Father of Shooting Spree Killer Elliot Rodger Dodges Blame

Father of Shooting Spree Killer Elliot Rodger Dodges Blame

Elliot Rodger

In an open letter sent to ABC news, Peter Rodger, the assistant director of the first installment of the popular Hunger Games franchise and the father of spree killer Elliot Rodger, evaded taking full responsibility for his son’s actions, writing that although he tried his “best” to perform his “duty as a father,” he and the rest of his family were not able to see the “markers” which, “in tragic hindsight,” could have alerted them to their son’s illness. Instead he cast responsibility on his son, who he accused of hiding his problems not only from his own family but also from the various mental health authorities whom his family had employed to help Elliot deal with his emotional struggles.

In addition to casting blame on his son he also expressed sympathy for the victims of his son’s rampage, going so far as to say that he mourns “for the victims and their families more than for the loss of my own son.” Mr. Rodger did however, still admit to grieving for his son, “the lonely boy,” who he claimed was devoured by a “monster of an illness.” Perhaps out of fear of backlash or out of respect for the families of the people his son killed, these were the only kind words he reserved for Elliot.

Mr. Rodger uses the rest of his letter to publicly announce his determination and resolute desire to prevent another “lonely boy” from becoming a murderer while ignoring entirely the sensitive political issues and questions that have dominated the discourse in mainstream media outlets and news blogs alike. Instead, to express his resolve and to fulfill what he described as his “duty,” Mr. Rodger announced that he had set up a website, AskForHelp.org, to provide “resources on mental illness” and to also create “a place to share stories,” presumably with others who have dealt or are currently dealing with mentally ill family members.

He also urged reforms to mental health policies, pressed the need for dialogue concerning mental illnesses, and even endorsed a “change in culture,” but againhe sidestepped the more controversial issues that have been brought up repeatedly in the wake of this tragedy, such as gun control and the systemic ineptitude of the Law Enforcement officials who confronted Elliot numerous timesbefore his killing spree and yet completely overlooked his deteriorating mental state. Mr. Rodger made no mention of the officers who had simply dismissed Elliot’s erratic and violent behavior. Nor didhe even obliquely reference the ease with which his son was able to obtain firearms despite his obvious mental and emotional struggles.

Others involved in public life have not been so restrained. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle together with theObama called for more restrictions on gun ownership following Elliot’s death, as has the father of one of Elliot’svictims. On the opposite side of the issue, Joe Wurzelbacher (more commonly known as “Joe the Plumber”) , wrote anopen letter to the parents of Elliot’s victims in which he argued against increased regulation of firearms, asserting that those parents’ “dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights,” a statement that inflamed activists on both sides of the issue.

Meanwhile psychologists have expressed outrage and shock at the apparent and egregious neglect with which the police had treated the obviously ill Elliot during their many confrontations prior to the shootings. Jeffery A. Lieberman, the man who chairs the psychiatry department at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, was quoted in the Washington Post expressing his exasperation over what he felt was yet another failure of a criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to control the mentally ill. He then advised Law Enforcement “to look at identifying people early for these disorders” instead of just waiting for those afflicted by the disorders to commit crimes.

Thus Mr. Rodger, by avoiding the issue of guns and the ineffective actions of Law Enforcement officials altogether, was able to keep the focus of his letter on his attempts to apologize for his part in his son’s abhorrent behavior and also to help raise awareness regarding mental illnesses with an aim towards preventing another young man from having to suffer in silence, his family and friends completely unaware of his pain until his unfortunate and irrational mind becomes dangerous to itself and others.

By Andrew Waddell

Sources:
WashingtonPost
BarbWire
ABCNews

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