“The teenage gunman who entered Arapahoe High School on Friday afternoon and shot two fellow students with a shotgun was outspoken about politics, was a gifted debater and might have been bullied for his beliefs, according to students who knew him,” denverpost.com reports, obliquely enough. “‘He had very strong beliefs about gun laws and stuff,’ said junior Abbey Skoda, who was in a class with Pierson during her freshman year. ‘I also heard he was bullied a lot.'” Hello? Those beliefs were . . . ? Finally, in paragraph 15, the Post reveals Pierson’s political perspective . . .
In one Facebook post, Pierson attacks the philosophies of economist Adam Smith, who through his invisible-hand theory pushed the notion that the free market was self-regulating. In another post, he describes himself as “Keynesian.”
“I was wondering to all the neoclassicals and neoliberals, why isn’t the market correcting itself?” he wrote. “If the invisible hand is so strong, shouldn’t it be able to overpower regulations?”
Yes, yes. What about guns? Here’s the relevant info on Pierson’s now-wiped Facebook page:
Pierson also appears to mock Republicans on another Facebook post, writing “you republicans are so cute” and posting an image that reads: “The Republican Party: Health Care: Let ’em Die, Climate Change: Let ’em Die, Gun Violence: Let ’em Die, Women’s Rights: Let ’em Die, More War: Let ’em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?”
Carl Schmidt and Brendon Mendelson, both seniors at Arapahoe High, knew Pierson. They said he had political views that were “outside the mainstream,” but they did not elaborate.
Turns out that the Post edited out some important information in that regard. mediaite.com caught this one:
The gunman’s parents divorced in late 2011, according to court records. The divorce was finalized in August 2012.
Thomas Conrad, who had an economics class with the gunman, described him as a very opinionated Socialist.
“He was exuberant I guess,” Conrad said. “A lot of people picked on him, but it didn’t seem to bother him.”
I wonder if the mainstream media would have been this quiet about Pierson’s belief system if he’d been staunchly pro-gun rights and Republican-leaning. Somehow I doubt it. [h/t geoffb]