Patterico's Pontifications

7/30/2006

L.A. Times Editors: “We Just Can’t Solve the Mystery of Why that Muslim Guy Shot All Those Jews”

Filed under: Dog Trainer,General — Patterico @ 10:18 am



What was the motive of the guy who shot up the Jewish Center in Seattle? L.A. Times editor Dean Baquet says:

Baque
You got me!

Yes, if you ask the editors of the Los Angeles Times, it’s an utter mystery why the shootings occurred. At least, if you look at Page One. Here is a graphic from the paper’s front page today, teasing stories appearing inside the paper:

Mystery.JPG

The teaser leads to a story on Page A22, which contains the following clue to the “mystery” of the shooter’s motive:

Haq reportedly shouted about his anger toward Jews, toward Israel and its war in Lebanon, and toward U.S. policy in Iraq.

Hmmmm. Yes, it’s a head-scratcher. Further clues to this impenetrable conundrum appear further down in the story:

According to [Seattle Police Chief R. Gil Kerlikowske], Haq said he “wanted the U.S. to leave Iraq, that his people had been mistreated, the U.S. was arming Israel, and he didn’t care if he died.

The official police report, released Saturday and based on interviews with witnesses in the office and on the transcript of the 911 call, quoted Haq as saying: “I’m not upset at you people; I’m upset at your foreign policy. These are Jews, and I’m tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East.

Then he repeated his name and gave his Social Security number, adding: “I just want us to get out of Iraq. I’m an American too, but I want our people out of Iraq.”

By Jove, Watson! I do believe we are getting closer to the solution of this indecipherable enigma!

Let’s look at some other news reports to see if we can get to the bottom of this brain-teaser. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports:

“He said, ‘I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel,’ before opening fire on everyone,” said Marla Meislin-Dietrich, a database coordinator for the center. “He was randomly shooting at everyone.”

Jot that down, Watson! He said he was “angry at Israel.” I do believe that could be a clew.

The AP gives us further leads in this story:

Seattle police said Haq picked up the two handguns and spare ammunition just days earlier, and appeared to have targeted the federation after a cursory Internet search for Jewish organizations.

Remember that, Watson! “Jewish organizations.” Why, I do believe that was the very type of organization that ended up being targeted! Yes, I believe we may be onto something here.

The game’s afoot!

We’ll examine what the paper may have really meant using the paper’s own style of burying context: by placing it below the fold.

[Extended entry]

OK, let’s pause the clowning for just a moment to examine what the editors would say if we called them on it. My guess is that they would point to this passage:

Law enforcement authorities, Haq’s friends and his parents’ friends all said Saturday that Haq’s inner motivations remained a mystery. Some speculated he might have sought to cloak an animus toward women by acting as a self-appointed warrior against Israel or against Jews.

That’s the entire basis for concluding that Haq’s motivation was a “mystery.” There is abundant and overwhelming evidence leading to an obvious conclusion: Haq killed Jews because he was a fanatical Muslim who hates Israel and hates Jews. Yet the paper labels his motivation a “mystery” on the front page based on speculation from family friends and unnamed law enforcement officials, no doubt pontificating through a mouthful of kruller.

Now, I’m perfectly willing to believe that Haq’s buddies and family friends are baffled by his actions. That’s a pretty common reaction among those close to people who commit a horrific crime. But I’m not sure I buy the idea that law enforcement would claim to be perplexed by his motivations. The law enforcement authorities who supposedly say this are not identified. I’d sure like to know who they are, so I can call them up myself and ask them what the big mystery is. Maybe they’re like L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca, mouthing off to the press without having read the police reports.

Because if you look at the actual evidence, it’s not a stumper, L.A. Times editors. It’s really not. Haq killed Jews because he was a fanatical Muslim who hated Israel and Jews. It’s OK to put that on your front page. Because it’s the truth.

(Baquet image via L.A. Observed.)

