Why did Loughner do it? (Or what made him do it?)

The short answer is that I don't have an answer, and I believe from reading about the shooting incident that most people don't completely understand why either. It is hard, if not impossible, to comprehend what might bring any individual to commit such extreme acts of violence. I think that certain beliefs Loughner had might have driven him to commit the shooting, but that his mental instability ultimately led to the violence he committed.

Many of his radical beliefs are evident in the videos that he posted on his YouTube channel. Loughner mentions English grammar in his first video entitled, "Hello." He claims that, "The majority of people, who reside in District-8, are illiterate- hilarious. I don't control your English grammar structure, but you control your English grammar structure." This statement appears confusing, if not the rant of a madman, but put into context it can be seen as connected to a radical right-wing ideology. Eve Conant of The Daily Beast connects Loughner’s obsession with grammar to the far-right activist David Wynn Miller who believes in a 'truth language' that can throw off the government. This is just one example among many, including his concern about the currency, where Loughner’s rants appear to be connected to right wing ideologies and rhetoricians.

Who is to blame for the shooting? Loughner is obviously to blame because he physically committed the act, but can blame be extended to include radical individuals who may have influenced his own actions and beliefs? Milbank directly addresses this issue by examining the rhetoric and following of Glenn Beck. She writes that while Beck disavows violence, he also encourages viewers to read between the lines and infer things he does not say aloud. As a result, there have been incidents of stalking and violence towards government officials that may have been connected directly to Glenn Beck’s radio or television programs such as in the cases of Greg Giusti who threatened Nancy Pelosi after Beck said publically that he wished to poison her. A crazy person watching Beck could have thought he was doing the world a favor by taking on this violent Nancy Pelosi. Nonetheless, it was Giusti rather than Beck who seriously threatened Pelosi and was probably mentally unstable.

Ultimately, who is to blame? Individuals who call for violent, radical action or the crazy people who carry out this violence? Even though Loughner may have been influenced by violent, radical ideologies, it is difficult to blame rhetoric alone. The NY Times article entitled, “Behind Jared Loughner’s Mug-Shot Grin,” is fascinating in that it attempts to chronicle Loughner's slow but startling descent into insanity, marked by moments of failure and disappointment. I believe that ideology did certainly play a part in Loughner’s violent choices but that ultimately the shooting was the result of Loughner’s mental instability and that the violence was influenced by radical ideology.