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[DC]
After Bright Start, Alleged Museum Shooter’s Life Spiraled Down
The Washington Post
/July 6, 2009
James W. von Brunn, the 88-year-old neo-Nazi accused of opening fire inside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, was a well-educated artist with a promising career and a family before he became obsessed with anti-Semitism and paranoia.
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on July 9th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I guess this leads us to assume that wallowing in a life of hate, paranioa and racism as noted in von Brunn’s case including a host of other white supremacists, exemplifies that this is a dead end path. A path of self-destruction that can steer towards incarceration or death. Its not a life to be whole and successful when one decides to become a neo-Nazi/white supremacist. Its quite rare for those entrenched in this lifestlye to be role models of extraordinarily feat.
on July 11th, 2009 at 3:25 am
Perhaps it was the other way around. I’m not saying you’re wrong, Ryan, I’m just saying that I have to ask what was cause and what was effect. The article doesn’t say what came first; was it dabbling in white-supremacy that caused the downward spiral, or was it the downturn in his life’s circumstances that caused him to begin to dabble in white-supremacy?
I just have to question this. It’s the armchair psychologist in me.
on July 12th, 2009 at 12:13 am
allen/ryan
my thought was as life spins out of control most people (not all but alot) tend to try to find causes. some look inward, some look outward in denile of there own shortcomings and blame others. add a witches brew of circumstances and sometimes it ends as this one, a violent episode. the hate in this country right now is boiling (at the very least simmering) it really needs to defuse and a sense civilty return.
peace be with you chris belanger
on July 12th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
If you fully disagreed with my assertion about the tawdry life of a neo-Nazi, spiralling out of control. Would you like to name a recent shining example of a successful neo-Nazi? And when I say “recent”, I’m merely implying in the 21st century, not dictators and tyrants of the last century. But if you wishing to discuss the psychological effects in neo-Nazism in today’s society, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that their movements is indeed based entirely upon hate, fear, xenophobia, fustration and anger. You should know that already if “its the armchair psychologist in you.” I don’t know how one can achieve holistic accomplishment through these negative forces, that usually drives one into a seedy world of criminal intent.
on July 19th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Chris is right- everyone has problems. Some people blame themselves, some don’t search for causes, and keep moving ahead (I THINK I do that…) and some create elaborate scenarios that blame people they don’t like anyway to reinforce pre-existing opinions.