UPDATE: Thanks to Instapundit for the link, and welcome to Instapundit readers. Bookmark the main page here. And subscribe via Bloglines using this button:

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83 Responses to “L.A. Times Editors: “We Just Can’t Solve the Mystery of Why that Muslim Guy Shot All Those Jews””

  1. That was classic!

    Lou (3f4b89)

  2. I’m baffled.

    CraigC (9cd021)

  3. We can fight the Muslim fanatics in the Middle East (and I think we should be fighting more, rather than less) but the problem will persist until we admit that there are Mosques all over the world teaching their people to hate more deeply than we can even understand. Once the civilised world realizes that this is the root of the problem and finds a way to intervene, we MAY be able to erradicate Muslim Fanaticism in a generation.

    Did George Bush say this would be a long war? Yes he did. But we won’t make real progress until we find ways to intervene in the teaching of hatred.

    Mike S (2639a4)

  4. Moral equivilancy strikes again.

    Garym (08810d)

  5. It’s OK to put that on your front page. Because it’s the truth.

    Are you sure that’s OK? In this day and age? You can’t just be giving people the facts and letting that inform their worldview. It’s too dangerous. Someone might get intolerant.

    Pablo (08e1e8)

  6. I may be a day late and a dollar short on all of this, but for what it’s worth,…

    I condemn this.

    I also condemn myself for enabling this. And I condemn the commenters for being so slow on their condemnation. And I condemn condemning facicious condemnations.

    That should about cover it.

    EFG (acbc19)

  7. Someone might get intolerant ….

    Because they are taught that.

    Gee, I wonder what would happen if we taught people to be more intelligent than the media??

    Think they’d understand how to live in this world without ‘thier’ help & headlines??

    Daniel (d37532)

  8. Cheap sarcasm is easy, but this was valuable sarcasm. I particularly liked the line “the game’s afoot” in this context, which I shall use in the future without attribution.

    Brian (5f2dda)

  9. I’m sure the answers will be published in tomorrow’s paper.

    On the Comics page.

    Maybe in “Doonesbury”.

    Jim D. (e8d7ce)

  10. The unwillingness to admit what this is all about goes well up the chain of command. I doubt the cops on the street have a problem. Someday, we have to get serious and stop the Saudis from funding mosques on condition they accept radical mullahs with Wahabbi doctrine. One way might be to deny visas. That would be a start although it would leave us with thousands of time bombs like this guy and the limousine driver who shot up the El Al counter at LAX in 2004. He was a “mystery” too. And then the North Carolina Jeep driver. Too many mysteries for me.

    Mike K (afa50e)

  11. I still don’t get it. I must be overqualifed for a senior position at the LA Times.

    perfectsense (839596)

  12. You people are totally missing the point. See this:

    Some speculated he might have sought to cloak an animus toward women by acting as a self-appointed warrior against Israel or against Jews.

    What the Times is telling us is that he was a testosterone-addled heterosexual male who felt threatened by strong, confident women, and responded with predictable anti-feminist male violence. Got it?

    Dave S. (28fb1f)

  13. When we’re looking for explanation of this stuff, we’d be looking for evidence of violent disposition that precedes the event. So, for instance, that he became a member of a virulently anti-American/anti-Israel mosque would be an example of that.

    Do you understand?

    jpe (b6f329)

  14. How about evidence of what he said at the time? Or evidence of his searching the Internet for Jewish locations?

    Patterico (50c3cd)

  15. In other news, the L.A. Times claims it cannot understand why buzzards pick at helpless dead coyotes, why dolphins are forced to surface so often, and what would be wrong with a 100% abortion rate.

    Brian (3f528a)

  16. Thankfully their circulation is imploding – otherwise I would be driven to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the rest of us!

    ZF (6f173f)

  17. One question I’ve yet to see asked: Did Haq regularly (or even irregularly) attend a Mosque? If so, which one? What is the message from the Imam?

    Becker (b5235c)

  18. Looks like ‘Clueless’ relocated from Seattle.

    Ken (c1fb6a)

  19. Good assessment of the Times in general. That is why I don’t read it.

    thewalrus (424d19)

  20. Dave S:

    What the Times is telling us is that he was a testosterone-addled heterosexual male who felt threatened by strong, confident women, and responded with predictable anti-feminist male violence. Got it?

