Reflecting on yesterday’s events (see The Terrorist Embodies the Ideology in Reality), I recognize that the mass shooting perpetrated by Robert Westman—a man who identified as a woman—is one of those situations in which progressives struggle to place blame squarely on conservatives, deflecting responsibility for fostering an environment where death cults thrive.
Predictably, there’s already renewed talk of gun control, reviving the familiar narrative that conservatives, by defending the Second Amendment, are somehow to blame. But that explanation—dulled by overuse and burdened by an obvious ulterior motive—misses, often intentionally, the deeper issue: radical gender ideology, and the cultural forces sustaining it, fueled the Minneapolis shooting and the other tragedies I document later in this essay. Efforts to redirect attention toward gun control can only distract from the problem of ideology for so long. Increasingly, Americans are awakening to the problem of transgender identification and the psychiatric-industrial complex—and the larger institutional framework—that normalizes it.
It occurred to me last night that activists within the trans movement who rely on emotional blackmail—namely, the familiar claim that failing to affirm their ideology leads to suicide—may soon make a narrative shift. That emotional tactic could evolve into a darker ultimatum, one already suggested by the violence of so-called trans martyrs: that refusing to affirm the ideology will lead not only to self-harm but also to violence against others. In effect, we could see the persistent threat that characterizes Islamic terrorism—the logic of the suicide bomber—emerge in this context.
Such a shift would project responsibility for violence outward, onto those who reject the ideology, as if dissent had provoked it. Just as many in the West now self-censor out of fear of offending Islam, Americans may soon keep quiet to protect themselves and their families from ideological retaliation.
This scenario is not difficult to imagine. We already see members of the public instinctively cower in the presence of mentally ill individuals behaving menacingly. Such fear is rational: while some people remain oblivious, many are attuned to their natural inclination to sense danger—a survival mechanism that triggers the fight, flight, or freeze response. Terrorism depends on this instinct to control others, knowing that many will flee or freeze, particularly when told to “show compassion” toward those with mental illness and avoid upsetting them.
We don’t need speculation to see that radical gender ideology is drifting toward a form of ideological extremism. Take the slogan “Queers for Palestine.” Whether viewed as a meme, a political slogan, or a rallying cry, it initially strikes many as absurd. But the phrase makes sense when one recognizes that “queer” is not merely (or really at all for many gays and lesbians) a reference to sexual orientation but to a broader ideological framework. What I—and an increasing number of others—call radical gender ideology is the belief that gender is fluid and can be changed at will. Because this belief runs counter to established science and common sense, and because it incorporates elements of faith and myth, it functions as a religion. From an anthropological perspective, it is, in fact, a species of religion.
As a religion, radical gender ideology bears striking similarities to Islam. Within the belief system, the transgender individual occupies a sacred position akin to that of the martyr in Islam. Not every Muslim is a martyr; the martyr is the one who kills and dies for the faith. But the martyr reflects the best of the faith. Likewise, the religion of gender identity already has its martyrs—those who harm themselves or, in extreme cases, others, as seen in the tragic events in Minneapolis.
Such incidents are not isolated. They are symptomatic of a broader cultural pathology deeply intertwined with a nihilistic strain of transhumanism. This worldview, reflecting profound self-loathing and misanthropy, rejects humanity itself. It explains why the Minneapolis shooter’s manifesto—released yesterday—read like a catalog of alienation and rage: alienation from society and rage directed at Christians and Jews. Investigators may claim they are still searching for a motive, but the motive is plainly in view.
My concern about this potential narrative shift is not hypothetical. Today, trans activists are celebrating Westman’s actions, framing the attack as justified revenge against those who fail or refuse to affirm radical gender ideology. Andy Ngo reported on X: “Trans leftist accounts all over social media are celebrating the shooting and killing of children at the Minneapolis church by a trans gunman. They believe it is revenge against Christianity and the Trump administration for not allowing transitioning [of] children, and defining sex as biological.” Just as criticism of Islam provokes its martyrs to kill, criticism of gender ideology increasingly provokes its adherents to violence. It is an easy step for terrorists to blame the victim. Indeed, it is inherent in the motive to kill.
