Santa Barbara and Elliot Rodger: One Year On

Elliot Rodger

At the time of writing, it is one year since the tragic events on the evening of 23rd May, 2014, in Santa Barbara, California. Here, in the college district of Isla Vista, 22 year old Elliot Rodger embarked upon a lethal rampage which, despite its brief length, would ultimately leave seven dead - including the shooter - and a further fourteen others wounded. The events transpiring in May of 2014, I was moved to compose an essay in light of the eclectic and disparate attempts by numerous sources, groups and tendencies to explain shooter's actions, relative to the culmination of his plan - the pathetically self-aggrandized "Day of Retribution".

After due consideration, my own hypothesis as regards the troubled mind and life of Elliot Rodger proposed a cyclical model which saw his personality and emotional issues (Asperger's Syndrome/Autistic Disorder), collide with wider estimations of his social status and class which eventually mutated into mental illness - the psychosis which would stain Elliot's life for his last three, at least two, final years and which tempered his mentality to extreme ends. As I have said before, though I do believe that Asperger's Syndrome or an autistic condition was instrumental to Elliot's life, the spectrum of conditions does not, from the outset, incline those subject to them to violent or murderous behaviors, as suggested by the late Elliot Rodger: this something that must be reiterated as to ensure that such connotations do not - and can not - find root in the wider public debate, concerning these conditions.

My original essay on the subject of the Santa Barbara shootings and of Elliot Rodger's history and psychopathology can be found here on this same blog, from February of this year: 

Elliot Rodger: An Essay on Cause

Now, one year on since the shootings - drawn from the life of a singular person and which elicited a eclectic, often raucous and passionate social debate - perhaps the occasion calls for some reflection on where such issues now stand, since these events.

Image from Elliot's last video, overlaid with his manifesto words

As the debate centered upon Elliot's life and actions spiraled out in sweeping scope, I will frame my conclusions by reference to the three topics of my original essay - autistic ideation, social class and mental illness - before proffering a conclusion, of sorts.

In the first, considering the impact of Elliot's AS or autistic condition upon the wider narrative, there does seem to be a wider appreciation that Elliot's identity was informed by such personality and emotional factors, though not in such a way as to impel him to his deadly conclusions. This achieved on the part of wider understanding, representative groups and with a greater focus upon other factors, it remains that, in as far as I know, the incident moved little debate towards greater accommodation and a penetrative understanding of the role that autistic ideation did or did not play in Elliot's life. Some content to see the such things as just another aspect of an unprepossessing life or nature; other's considering still the importance of education in Elliot's life, had a more integrated regimen of instruction and discipline been given during his teenage years - something which, I feel too, could have given him a much wider perspective on life, and perhaps precluded his final descent in the last few years. Still, it remains to me to consider that the salience and wider appreciation of autism and of autistic conditions must be improved as to facilitate better education and integration; something more singularly progressive, as opposed to the stigma, negativity and denial which I have considered elsewhere in Elliot's life. 

Barbara Walters interviewing Peter Rodgers (Elliot's father) on the 20/20 show

As said beforehand, Elliot's social class is something of an irony, as it factors crucially into Elliot's egregious sense of entitlement, though it remains that his personal sub-culture of privilege is a sensitive subject for many to address. Of course, I am not denouncing meaningful, accomplished or tempered privilege, as said before in my essay, though I will reiterate that much of Elliot's world view was informed by a dull, leaden sense of privilege which he mused could be weighed against others - effacing his own insecurities and failings - while winning status and position among his peers, by virtue of social default. 

Of course, this was hardly ever the case and it both stung and perplexed Elliot all the more: this compounded by factors incongruous to his philosophy as he saw men of other races, and lesser social status, winning relationships with woman he believed should be reserving themselves for him. In some ways, there has been a guarded advance on this subject, and from different perspectives too. Critical sources analyzing and deconstructing this perspective, it is understood that Elliot's - and a wider culture's - understanding of privilege can be tempered by unsavory opinions about social status, entitlement and stratification: things that can, and have been, galvanized by numerous tendencies in society, and sometimes to very unpleasant ends.

 It is interesting and edifying to see this issue being addressed, and very much so, though it remains that a more thorough engagement with how privilege is embodied and understood is needed; more so, as to how privilege can be more constructively and actively tempered, relative to how wider society sees it in groups and individuals. A modicum of this critical sensibility may have helped Elliot to configure his situation in a different light, and perhaps even softened those dispositions which eventually coalesced into increasingly anachronistic prejudice and bigotry.