    That makes far more sense than the idea that he’s a Jew hating Muslim. Even though he says he’s a Jew hating Muslim who went looking for Jews to shoot. Clearly, it’s his identification with the hegemonic patriarchy that drove him to shoot Jews women.

    Good catch, Dave.

    Pablo (08e1e8)

  21. We have to accept that Editors with Great Wisdom carrying Great Burdens have decided that a killer’s motives are not in the public interest.

    We can only look on in confusion, wondering “Why do they (editors) hate us?” Not that it’s in the public interest for them to tell us. But we can be grateful they don’t carry Kalashnikovs or Katyushas.

    PublicSerf (06d5f5)

  22. Pablo,

    He hid his muslim misogyny behind his muslim Jew hatred.

    Geepers (5ba529)

  23. It’s Bush’s fault. (can be used for any mystery with negative consquences)

    docweasel (85bd73)

  24. More evidence that *hate crime legislation* is really intended for straight white males.

    I’ll bet a round of beers this guy doesn’t get hit with a hate crime…and he’s qualified for two. Where are the radical feminists? Where are the diversity police to point out the racism?

    Ooops, I forgot, he doesn’t qualify for that kind of vilification because he represents those who hate U.S.

    Haq should write Cynthia McKinney, she can probably help him, she hates Jews also and has a little more clout.

    billy (e1b108)

  25. #23,

    What you report actually has a technical name.

    It is called the “Causen Effect”.

    M. Simon (8b18fe)

  26. Perhaps the artistic style of the Jewish Center displeased this guy with the gun. Maybe if they had had a better architect.

    Neo (cba5df)

  27. […] The LA Times has a big mystery on their hands. Posted by Ian S. in […]

    Inoperable Terran » Paging Inspector Clouseau (dacd80)

  28. For an organization that has no trouble spotting the pernicious impact of right-wing Christians, racial profiling in myriad police departments and the falsehoods of Fox News, they sure seem flumoxed by reporting done by the perpetrator.

    Menlo Bob (edd6b2)

  29. I think you all are misinterpreting what he said. I believe he was merely driven mad by thirst. After all, he told a number of people, “I could just murder some juice right now.” Y’all are way off base.

    Besides, everybody knows that when there’s a mass murder, it’s conservative talk radio’s fault.

    Al Maviva (ef3fd8)

  30. Patterico, Baquet is saying “no mas” right now

    don surber (c2a99c)

  31. Elementary, Indeed!

    Mydear Watson (6606d6)

  32. Let’s try that Link one more time:
    Elementary Indeed

    Mydear Watson (6606d6)

  33. I’m quite upset that you would seem to blame an innocent kruller as part of this.

    No doubt, the pastry is innocent.

    Confederate Yankee (8ec26d)

  34. cloak an animus …
    Clearly the LATimes suspects the involvement of intelligence operatives…
    However they’re not clear what sort of a weapon an animus is…indeed the editor had previously thought it was some sort of relative – like an aunt, only collective.

    canker (6197f4)

  35. If a Klansman gunned down a group of Black people whilst screaming his hatred of them, would the Times be searching for his true motivations? I’m guessing probably no.

    John Jorsett (acb75b)

  36. I’m going to get over to Intersect HQ and run some computer programs on this information.

    Thanks,
    Sam Casey, Special Agent, Intersect

    Sam Casey (231084)

  37. Incredible…in a bad way.

    Maybe they should contact the OC Register. They can analyze situations such as this instantly! For instance, today they reported on a radical Muslim protest yesterday, kids dressed up like Palestinian mini-shahids and all, and knew instantly why no Jews were there to harass them:

    No counter protesters were at the demonstration, possibly in part because Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath.

    Why, they’re Amazing Kreskins compared to the LAT!

    Patricia (2cc180)

  38. It’s George Bush’s fault that the LAT is so perplexed. He keeps saying that Islam is a religion of peace- maybe the LAT is taking him at his word.

    (Ooh, I zinged George Bush from the right. That’s gotta be a bad thing.)

