Skinhead Goes Ballistic at Sikh Temple

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 9, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

            Opening fire Aug. 5 with his multiple-clip 9mm semiautomatic weapon at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee, 40-year-old Wade Michael Page murdered six worshippers before police shot the skinhead dead.  Page, an Army veteran and former head of a white supremacist band “End Apathy,” enlisted in 1992 as a repairman for the Hawk missile system, eventually assigned to psychological operations at Fort Bragg, N.C.  According to Pentagon spokesman George Wright, he was demoted in 1998 for drunk-and-disorderly conduct and going AWOL.  FBI agents are looking into Page’s attack as “domestic terrorism,” though it’s more likely a hate crime.  With their turbans and long beards, Sikh’s have been mistaken as Muslims and targeted by vigilantes in the wake of Sept. 11.   Recall the murder of gas station owner Sikh Balbir Singh Sodhi in Phoenix Sept. 15, 2001 by Frank Roque.

            Investigating Page’s attack as domestic terrorism makes good headlines but doesn’t deal with the disenfranchised, marginal souls pulled into religious and secular cults.  Page’s interest in white supremacist groups stems directly from his own personal failure.  Ejected from the military with few marketable skills, it’s easy for losers like Page to target minority groups, all blamed for his own failure.  While Oakcreek police called the act “domestic terrorism,” CBS News correspondent Bob Orr called it “an investigation into a possible hate-crime.”  Hate-crimes arise from extreme prejudice against various groups, something consistent with Page’s involvement with white supremacist activities.  Authorities look for simpleminded motives, like retaliation against a boss or jilted lover.  Mass murder, serial killings, and ballistic episodes involve more than tabloid explanations.

            First Amendment defenders don’t like to admit that hateful radio and TV shows, violent fantasy video games and incendiary political rhetoric affect marginally adjusted individuals.  When the mentally imbalanced listen daily to raging secular preachers ranting about minorities robbing them of opportunities, they don’t consider the repercussions of erratic behavior.  While all of Page’s influences aren’t yet known, his interest in white supremacist Websites indicates some degree of xenophobia and racial hatred.  “The name of the band seems to reflect what he went out and actually did,” said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the nonprofit civil rights organization in Montgomery, Ala., remarking about Page’s involvements in bands ‘Definite Hate” and “End Apathy.”  With enough history of failure, rejection and isolation, misanthropes like Page periodically  erupt into violent acts.

             Since Page is now dead, post-mortem psychological autopsies aren’t easy but it’s not uncommon to find illicit drugs, like methamphetamine, ecstasy or LSD in a killer’s  bloodstream.  Prescription drugs are also found more often in ballistic killers, especially psychotropic medications prescribed by doctors to treat various types of mental illness.  “Inspiration was based on frustration that we have the potential to accomplish so much more as individuals and a society as a whole,” Page told a white supremacist Website in 2010, implying his racist music helped vent his pent-up rage.  Calling Page’s ballistic episode “domestic terrorism” implies that he had a political motive to the killings.  “While the FBI is investigating whether this matter might be an act of domestic terrorism,” no motive has been determined at this time,” said Milwaukee’s Special Agent in Charge Teresa Carlson.

            When 24-year-old neuroscience doctoral student James Holmes massacred 12 moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado at the midnight “The Dark Night” premier July 22, the police looked for a motive.  While Aurora officials still look for motives, Holmes showed the same kind of mental illness seen in other mass killings, like the April 16, 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech where 23-year-old senior English major Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 and injured 23 others.  Police found similar traits in Tucson, Ariz. mass-killer 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner who shot Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) through the brain Jan. 8, 2011, killing 6 others.  Law enforcement groped for a motive before an Arizona court recently plea-bargained for life in prison due to Loughner’s mental illness.  Whether or not any of the killers had “motives,” they were all mentally ill, had firearms and lacked the restraint to control their killer instincts. 

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2012 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.