02/06/2006
Police: Robida a "Desperate Man"
Jacob Robida, the 18-year-old New Bedford man who attacked three men at Puzzles Lounge and fled cross-country with a female companion, ultimately killing her and an Arkansas police officer, left a note at his home indicating he would do something violent. Authorities do not know whether he left the note before or after the attack at Puzzles Lounge. He apparently stopped at his home before fleeing.
Authorities are also trying to determine Robida's relationship with the woman accompanying him, Jennifer Bailey of Charleston West Virginia, whom he shot in the head at point blank range.
Not that it matters. Two people are dead, three more are injured. All because of a hateful teen who had little respect for human life and a selfish intolerance of others.
Previously
Jacob Robida Dies in Missouri Hospital [tr]
Meet New Bedford's Dr. Jekyll, Jacob Robida [tr]
Police Identify Suspect in New Bedford Attack [tr]
Sicko on the Loose in New Bedford Attack [tr]
Posted 5:22 PM EST by Andy Towle in Current Affairs | Permalink
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See, I think the details here matter a great deal. The only way we're going to decrease the number of Jacob Robias in the world (because even an optimist like me knows it's foolish to think we'll ever be rid of them completely) is to understand as best we can what made them. Yeah, a lot of it is rather obvious -- small-town isolation, un-supervised and un-guided exposure to hate groups and their ilk on the internet, etc. etc. et.c -- but it's Dubya-esque to think "all I need to know is that this guy did wrong." We're better than that, no?
Posted by: ABV | Feb 6, 2006 5:55:04 PM
Exactly, ABV. I sincerely doubt that very many psychologists would chalk this horrific episode up to a kid who "had little respect for human life and a selfish intolerance of others" and then shut the book on the case. That's nothing more than empty HRC talking point rhetoric, not a legitimate take on an obviously fucked up young man who had severe mental and emotional problems. What happened to him? Why did he fixate on Jews and gays and then go on a killing spree? There's more to this than the simplistic panacea that the words "hate crime" attempt to create.
Posted by: Aatom | Feb 6, 2006 6:22:57 PM
I am so pleased to see that two people have already made comments suggesting greater insight into the dynamics of teen male rage and the sexist, racist and homophobic forms it invariably takes.
Posted by: Laurie | Feb 6, 2006 6:34:41 PM
Uh huh. If only we had reached out to this desperate, lonely teen before he axed a gay guy's face we'd all be in a much better place. Funny, I don't think the straight community would be rushing to "understand" me if I took an axe to some breeder's face in a bar. Hate to say so but there it is.
Posted by: Greg | Feb 6, 2006 8:19:03 PM
I want to be clear. Robida deserves our understanding, but not our compassion. He chose to pull the trigger and swing the axe, and for that had he not died he would have justly deserved the stiffest of incarcerations. But I disagree with Greg -- had I done the same as Robida at a small town straight bar, and lived to see trial, the talk shows would have been lousy with talking heads wringing their hands over my motives, upbringing, what I'd eaten for breakfast that morning, etc.
But Robida did not live to see trial, and so the temptation to wipe our hands of this human mess and call it a day is strong. Probably too strong for most in the media, and many in the gay rights movement. But I do not see Robida as a random wack-job. I see him as a reminder that there is much serious work to be done, that the passively bigoted words of our nation's leadership can cause many to turn a blind eye to the aggression and hatred that fulminated in Mr. Robida. Those who had relationships with the young man could have saved him from picking up that axe and saved the patrons of the Puzzles Lounge from scarring both physical and otherwise. They did not. Learning why they did not, and what helped to form Robida to do what he did, could prove invaluable so long as we decide it is of value.
Posted by: ABV | Feb 6, 2006 9:13:08 PM
Just a point of clarification, not that it matters, but this boy wasn't from a small town with a small town mentality. The population of New Bedford is about 93,000.
Providence, RI only some 30 miles away has a population of approx. 174,000.
Posted by: DaveN | Feb 6, 2006 10:04:02 PM
>>Police said they were examining material Robida posted on his Internet home page. The site is full of references to a rap group called Insane Clown Posse, which is known for its explicit lyrics and sinister clown makeup. The band’s label, Psychopathic Records, has a logo depicting the silhouette of a man wielding a hatchet.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11146480/
Violence, violent lyrics, violent games, and violent images are not to blame. Don't censor anything. The First Ammendment is the most important issue in the world. Don't monitor what your children listen to and watch. That would be an invasion of their privacy.
When sadistic killers are apprehended, they must be treated with respect and kindness. They deserve our compassion, and we must strive to understand what we as a society have done to make them do what they have done.
George Bush is ultimately to blame. It's the radical Republicans that make people kill.
I'm appalled at the way some people think.
Posted by: Jay Croce | Feb 6, 2006 10:56:38 PM
I having a real hard time generating any sympathy for Robida. I don't like my feelings here but I think there are much more deserving people of our compassion and I don't care to "understand" his motivations.
Posted by: Pablo | Feb 7, 2006 8:25:28 AM
Here Here Pablo! You echo my sentiments surrounding Robida exactly. He chose the coward's way out. I wouldn't even be surprised if we eventually learn of latent self-hating homo/bisexual tendencies within Robida. And I refuse to believe Robida's mother and stepfather, having stated that they were not aware of how advanced their son's disturbingly morbid proclivity for Neo-Naziism was. Robida threw his life away and many others with it long before he walked into Puzzles. He knew it was a gay bar, he showed up with a machete and a handgun and an apparent mission--he knew!! His spirit was a waste. He is no better than the Taliban nor Osama nor Saddam. And he obviously hated himself...the hatred in all of this started first inside of himself, against himself, before it ever reached the fruition of hating others. The very beginnings and unwatched metamorphosis of his self-hatred is what is saddest to me in all of this.
Posted by: Kermit | Feb 7, 2006 6:33:25 PM
HELP THE VICTIMS... DONATE TODAY!
Make a check or money order payable to:
Puzzles Victim Fund
Mail your donation to:
St. Anne's Credit Union
C/O Puzzles Victim Fund
PO Box 0 (zero)
Fall River, MA 02724
Posted by: Phillip Daggett | Feb 16, 2006 7:41:24 PM
Many have said that these actions may have been made due to a sublimal music group by the name of Insane Clown Posse.I on the other hand do not believe so.The group in itself is a very anti-racial band.In there songs they might talk about killing people but its all a part in telling a story.If it was the case that the group would have influenced him then so would have any other .If a man was to take any thing seriously from the band then there would be a lot more deaths in the world today
Please email me with any questions or comment from the readers or orgizations at
the_one_the_only_big_boog@yahoo.com
Add me if you wish
Posted by: Boog | Feb 20, 2006 2:41:45 PM