat down with Philip Bloeser, a childhood friend of Elliot Rodger  who he names 61 times in his, ‘Manifesto’. We talked of many aspects of the Isla Vista attacks and Rodger’s personality and mental health. I asked Bloeser if he feels technology and social media play a role in encouraging  or feeding into ones mental distress,

“Society may influence some people. I think the glamorization of sex in the Hollywood culture particularly may anger those like Rodger and even others, but I think it really comes down to a person’s own mental well-being however; social media — along with technology, ie smartphones, Skype, etc., has indeed changed the world. There is no question. The super-speed connectivity of sites like Facebook and Twitter have changed the rules and norms of socialization in general. IF society does in fact play a role influencing real-life characters like Rodger, Hollywood  definitely is part of that influence too. ”

Commenting on a TV interview with Rodger’s father, Bloeser says,

“Barbara Walter interviewed Elliot’s dad, Peter Rodger. During the T.V. interview special, she can be heard saying, ‘Elliot lived the good life’ … she has no idea what she’s saying. But you know what? That saying, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ speaks volumes in today’s society where too many people do just that.”

“Society may influence some … social media, along with technology, i.e. smartphones, Skype, etc., has indeed changed the world. There is no question. . “

While little is known about Moynihan, Rodger was socially awkward as a child and as an adult. He also had Asperger’s Syndrome. Over the years, although their childhood friendship had mostly waned, Bloeser says Rodger would sometimes contact him via email, text or social media and together they would make a plan to hang out adding,

“I did not reject Elliot as a person. He may have been very awkward, but he was still a human being who wanted to be around people.”

One “Virgin” killer claims to have had 17 girlfriends and the other never to have had a one. If Moynihan’s statements are true, he at lest knew how to talk to a girl. Rodger on the other hand didn’t know how to talk to anyone. Rodger’s confidence and preening in his videos startled those who knew him. According to Bloeser,

“Elliot never understood why he could not find girls to like him or talk to him. But the answer was beyond crystal clear: He never talked to them or approached them to begin with!!! With that being said, I’m not sure he fully understood/comprehended that, since he apparently having Aspergers Syndrome. Elliot was not one to smile often. What girl is going to want to talk with you when you don’t smile or have anything to say? In the times I had hung with Elliot, I honestly don’t remember him ever approaching anybody. I can’t even remember him approaching anybody in elementary school. The way Elliot spoke in the manifesto and the retribution video was nothing I had ever seen of him before. Yes, he had complained about his frustrations about women and spoke negatively of them a few times. But NOTHING like what could be seen in those two pieces. For one thing, the tone of Elliot’s voice in the retribution video did not ever sound like Elliot. And the way he laughed? That creeped me out for days! ”

Does Moynihan share any of Rodger’s awkward traits? Was he too on prescription medications, particularly things like SSRIs or other mood stabilizing, mind altering medications? If so, for what?

Rodger participated in female bashing forums online where he and other mysoginistic members compared stories and whined about how horrible women were and being burned by both them and pick-up artist advice services.

The pursuit of male entitlement is spreading Everyday Sexism #yesallwomen dysfunctional cultural messages

Molly Crabapple pointed out on Twitter: “White terrorism is always blamed on guns, mental health – never poisonous ideology.”

As we rail and rage over crimes like these we do nothing to change the society that creates it.

“I am not part of the human race. Humanity has rejected me. The females of the human species have never wanted to mate with me, so how could I possibly consider myself part of humanity? Humanity has never accepted me among them, and now I know why. I am more than human. I am superior to them all. I am Elliot Rodger… Magnificent, glorious, supreme, eminent… Divine. I am the closest thing there is to a living God. Humanity is a disgusting, depraved, evil species. It is my purpose to punish them all. I will purify the world of everything that is wrong with it. On the Day of Retribution, I will truly be a powerful God, punishing everyone I deem to be impure and depraved.”

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