Hate for Hate's Sake

His target was personal: his own Catholic Grade School

A trans-identifying man did this evil act. We cannot ignore this aspect, just as we would not if he were a neo-Nazi. However, there is more to it than that. The Minnesota school shooter was obsessed with notorious school shooters of the past. He claimed many enemies, such as Catholics, Jews, and MAGA, but there doesn’t appear to be an ideological motive in what he did. He said as much, claiming that was there no message to his act. Rather, it seems that he nursed hate for hate’s sake.

But he did choose a victim. And he made it horrifically personal, attacking the students of the grade school that he himself attended. His rage at an institution was taken out on innocent children. This institution the kids represented was his enemy because she stands against his chosen view of the world. There is a saying that ex-Catholics are the worst. Many blame the Church for their problems because the Church would not let them do what they wanted to do. Most frequently, their grievances concern the Church’s stance on divorce and remarriage, and on human sexuality in general.

But the Catholic Church exists as a contradiction to this world. The world teaches us that we can be our own little gods and do whatever we want—that we can mold our reality as we see fit. The Church stands as a constant reminder that God’s Kingdom is in our midst. That we must accept that God is the source of truth, love, and reality, not us. When we accept this reality, we will find peace, joy, and sanity. When we do not, we will get the opposite.

The fact is that sin darkens the intellect. Evil and sin blind us. The Minnesota school shooter is a breathtakingly awful illustration of this reality. When he looked in the mirror, he saw a demon staring back. He mocked the words of institution of the Eucharist, writing "Take this all of you and eat,” on a rifle magazine. On another he wrote, “Who am I?” a likely reference to God’s name, “I am.” He wanted to choose his own reality, not allow God to.

And as to his chosen identity, another saying he quoted on his magazines was about rising from the ashes like a phoenix. This is a specific reference to being transgender. And as Michael Knowles explained in his recent podcast, the transgender identity is a form of liturgical suicide. In effect, the transgender person puts to death their old identity in an effort to arise in their new form. This is their view—their old name is now a “dead name.”

Unfortunately, the shooter’s new identity did not bring him lasting peace and contentment. He claimed he was tired of being trans and “wished he had not brainwashed himself.” Suicide—for real this time—was the answer. And like other deranged school shooters, he wanted to go out in a blaze of infamy.

He accomplished that. God have mercy. His pain is not over, I’m sorry to say.