    Brian O'Connell (ef47b0)

  39. 13. When we’re looking for explanation of this stuff, we’d be looking for evidence of violent disposition that precedes the event. So, for instance, that he became a member of a virulently anti-American/anti-Israel mosque would be an example of that.
    Do you understand
    Comment by jpe — 7/30/2006 @ 11:48 am

    17. One question I’ve yet to see asked: Did Haq regularly (or even irregularly) attend a Mosque? If so, which one? What is the message from the Imam?
    Comment by Becker — 7/30/2006 @ 12:00 pm

    These are reasonable questions as to the origins of his motives, and whether he could have been identified and prevented from doing what he did.
    But for the headline to be “Motive is a Mystery” seems less than thoughtful. Words are their profession. If they would try more often to simply deliver the facts clearly, instead of trying to influence opinion any way they can, such foolishness could be avoided.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  40. Either the press are complete morons, or they are trying to undermine America’s best interests in the world. (I have my suspicions which best describes them). Either way, I don’t buy the paper anymore. Nothing of value is found in it, except discount coupons.

    Joyce (d8da01)

  41. That Baquet guy was a mystery until you put up his picture. Of course, that’s it… he’s African-american. A quota queen. That explains everything.

    If this doesn’t reflect the dumbing-down of black men in America caused by set-asides and affirmative action, nothing else does.

    Only a guy who got his position based on his skin color and despite the mediocrity of his intelligence could find the Seattle shooter’s motivations a mystery.

    [I disagree with that entirely. First, I believe he is not “African-American” and resists that label, calling himself Creole. Second, he has been at the New York Times and seems to be a very intelligent guy. I doubt seriously he got his position on the basis of affirmative action. — Patterico]

    paul a'barge (5559da)

  42. Patterico, please review comment #43 for editing. Even if one thinks affirmative action does more harm than good, this “far right-wing Christian fanatic” thinks it was a comment unbecoming of the site. [Even if it is sarcasm from someone from the left].

    [I already added my two cents to the comment before I even saw yours, but thanks for agreeing. — Patterico]

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  43. Maybe the Times isn’t so off after all.

    Mr. Haq was supposed to answer in court this week to a lewd conduct charge — his hearing got cancelled for some reason. He recently was arrested for exposing himself in a public park. Maybe the Times suspects, but is afraid to say and, therefore, is inclined to call it a mystery, that Mr. Haq’s sudden embrace of Islamist nihilism was actually a calculated ploy. Calculated because he probably knew his action could instantly convert him from being a lowly, shamed pervert into a glorified hero by an instantly accepting world-wide peer group.

    Scott (375385)

  44. I think I can understand the Times confusion, it isn’t like the dude did anything clearly anti-semitic like drunkenly shout “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world!” while he was getting arrested.

    B Moe (2cbcfb)

  45. #29 seems to have the best theory.

    Conservatives everywhere should regard the current LAT, NYT, BBC and several others as blessings. There bias is so blatant that it hurts the left. Bias works best when unnoticed.

    The right has bias in their media also. It is just not hurting them as much. They seem to recognize certain tactics backfire.

    K (f31147)

  46. If interested you might be interested in the violence that occured at an Australian protest see

    babko (16ac62)

  47. I wonder if the editors/reporters at the LA Times have solved the mystery of why Tim McVey blew up the Murrah Federal Office Bldg? Oh, that’s right: he was a pissed-off white guy who loved guns and hated his government for killing members of a gun-loving right-wing Christian cult, and read the racist apocalyptic fantasy “The Turner Diaries.” EVERYONE can figure THAT out. When a pissed-off Muslim murders Jews, that’s a mystery.

    Wayne Dougherty (25b901)

  48. I wonder if the editors/reporters at the LA Times have solved the mystery of why Tim McVey blew up the Murrah Federal Office Bldg? Oh, that’s right: he was a pissed-off white guy who loved guns and hated his government for killing members of a gun-loving right-wing Christian cult, and read the racist apocalyptic fantasy “The Turner Diaries.”

    I think he wuz mad at wimmen.