The alliance between these movements is not limited to a slogan that many dismiss as ironic. Look closely at the shooter’s writings: invocations of Mohamed Atta, appeals to the will of Allah, and symbolic homages to jihadist violence. These elements, explicitly referenced, make the slogan “Queers for Palestine”—and the sight of queer activists marching in solidarity with jihadists—not just comprehensible but chilling. Substitute the transgender individual with the Islamic fundamentalist—the suicide bomber seeking transcendence through martyrdom—and the parallels are stark. We have entered a new phase of movement politics.
It is crucial to recognize that Islam, like radical gender ideology, is not merely a religion but also a political project aimed at reshaping society. Both seek to impose their doctrines, transform Western institutions and culture, and enforce ideological conformity through coercion—legal, social, and physical. Both are hostile to free speech, demand the adoption of their language, and enjoy widespread support from the progressive establishment.
Yesterday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said: “Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity.” He added: “We should not be operating out of a place of hate.” We have heard the same refrain countless times after Islamist terrorist attacks: “Don’t blame all Muslims for the acts of a few.” But public concern about Islamic terrorism is not about individual Muslims; it’s about the ideology. The same is true in the radical gender ideology case. Condemning those who question radical gender ideology by accusing them of “villainizing the community” is a tactic to stifle criticism and protect a favored ideology.
Robert Westman acted out of hate, driven by a warped worldview embedded in the nihilism of transhumanism—beliefs shared by many progressives who now feign shock at the consequences. “Kids died today,” Frey said. He should be more precise: Kids were killed—killed by a man motivated by an ideology that city leaders, activists, and cultural elites promote and normalize. Guns do not shoot themselves; people act on ideas. This is what anarchists call “propaganda of the deed.”
The human mind is a pattern-recognition machine, honed by evolution to make sense of threats. But that machine requires data—instantiations—to detect patterns. And because mainstream media obscures these events, individuals must seek the data themselves. Here are five cases where I can confirm that the perpetrators were part of the trans movement.
- In 2018, in Aberdeen, Maryland, Snochia Moseley, an employee at a Rite Aid distribution center, shot and killed three people before dying by suicide. Moseley was a man identifying as a woman, reportedly struggling with mental illness and turmoil over his gender identity.
- In 2019, in Denver, Colorado, at STEM School Highlands Ranch, Maya McKinney, a girl identifying as a boy named “Alec,” joined another student in an attack that injured several. McKinney claimed bullying over her gender identity and expressed a desire for peers to “experience bad things” similar to her trauma.
- In 2022, in Colorado Springs, at Club Q, Anderson Lee Aldrich, who identified as non-binary and used “they/them” pronouns, killed five people and injured nineteen before pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges.
- In 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Covenant School, Audrey Hale, a woman identifying as a man named “Aiden,” meticulously planned an attack that killed three children and three staff members.
- And yesterday, in Minneapolis, at Annunciation Catholic School, Robert Westman, a man identifying as a woman named “Robin,” attacked the school during Mass, killing two children and injuring many others before dying by suicide.
Beyond these high-profile cases, other homicides committed by transgender-identifying individuals rarely make national headlines unless the circumstances are sensational. No consistent government database tracks homicide offenders or victims by gender identity. Law enforcement records typically log only “male” or “female,” and ideological pressures mean identifying transgender offenders often requires piecing together media coverage or court filings. The absence of data does not mean the problem is insignificant; it means the scope is obscured. Outside of mass shootings, documented violence includes domestic disputes, interpersonal assaults, and, in some cases, drug- or gang-related crimes. Whether ideology motivated these crimes remains unclear, but the pattern of violence is unmistakable—and at the very least it demands honest scrutiny. I am not at all hopeful that this will happen.
freedom and reason 