Odette Youssef
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Good morning, Michelle.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Well, he appeared to keep several accounts on sites including X, Facebook, and Goodreads. And there are a few things that raise questions. On his Goodreads account, for example, he posted an excerpt from the writings of Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. So we might wonder how that may relate to a trajectory toward political violence. Also, one of the pictures on his ex-account banner...
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
is an X-ray of a spine with four large screws inserted in what looks like major surgery. Now, we don't know for certain that this is his X-ray, but there are reports that he may have sustained this injury in a surfing accident in Hawaii. But all told, Michelle, his digital footprint really doesn't clarify much because it cut off in the spring.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Here's Jared Holt of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Well, from what's been shared by other reporting, this short note conveys a deep anger toward the healthcare industry and a feeling that someone had to do something about it. But other than that, no. You know, if some of this ties back to a possible injury that he had and perhaps what he ran into while trying to get care, it doesn't make any of those connections.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
Now that he's in custody, I imagine we're going to learn much more. But there is another part of this that's troubling, and that part is the valorization that we're seeing of the suspect within some of the mainstream public.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
So this killing, you know, seemed to tap into the feeling that seemingly most Americans have had at one time or another of frustration and helplessness with the healthcare industry. What really struck me, though, is that I have typically seen people who commit mass violence or political violence praised, even venerated as martyrs, in really kind of
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
dark corners of the extremist world, you know, within online communities that emulate mass shooters, for instance, or in violent white supremacist spaces. So seeing a much wider and mainstream public call this suspect a, quote, hero is troubling.
Up First from NPR
Syria's New Reality, Shooting Suspect's Ideology, Judges Block Grocery Merger
And for extremist analysts that I spoke to, you know, this really kind of speaks to how Americans have, over time, become more open-minded toward political violence.