    Patterico (50c3cd)

  49. Maybe Emmitt Till wasn’t killed because he was black. Just because the killers stated they killed him because he was a black man who talked to a white women doesn’t show motive. We should assign those mystery sleuths at the LAT to reexzmine this old historical fact that we assumed we had down and use the new LAT logic to find out the real truth.

    Kevin Peters (f3442f)

  50. Mystery:…

    A teaser from the L.A. Times front page:

    The Volokh Conspiracy (fa8fba)

  51. Maybe if they’d try looking for “clues”, instead of “clews”. Or maybe just reading the WAPO.

    I can’t wait for tomorrows NYT headline:

    “Israel invading hoards deliberately targeting Hezbollah freedom fighters”

    Brave Hezzi Soldiers shielding their wives and children with their bodies

    Big Bang Hunter (9562fb)

  52. I don’t think they’re that clueless.
    What they mean is: “Why did this Jew-hating Muslim shoot Jews when there are so many Jew-hating Muslims who never actually shoot Jews?”
    That’s a reasonable question, but they won’t allow themselves to imply that there are a lot of Muslims who hate Jews. So they prefer sounding like morons.

    maor (d21f09)

  53. “Some speculated he might have sought to cloak an animus toward women by acting as a self-appointed warrior against Israel or against Jews.”

    Count on this being the excuse, the same way it was in Canada quite some time ago with Marc Lépine.

    John Nevard (19964b)

  54. Have journalists dumbed down? Or are they just plain dumb?…

    What is it with our supposedly learned journalists? Is their dumbing down a recent phenonomen? It is scary to think that we’ve been spoon fed their ignorance for years and years. A Newsbusters story on Chris Matthews of Hardball fame details the embar…

    Squiggler (72c8fd)

  55. Only a guy who got his position based on his skin color and despite the mediocrity of his intelligence could find the Seattle shooter’s motivations a mystery.

    Baquet is an editor. The odds are very high that he didn’t write the tease and he definitely didn’t write the story, but it is his paper and he’s responsible for what goes in it.

    How racist do you have to be to make a dumbass comment like that? What makes you think there’s anything “only” about Baquet and this story?

    Pablo (08e1e8)

  56. Who is going to look for the evidence/ask the questions compiled in #41? The media? Right.

    Ace reporter (who just might be a tad liberal and/or PC) “M’am, what can you tell us about your (relative, neighbor, co-worker)? Did he frequent mosques that incited violence against jews?”

    or does this sound more likely:

    Ace reporter “M’am, did you ever see anything that indicated he was capable of this (i.e. as if his statements didn’t exist)?”

    And I think, but aren’t really sure, that this might have more to do with PC than a liberal bias (qualifier double dip).

    Sweetie (901f54)

  57. I think people are missing the point about the “animus toward women” angle. The entire Muslim world has an “animus toward women,” from the social and economic restrictions they place on women to the clothes they make them wear to the “72 virgins” fanfare we hear so much about. It’s not far-fetched at all to believe that certain parts of this society cannot handle the interaction with woman — it’s hard enough to do it in our own free society — and that they think it’s acceptable resort to violence to relive their tension, using Jews as a convenient scapegoat.

    Henry (cc9b1b)

  58. I guess Mr. Baquet was equally clueless about the motives of James Byrd’s killers.

    david (8fa1dd)

  59. this might have more to do with PC than a liberal bias

    There’s a difference?

    Pablo (efa871)

  60. Yes, let’s get all worked up about a Muslim who kills people because he felt his beliefs were being violated. he is obviously a mega-representation of all Muslims, who are just extremists who want to kill people.

    I just can’t, for the life of me, think of a situtaion in which a Christian decided to kill people he felt were violating his beliefs. Hmm. Are there ANY examples from history of this? Rudolph? McVeigh? The Crusades?

    Shorter Rightwing Meanies (e92581)

  61. Yes, let’s get all worked up about a Muslim who kills people because he felt his beliefs were being violated…

    …by a conflict thousnads of miles away, between two countries he has absolutely no connection to, and so he decided to kill some Jews.

    Yes, let’s do get worked up about that, moron. Any thinking person would find that conduct absolutely outrageous.