One of the final profiles of Elliot and the assorted responses to the shootings of 23rd May, 2014

Finally, there is the issue of mental illness, as it pertains not only to the crimes, but also to the final years and life of Elliot Rodger. In this regard, I have less optimism to reflect on, and rather a more dilute, tempered caution. In the year since the events in Santa Barbara, mental illness has become one of the principle elements so examined and spoken upon, as they pertain to the incident, though it has not garnered as much singular focus as other topics, so promoted by their patron groups - the case for racism, sexism and misogyny and negative masculinity all gathering particular followings, as opposed to the potent role played by mental illness in this whole, ugly affair. 

Though offered a considerable role, holistically speaking, the often undefined and sometimes nebulous nature of mental illness here has so often been effaced in favor of sometimes more classical or impassioned and less temperate explanations for Elliot's actions; these often espousing the primacy of their own focus at the expense of others, and of Elliot's psychopathology too. This lack of appreciation is unsettling, and more so when the very valid perspective is eschewed or denied in the face of more populist arguments which assert that one or more factors negate the influence mental illness played in this problem. In all, this is very troubling: doubly so when it is considered that Elliot's status in one or more groups - be they race, ethnicity, gender etc - precludes the serious consequences of having a mental illness that can result in far reaching social consequences, for themselves and for others. This finding somewhat disheartening, it remains a deficit and lingering problem for all and any groups attempting to appreciate the cause of Elliot's actions and the wider consequences thereof for the social complexion of mental illness, in western societies.

In conclusion, one year on from the 23rd of May, 2014, the legacy of Elliot Rodger's life and actions remain vital and important, if extremely disputed, fragmented and sometimes nebulous. The consequences of Elliot's actions working to indict many wider issues which made his crimes all the more sharply tempered and pernicious, it remains too that the narrative of the man's life - as it was so formed, colored and textured - was emblematic of both personal and social problems which so many others did not find to impugn - and even then in a mild tenor when it was increasingly beyond them to control the person Elliot could be becoming. The three factors I have postulated being, I feel, crucial to Elliot's path in life - and of his self-evident problems - the particular cycle and tightened conflation of these issues led to tragedy, and after that, his ultimate end by taking his own life. 

The subject widely entertained and often heated, the Santa Barbara incident with Elliot Rodger remains a potent, and all to singular compound of problems which could have been worked against - perhaps entirely avoided - if other factors prevailed and better decisions were made. In the end, it must be for a culture, a society and a people to learn from its mistakes and evolve towards a better tomorrow: an edifying process which is often pained and long, though which works towards a bettered social whole. In the time since, it is good to hear, from some sources, that the town of Santa Barbara and the college district of Isla Vista has become a little more civic minded and caring of its eclectic community; a disposition which I hope will remain and evolve for the good of all there. A disposition which I too hope other civic and similar bodies may learn from in precluding serious social problems, in the years to come.

Thank you,

Clark Caledon.

UK General Election 2015: The Day After - Controversy, Constitution and... Maggie Simpson?

Hi there,


In Britain today there is a rich, sometimes awed mingling of reactions to what has been an extraordinary night, in our constitutional history. Labour's implosion in England and particularly in Scotland, compounded by the disintegration of the Lib Dems and a strong, but limited showing from Ukip and Conservative effort has returned David Cameron, now with a majority of 331 seats, to the premiership.


In a day of remarkable drama, dashed and enlivened hopes, Britain now is compelled to carefully consider, after the passions of election, the future it faces.


Though we will consider the respective factors further, the electoral map below - displaying Westminster constituencies contested in 2015 - embodies the stark, imposing reality of the new political alignment in the UK. The SNP the great victor of the night, they have swept to power across Scottish constituencies once considered Labour and Lib Dem bastions. Winning an astonishing 56 of the nations's 59 seats with a general swing of 25-26% from Lab to SNP, all that remains of the other parties in Scotland follows succinctly: the rural borders of Dumfriesshire held by the Conservatives, metropolitan Edinburgh South held by a combination of Lab and Conservative support in a Labour Candidate, and the islands of Orkney and Shetland, narrowly retained by a decimated Liberal Democrat party. But, in England, the wider narrative played out to the confusion of pollsters, voters and parties alike...

