It is a cruel joke on our nation's character that we are now relieved when a mass shooting produces fewer than ten victims. America's heart should go out for the families of the victims and then for the UCSB community.
Ultimately Elliot Rodger's self-image did not match up to his reality. He was a 22-year-old community college student who never worked a steady job in his life. He had a totally unwarranted sense of entitlement and elitism, making him an obnoxious twerp as well as a murderer. The media is neglecting to note that his rantings were moments of lucidity; his life was not working out that way that he intended, which led to his explosion of horrible rage. And the fact that his killing spree largely occurred with the assistance of a BMW (a gift from a parent) has made him the posterchild for privilege.
To blame the actions of Rodger on Judd Apatow or any of the Hollywood elite is, however, asinine. It is picking a successful artist, then trying to link the behavior of a madman to their work is what countless idiots have tried with Catcher in the Rye. Now some idiots are pointing seemingly randomly at movies where the average guy gets the hot girl like Puritans who never learned to read. (This is a trope that deserves to die, but does not deserve to be killed by feminists or anyone else. Seth Rogen will be held accountable for his crimes someday. Don't you worry.)
Working thru his manifesto. It has excellent spelling and grammar, but is otherwise dull writing. You see his obsession with World of Warcraft and other role-playing games. (This community will now, always, get a bad wrap on account of so many of their members committing murderous rampages.) He recognizes that his life isn't going great, but he cannot connect his problems with his behavior. So far, there is no mention of him approaching the "beautiful girls" whom he wants to have sex with--he can only lash out in petty ways when they DON'T take the initiative to connect with him. He thinks himself a gentleman but in reality he is ill, and he probably had the idea that he was a gentleman implanted in him by a society that confused his quietness and smallness with politeness and decency. If you did not know how this story was going to turn out, you would feel pity for someone so deluded but otherwise non-violent.
It is intellectually lazy to classify him as a misogynist. (For sincere misogyny, please consult the Columbine killers' writings.) He liked women, and sincerely didn't understand why they didn't reciprocate because of a communication and logic gap. He had no history of sexual assault, which is what one would suspect of a murderous sex offender. Most of the people whom he apparently hated were men who were succeeding in relationships with women. When he did explode, the first people killed were his male roommates (who undeniably did mock his lack of game). Far from being a misogynist, there is no word to describe Elliot Rodger.
#YesAllWomen has gotten douchey, though. At the club, women will be hit on--I will ask her "how you doin'?" Because I would like to know how the chick is doing, and talking to her while being a black guy does not constitute a sex crime. (I'll accuse you of a hate crime for accusing me of a sex crime. I can be hysterical too.) It belittles the seriousness of rape to claim that a guy who says "let's get out of here and go some place quieter" is rape. Stop it. There are appropriate places to say and do sexual things, and a woman's say in the matter is 50%. Women cannot control every situation that they are in; you do not get to be comfortable wherever you go, ladies. I have not taken my junk out and placed it on her head while riding the subway (which I've also done). I will not apologize for being a man anymore than I expect ladies to apologize for the femaleness. There are clear gender differences or rules to be considered--not ignored--in our society. Rodger became a mass murderer because he couldn't understand the rules: 9s date 9s, maybe 8s. He had neither the talent nor the skills to pretend to be something higher.
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