Men who identified as women committed two recent mass shootings. Psychologists seeking answers must be allowed to discuss gender ideology

[IwantToRetire]

Society has always had its troubled souls, who on some occasions resort to serious crime and even murder. It was not deciding that he wanted to present as a woman that caused Jesse Van Rootselaar, for example, to engage in a horrific act of slaughter. But it is still important to understand what went wrong in cases like these, and whether our legal and institutional frameworks are really set up to prevent similar tragedies from reoccurring in the future.

Whereas the national conversation around gender has regained a degree of sanity in Britain, far more radical approaches continue to predominate across the Atlantic, especially in very liberal Canadian provinces and US states such as Rhode Island.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/02/17/we-need-to-talk-about-trans-violence/

Also at https://archive.is/cvX8z

I didn't use the article's headline as I dont think it is as simple as a left right issue. And doesn't help trying to open up the discussion (political tribablism)

For instance is the quesition why so many "trouble souls" are drawn to trans ideology or in fact is any ideology that see violence as an option something that "troubled souls" are drawn to?

Thanks for the link, it is however the left who have the blind spot, the right and the centre have their blinds spots to but seeing 'trans' violence isn't one of them.

"Democrat politicians in Rhode Island have stuck firmly to the issue of gun availability in their statements, rather than questions of mental health or gender identity."

Elephant in the room no, no I can't see an elephant.

To admit that so many mentally unstable people are 'trans' identifying, means they have to justify why they don't think all 'trans' iding people are mentally unstable, and being mental defective themselves the can't afford to have that can of worms opened. So no elephants around here.

it is however the left who have the blind spot, the right and the centre have their blinds spots to but seeing 'trans' violence isn't one of them.

I think overtly it is the left who have a blind spot, but dont think many on the right (or even the middle) who have been prepared to talk about whether there is a link.

Even accepting the phrase "troubled souls" and then talking about why some younger people, children are attracted to the trans mythology very few are prepared to talk about that being linked to some emotional or other difficulties.

Although in not using the article headline it is worth noting that it talks about men. ie it is a male issue.

The question has to be asked with the proportion of these shootings coming from people who are trans identified. It would seem the main question is are unstable 'troubled souls' drawn to trans identities and why, which is not a difficult question to investigate because the well known factors of mental health, neurodivergence, history of harm and abuse tend to lead to people feeling alienated, unable to manage their feelings and in search of an identity, or anything that feels like an 'answer' that might lead to feeling better. But the social media which openly hypes up dehumanising others, entitlement, sexual violence, disturbing violence, and freedom from inhibitions/ separation from anyone who questions and often from family, is an undeniable part of the culture. What part is that playing?

Most importantly, how are these people to be spotted early at the point where they can be helped while closely monitored with strong risk assessment, so that no one ends up injured and worse. Are there online boundaries that should be way more strictly enforced to prevent this violent rhetoric being shared and normalised? Should teenagers with high risk factors which might include identifying as trans, automatically be provided with thorough mental health support, and thorough assessment and support of any neurodivergence at the point of identification? Is the mental health care for teens with dysregulated emotions, personality disorders, trauma, violence within the family, or struggling with neurodivergence actually any good yet at successfully reducing the experiences and feelings and core beliefs that drives them to harm? (Answer to that is basically, currently, no.)

Obviously left and right have impulses to censor and enforce political correctness. On the right the forces strongly aligned with defending religious orthodoxy, public morality and the authority of hierarchical institutions. On the left it is associated with ideological fervour, mob rule, state terror, social conformity. In both cases the tools of suppression were the first to be reached for in situation of authoritarian leader defending their personal power.

IMO what's changed in the calculus is that on the contemporary right, religion and public morality have disappeared as political causes, especially with respect to speech, bring the right within mainline tenets of liberalism, while the left is in the middle of a great ideological project to remake civilisation - the great awokening. It has the hallmarks of the worst of the Left's inclinations that we can see in Stalinism and were warned about by Orwell it rewrites history, enforces a new socialist realism on art, suppresses inconvenient science, misuses language and ruthlessly pursues and punishes thought crimes with startling venom. One of the difficulties in fighting it is that modern liberals can't see past their biases: that the right truely has changed over the last 60 years and left has lost its hard earned guardrails.

But certainly the ideological capture of research institutions, the machinery of scholarly/scientific publication and professional associations is blaring claxon.

Hasnt it always been associated with criminal behaviour though? Look at the Silence of the Lambs films, that character was based on a amalgamation of several male trans killers.

But that doesn't really answer the question ie to use the word of the articles are "troubled souls" likely to respond to identities, not just trans, but fundamentalist causes, manosphere, etc..

Or is being trans making you a "troubled sole" and then turn to violence.

Is that true? Genuinely asking, I’d be really interested if anyone has reliable statistics?

Repost this in AIBU…

I don't think anyone knows. The idea that gender dysphoria could lead to escalating MH issues is plausible, in the same way that illnesses such as anorexia lead to severe depression. However its equally plausible that someone with MH problems could be attracted to transgenderism to explain their struggles, and find comfort in joining a community.
What does seem to be clear is that there's a strong link between being socially isolated, spending excessive time online, joining communities of like minded men and an increasing sense of victim hood that leads to anxiety, depression and sometimes violent rage.
If there's a single action we could take to try and reduce these incidents it would be to get these men out of their bedrooms and into purposeful activity in the real world.

I dont think so

https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/18973/pdf/

https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/violentcrimeratefortransgenderpeoplecomparedwiththegeneralpopulation2013to2023

I think what does happen is that many males who are convicted of violent offences have, well at least more recently, suddently discoverd they are trans! ie this realisation of their "true" identity only happens after conviction for some form a male violence.

This "rapid onset of trans id" is creating an impression that isn't true.

If there's a single action we could take to try and reduce these incidents it would be to get these men out of their bedrooms and into purposeful activity in the real world.

That's the justification for 'inclusiveness' but it's not working out to well in my opinion. It presupposes they going to co-operate and do what they must to fit in to the real world, which I haven't seen any sign of, they seem to be committed to warping the real world to suit them. You can't help people who don't want help and who won't help themselves.

Great article, OP, thanks for sharing.

"I am not for a moment suggesting that all trans people are potential killers. Of course not. My point is simply that reckless ideological zealots have actively fostered an atmosphere in which violence was all but inevitable. As well as spreading violent messages at rallies, they have relentlessly pushed the idea that trans people are the most persecuted group in society – and that rejecting their demands, or even just disagreeing with their beliefs, is tantamount to “genocide”, or will cause “trans kids” to kill themselves."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/d79e4a8c60ba0135

The article I just posted above mentions Silence of the Lambs.

It used to be well known that cross-dressing/transvestism was a pretty common paraphilia in serial killers. That seems to have been airbrushed from history (certainly on Wikipedia iirc) and I have heard a UK detective say as much.

I wonder if law enforcement agencies are taught about this anymore? They used to be according to some accounts I have read.

Thanks for the link.

"They were furious even when they had practically every major institution in their grip. So imagine how furious they’ll grow as that grip loosens.".

They're mentally unbalanced and emotionally unstable, the more they lose the more they'll lose it, the government and the police will regret not clamping down on them as soon as they kicked off.