Westminster constituencies election 2015 results - Scotland, England, Northern Ireland & Wales (image courtesy of BBC election night coverage)

South of the Scottish border, the electoral environment was hostile, convoluted and witness to remarkable moments in British electoral history. The Conservative Party mounted a confident campaign against their rivals, while Labour strode towards the election with some measure of confidence: aspirations of forming the next government indulged before hopes were dashed as the political dynamics England proffered gave eclectic results.

The Conservatives doing well, as did Labour, at the cost of a withering Liberal Democrat vote, Labour failed to find traction in the south, beyond their bastions in the midlands and in the north; these being taken by conservatives who also gave a strong showing in Wales where - astonishingly - Labour lost their bastion of Gower: loyal for over a century before being captured with just 27 votes for the Conservative candidate. Elsewhere, the demise of the Lib Dems - seen as part of the necessary process of restoring a Labour government - was compounded by Ukip drawing Labour support away, and ultimately attenuating efforts in many regions where Labour hoped for a breakthrough.


The controversial party of the right, Ukip followed in second or third place where Labour and the Conservatives fought, with their influence felt in many instances where thousands drew away from red, blue and yellow to support the purple pound of the arch euro skeptics. Conservative success at the expense of Labour, Lab's gains from the Lib Dems and Ukip frustrating the efforts of both the former two was a scenario played out in many key constituencies which - along with SNP victory in Scotland - resulted in a growing complexion which one canny twitter user remarked was rather like the infant Maggie Simpson of "The Simpson's" fame. A note worthy of a chortle or two...

UK 2015 Post-General Election Map & Maggie Simpson (Uncanny)

By hours of daybreak, the future was looking bleak for Labour, disappointing for Ukip and atrocious for the Lib Dems; a once vigorous parliamentary party of 57 reduced to 8 in less than a day, memories of government growing distant as obscurity beckoned. The Conservatives returned with a majority of 331, Labour suffered a retreat of its fortunes not seen since the defeat of 1992 (the recent rendition of the play "The Absence of War" seeming darkly portentous, concerning the election), under Neil Kinnock; polling data, now having proved so despairingly aberrant, once evidence of a neck and neck race, now latently pointing to a decisive Labour decline, as exit polls contradicted their predecessors. Labour reduced to 232 seats, while their Lib Dem competitors retain only 8 seats - equal to the Northern Irish DUP -  their respective leaders sought immediate resignation; words bracing for a difficult future as both parties are destined to struggle in hopes of explaining their defeat - and to rebuild, come what may. The same was said of Ukip - the controversial Nigel Farage failing to win his seat as the party's role seemed more of a strategic hinderance than destined legislative force at this election, though now entering the House of Commons with one seat.

Resigned Party Leaders - 2015

Ed Miliband (Labour), Nick Clegg (Lib Dem), Nigel Farage (Ukip)

At the conclusion of this general election, a singular electoral experience, we arrive now at the threshold of a new paradigm in British politics. The Conservative Party seemingly victorious, David Cameron cannot afford to be indulgent with his second term: lacking a Scottish or wider British mandate while also facing a Conservative party galvanized by euro skepticism and the draw of social politics which could yet prove very difficult for wider British society to stomach, in the long term. More so, the SNP's victory in Scotland has compelled the astonishing understanding that Cameron may very well be the last Prime Minister of the UK, in its current constitutional complexion: Scotland's devolution set to grow and evolve into greater autonomy regardless of what some in the Conservative Party may consider of their northern neighbor. 

In addition, Labour heads to not only a leadership contest but to also a potential indictment of the party's governing social and political paradigm: the neo-liberalism of the 1990's and 2000's working to alienate voters, while a weaker stance on ethnic and social politics has undermined the party in some English seats of a increasingly conservative voting culture - a stance which Ukip capitalized upon to severely maul both Labour and the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems having been decimated, their future as a viable political force remains uncertain as the liberal tradition in present day England seems to be winding down to historical obscurity. Ukip, once hailed as the party to upset the establishment, were ultimately constrained and limited to one seat; their destined success seeming less surely purchased as their narrative corroded both Lab, Lib Dem and Conservative support without actually breaking through themselves. 