    Now, where is Rudolph? Where is McVeigh? Those are good examples. I like the comparison. And the judicial outcomes.

    OK, they went a little too easy on Rudolph…

    Pablo (efa871)

  62. Ah, the Crusades. Yes, lets start using centuries old incidents as justification for current violence. Come to think of it, I’m Irish and my ancestors were driven off their land by British landlords. Many of my ancestors relatives starved to death. I think I’ll take my revenge out on the British embassy and I’ll use the crusades defense. Heck, the grievance is a couple centuries fresher then the crusades so of course I can use it in a rational discussion of todays events. And the British can go after Sweden and Norway for the Viking invasion of the Isles.

    Kevin Peters (f3442f)

  63. Web Reconnaissance for 07/31/2006…

    A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention….

    The Thunder Run (59ce3a)

  64. “Haq killed Jews because he was a fanatical Muslim who hated Israel and Jews.”

    Small nitpick – he obviously wasn’t that fanatical of a Muslim because last year he converted to Christianity, was baptized, and attended a Christian Bible study group for several months:

    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/279424_convert30ww.html

    LegalEagle (640beb)

  65. he obviously wasn’t that fanatical of a Muslim because last year he converted to Christianity, was baptized, and attended a Christian Bible study group for several months

    Yet he announced that he was a muslim when he came in shooting. You can take the boy out of islam, but you can’t take the islam out of the boy.

    david (8fa1dd)

  66. For all of the details about his flirtings with Christianity, details about his emotional difficulties and legal troubles are conspicuous by their absence……

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  67. Came over from Brain-Terminal.com this was an interesting story I’d never hear about.

    Levois (794946)

  68. Submitted for Your Approval…

    First off…  any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here,  and here.  Die spambots, die!  And now…  here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…

    Watcher of Weasels (0ae8fa)

  69. […] L.A. Times Editors: “We Just Can’t Solve the Mystery of Why that Muslim Guy Shot All Those Jews” Yeah… Why did he do it? Somehow the LA Times can’t figure it out. Maybe it has something to do with him shouting about hating Israel and Jews? Nah… Hatred can’t be a motive… (tags: latimes hypocrites islam bias hatecrime) […]

    insignificant thoughts » Blog Archive » links for 2006-08-03 (986d71)

  70. […] The winning non-Council post was Treppenwitz’s account of a lesson to be learned from a barfight which is being widely cited in the blogosphere these days, “A Difficult Lesson”. The second place non-Council post was Patterico’s Pontifications’s “L.A. Times Editors:  ‘We Just Can’t Solve the Mystery of Why That Muslim Guy Shot All Those Jews”. […]

    The Glittering Eye » Blog Archive » The Council Has Spoken! (80002b)

  71. The Council Has Spoken:…

    This weeks winning Council post comes to us courtesy of the newest member, AbbaGav. It is an unfortunate comment on the short comings of the MSM that he feels the need to point out something that should be obvious but…

    ShrinkWrapped (72c8fd)

  72. We all know that France gave land to the Vikings and then those pesky Normans had the gall to conquer England…that was the last successful invasion of Britain by a military action. It seems that the Islamofascists are using appeasement and reproductive rights to breed a new generation of jihadists and suicide bombers.

    My hope is that by living in a democracy long enough that that message will trump their hatred of Israel and Christianity. But if not, at least by killing themselves off they won’t breed.

    ‘Nuff said.

    Just a Progressyve... (24084a)

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  74. […] L.A. Times Editors: “We Just Can’t Solve the Mystery of Why that Muslim Guy Shot All Those Jews”Patterico’s Pontifications […]

    The Sundries Shack (bf591e)

  75. cash loans till payday…

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  76. I think everybody should grab guns and kill ALL muslims. Lets send them to their 72 virgins.

    muslim killer (1bfea9)

  77. […] Pattericos Pontifications L.A. Times Editors: We Just Cant … […]

    David Nicolle, The Crusades (Essential Histories) (5e634b)

  78. […] LA Times Editors: “We just can’t solve the mystery of why that Muslim guy shot all those… […]

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