Craig Hicks, Chapel Hill Shooting Suspect, Reportedly Shared Atheist Beliefs On Facebook

[rug]

The Huffington Post | By Antonia Blumberg
Posted: 02/11/2015 1:34 pm EST
Updated: 02/11/2015 2:59 pm EST

Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, was charged on Wednesday with murdering three members of a Muslim family in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The motivation for the killing is unclear, though police said their preliminary investigation showed that a parking dispute may have been at the root of the matter.

Hicks, however, appears to have spoken openly about his anti-religious views on what is reportedly his Facebook page. The page was frequently updated with quotes, cartoons and links representing these opinions.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205813877374262&set=a.1154252824633.23655.1477072252&type=1

On Aug. 11, 2011, Hicks appears to have written:

There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent.

https://www.facebook.com/WEAREUAA/photos/a.200085766695305.42584.200082823362266/801826579854551/?type=1

On Jan. 20 of this year, the page was updated with a photo of what the caption calls a "loaded 38 revolver."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206045860253689&set=a.10205774630513115.1073741826.1477072252&type=1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/11/craig-stephen-hicks-atheism_n_6661438.html

[cbayer]

1. I think the important issue here is not his atheism but whether he is a bigot.

Is this a hate crime? Did anti-muslim rhetoric, including that voiced by one of his heroes, play a role?

I don't think that information is available yet.

[rug]

2. He's clearly a bigot.

And the fuel for his bigotry is evident from his internet footprint.

[cbayer]

3. In this article, he also is quoted as posting this:

"While I am an outspoken atheist (obviously), I would never take away a persons [sic] right to religion. I would even fight for their rights to have religion if it ever came to that."

That indicates a degree of tolerance one might not expect in a religious bigot.

[rug]

4. It must be about the parking spot.

He must have been attacking religious belief not shooting three religious people.

Actions speak louder than internet words.

[cbayer]

5. I don't think it's going to be that simple.

There are indications that he was anti-theist and did not like either religion or religious people. I suspect this was a factor. He had been in a dispute with these people for awhile and they had indicated to others that they felt their being muslim was the source of his hatred towards them.

Would he have executed three non-religious people? Was his wife, who has announced that she is divorcing him, a factor in triggering his rage? Had he become depressed and psychotic? Did anti-muslim rhetoric, including that voiced by one of his heroes become a factor?

There seems to me to be a dearth of information at this point.

[rug]

6. So he's either a social malcontent lapping up anti-theist rhetoric or he's an anti-religious bigot.

[cbayer]

7. Those are certainly two options, and he might be both.

It's going to be interesting to see more information coming out.

At any rate, he's an anomaly and I am hopeful that there might be a positive response. I would like to see anti-religious rhetoric toned done, particularly anti-muslim rhetoric. I would also like to see a generally recognition that when someone who has a specific label does something that would be unthinkable for most people who share that label, we will not say "because (un)belief".

[okasha]

8. I think four things are clear.

He is an Islamophobic bigot.

He is a gunner.

He has severe anger issues, at the very least.
Quite possibly he's an outright sociopath.

That's a potentially deadly mix, especially following the Charlie Hebdo murders and other ISIS atrocities.


.

[cbayer]

9. I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

Where is the information that would support the contention that he is an islamophobic bigot?

Clearly anti-islam rhetoric and movies like American Sniper can feed bigotry against muslims, but I'm not finding anything to support overt islamophobia by Craig Stephen Hicks. He described himself as an anti-theist, and I think we can agree that that can include bigotry towards religious people in general, and muslims in particular, but it's not always the case.

Anger issues - check. Gun lover - check. Unemployed - check. Wife divorcing him - check.

My guess is that his anti-religious views played a part, but I am not convinced that he is an islamophobic bigot