With the election now over, we have seen a remarkable few months come to a close as another, and possibly exceptional, chapter in British politics begins; Britain potentially realigning under a more articulated or heterogeneous federalism with the once linear politics of the Westminster paradigm fragmenting into more overtly ethnic, delineated models of democracy in the respective polities.

Wither such postulations come to pass, or if the UK has a future within a reconstituted, deeply reformed framework is debatable, though it will remain from this day onward that British politics - now and for many, many years to come - will never be the same again.

Clark Caledon.

  

UK General Election 2015 - Election Day

Hi there,


In the second part of our UK election special, having introduced the principal parties, players and issues on the 6th of May, we now find ourselves at election day itself: polling centers opening across Britain early in the morning and closing at 10 pm tonight to allow voting for the relevant Westminster parliament constituency. What may come of these local battles will not only determine the complexion of the future parliament that will emerge tomorrow, 8th of May, but will also be but the first motion in the power play that is to follow: the complexion of any government - if there is no decisive victor - decided through coalitions, partnerships or wider constellations between the parties of a new parliament, which promises to be controversial and potently eclectic.

Polling Day in 650 UK Constituencies to determine the next Westminster Parliament

At the time of writing, just past eight o'clock in the evening, voting has been ongoing since seven in the morning, and now with just over an hour to go before polls close. After this, counting will begin in regional centers; the total votes cast allocated to those standing, after which will emerge a winner by the end. There is no exact time table for this, but it is known that Scotland will begin processing votes promptly with a good many constituencies declaring before three o'clock on the 8th of May, around six hours from now. From a while, before and after that, English and Welsh constituencies will begin declaring their results, as will Northern Ireland too. The last declarations will probably be around seven the following morning, though by that time electoral scenarios will probably have played out - positively or negatively - and a new government will be forming soon thereafter.


In this case, hung parliaments and coalitions now very much a recognized avenue of electoral politics, it remains that though a result similar to the 2010 election could be played out, the mainstream parties are now very much tested in their opinions and the infusion of much larger national, regional and special interest contingents (ie. SNP, Ukip, Green etc) will make the business of discerning a mandate more complicated. To this end, and for some months, a number of scenarios have been postulated, depending upon the resultant complexion of the electoral map come the early hours of May the 8th. This new plural parliament and its more negotiated mandate will succeed, in most part, the election of 2010: an event which saw the then odd situation of a hung parliament and with no decisive mandate for either Conservative or Labour, without a third or more parties aligning. Received with an air of controversy and still debated today, the election of 2010 could very well have prefigured many British-Westminster elections to come - in their candor and complexion - though if this is a compliment or indictment of the Westminster system, it remains to be seen...


The electoral map of the 2010 Westminster elections can be found below, with metropolitan regions of particular significance highlighted. Though the dynamics played out with some predictable direction - Labour deciding in metropolitan regions, Conservatives in the rural shires and Lib Dems a mingling of both with other parties performing to their own imperatives - it remained that neither Labour, Conservative or Lib Dem could sufficiently color the map to control the House of Commons, and thus form a government, without co-operation with another.

Map courtesy of Wereon on Wikipedia - image in the public domain.

2010 United Kingdom Electoral Map - Westminster Constituencies (Central Scotland, English Midlands and London highlighted)

This day playing host to a number of evolving socio-political narratives, imperatives and tendencies, local contests will have an accentuated significance, especially in the so called celtic periphery of Britain, while Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem will have a severe strain to press their support, wherever and whenever they find it, to supply MP's for their respective parties.

A remarkable election locally and nationally, in the four nations and in the British whole, what transpires in the next 24 hours will be interesting to consider; an emerging politics in motion, or perhaps a new configuration of British identities, in the decades after devolution, the financial crises, austerity culture and the dilution of a once presumed, singular mandate.

Time will tell, it seems...

Clark Caledon.

UK General Election 2015 - The Day Before

Hi there,


Today and the two that follow it will prove particularly interesting in my corner of the world. In the very least, we stand on the threshold of a general election for the United Kingdom's central legislature - the Westminster Parliament - and the further examination of Britain's democratic culture in the years after the financial crises, but also an event in which the dynamics are thoroughly unique. By nature a majoritarian, first-past-the-post system, usually dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties - latterly with the ostensibly centrist Liberal Democrats as the former's government partners - this election is one in which the central institutions of the British political system have been subjected to growing peripheral examination from nationalist, regional and special interest parties, working in the face of the centre's perceived deficits.


Over the last five years, we have seen many new and remarkable developments in British politics and in the tenor of the prevailing discourse: no longer as singular or as predictable as it once was, and with the marked growth of national, ethnic and social narratives pointedly removed from the once prevailing mainstream. Certainly deriving from events before the assumption of the Conservative-Lib Dem Coalition in 2010, it remains an indelible fact that government in Britain from this point onward has proven one galvanized by attempts to address the financial crisis of the late 2000's, but also the enduring legacy of that era has impelled many in the wider British polity to consider their world more critically. Now, on the eve of what must surely be something of a judgement concerning these past years - and the more complicated, charged ambiance they afford - it remains to consider what might become of the hours and days ahead.


Of course, there are a number of scenarios - with markedly more gravitas since coalition government became a fact and hung parliaments a feasible fixture of the new politics - and though some have more purchase than others, it does afford many intriguing possibilities for the future of governance in Britain.


Of the three ostensibly principle British parties - Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat (the latter no longer the third largest) - the former two still indulge dreams of a majority, while the latter would wish to inform and partner with the one bearing the firmer mandate. The polls to date reading as almost parallel between Labour and Conservative, the Lib Dems have made good on their obligation to give at least a brave front: no other choice prevailing in the face of their unpopularity and seemingly constrained profile in government.

The Labour Rose, Liberal Dove and Conservative Oak

In turn, as the focus and momentum has drawn away from the centre, we find the parties embodying this tendency: some new, some established and some refreshed by new, regional debate. The Scottish National Party have compelled a remarkable profile over the past few years. Winning a majoritarian style second term in Scotland's 2012 devolved elections, the party's fortunes were staked high for the Scottish independence referendum of 2014. Though ostensibly defeated, the party - having since become the focus of a wider, vibrant constitutional movement - experienced a surge in growth: passing 100,000 members to eclipse the Lib Dems as Britain's third largest party overall, and compelling a critical examination of Scotland's expanding powers of devolution as the Scottish and British polity's grow wider in their disjunction. Considering the possibility of them eclipsing Labour in Scotland's Westminster constituencies, they have been regarded - with some disdained fascination - as potential kingmakers to a future Labour government, if Labour can compromise towards a common, progressive imperative and does not win a majority.

 Stylised Saltire of the SNP

Considered to something of a ideological counterpoint to the aspirations and influence of the Scottish nationalists, is the resurgence of the seemingly ironic and English phenomenon of Ukip: the United Kingdom Independence Party. The group springing from obscurity as voters found a common voice in the party's euro skepticism, fears over immigration and affinity for ethnic conservatism - if it can be called that - across portions of rural and semi-urban/urban England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland offering the party little traction, they remain a seemingly popular force in their heartlands; intruding between the narratives of Labour, Conservative and Lib Dem with efforts to synthesize a more reactionary, hardened conservative stance in Britain more widely. Ambitious, it remains to be seen if this party can stand the test of a general election.

The Purple Pound of Ukip

Two other parties that could prove influential, in the coming contest, arrive from very disparate backgrounds, but could prove interesting actors, should they arrive in some contingent at Westminster. Firmly unionist and socially conservative, the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party has stood in opposition to growing regionalism and nationalism, but their leadership has been critical of the mainstream's disdain for the legitimacy of Scotland's growing democratic will and the potential influence of SNP MP's. This stance questioning potential deference to the Conservative or Labour Parties in a hung parliament or minority government, their decisions could be interesting.

The DUP Lion

Another party, very much removed from the former which could prove influential is the moderate, progressive and increasingly successful force of the Green Party. Originally a party proposing a middle way between social and economic imperatives, with environmental sustainability considered critical to both, this group has proven to be a honed and compelling political voice. Though not always as singular or as socially driven as some of the other parties who promote a more established philosophy, the Green's could yet prove a factor in turning government in Britain one way or the other, depending upon the nascent narrative of the other parties. Still, if lent to a strong, progressive mandate in parliament, this group might very well find their long awaited national breakthrough, since their inception.

The Leaf Corona and Earth crest of the Green Party

With these words and perspectives in mind, the rapidly approaching election day and what succeeds it could prove for a very, very intriguing 48 hours.

Clark Caledon.