Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Jessy169

(602 posts)
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 10:19 PM Sep 2012

Virginia man kills family and himself over fear Obama would be re-elected

A Virginia man allegedly killed himself and his family earlier this week in part because he was upset by the thought of President Barack Obama being re-elected.

“He felt that our God-given rights were being taken away,” a family friend identified as “Maggie L.” told The Daily Mail. “He didn’t like where the country was going.”

The friend said Albert Peterson, a defense contractor, had a history of paranoia and was also affected by a favorite uncle’s recent suicide. On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Peterson, his wife Kathleen and their two sons, Matthew and Christopher, were found dead in their home.

According to The Mail, authorities believe Peterson shot his wife and the children before turning the gun on himself. Maggie told the newspaper that his family had a history of mental illness; his father killed himself when Peterson was young, and the death of his mother five years ago, she said, nearly drove him to suicide before Kathleen saved him.

But more recently, Maggie said, Peterson was behaving erratically, sending paranoid political emails daily to family and friends.

“They were very well off people and they saved a lot of money,” she said about the Petersons. “He couldn’t understand how the government could be so irresponsible and he thought it would be on the backs of his boys.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/28/virginia-man-kills-family-and-himself-over-fear-obama-would-be-re-elected/

31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Virginia man kills family and himself over fear Obama would be re-elected (Original Post) Jessy169 Sep 2012 OP
I lay the blame at the feet of the fearmongers. NCLefty Sep 2012 #1
Mental MichiganVote Sep 2012 #2
Paging Reverend Jim Jones; more kool-aid drinkers coming your way. nt Xipe Totec Sep 2012 #3
Only one kool-aid drinker! atreides1 Sep 2012 #7
Jim Jones was no right-winger. David__77 Sep 2012 #9
You have GOT to be kidding me! Xipe Totec Sep 2012 #12
Perhaps his "insanity" flowed from his politics. David__77 Sep 2012 #17
He shot them because he was CRAZY Warpy Sep 2012 #4
Mental illness. Very sad. NYC Liberal Sep 2012 #5
Even more sad because he acted on disinformation. sofa king Sep 2012 #30
I hope Rove,Bachmann,Hannity, Perkins and the like are very proud. rsweets Sep 2012 #6
not sure sociopaths realize that what they're doing is so f*cked up ... zbdent Sep 2012 #14
What is wrong with these people? JeffHead Sep 2012 #8
Horrible. RIP for all of them, especially the kids. n/t Butterbean Sep 2012 #10
I strongly believe after Obama is re-elected we are going to see more outbreaks of violence davidpdx Sep 2012 #11
I have "some" concerns too. SoapBox Sep 2012 #13
I can only hope they shoot each other davidpdx Sep 2012 #19
That I don't agree with. qwlauren35 Sep 2012 #21
I don't know, some of them are pretty desperate davidpdx Sep 2012 #24
God job Glenn Beck TheFarseer Sep 2012 #15
Another Murder By Fox News, Limbaugh and the other Merchants of Hate TomCADem Sep 2012 #16
Horrible sakabatou Sep 2012 #18
(Probably) wouldn't have happened if we had actual mental health facilities in this country Shitty Mitty Sep 2012 #20
Wow, that's terrible and disgusting. Duct Tape Sep 2012 #22
My God what is this world coming too. n/t hrmjustin Sep 2012 #23
Unskewedpolls would have helped him cope Blue Yorker Sep 2012 #25
FOX news just lost another viewer. nt aaaaaa5a Sep 2012 #26
... pepperbear Sep 2012 #27
In cases such as this, I always wish the killer had started with the suicide part of "murder/suicide peacebird Sep 2012 #28
Fox and the NRA must be so proud. At least, he and his family died with their freedumbs. valerief Sep 2012 #29
What rights have been taken away? ellie Sep 2012 #31

Xipe Totec

(43,890 posts)
12. You have GOT to be kidding me!
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:03 PM
Sep 2012

Jim Jones: Founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip. Over 200 children were murdered at Jonestown, almost all of whom were forcibly made to ingest cyanide by the elite Temple members.


And all you can say is: Jim Jones was no right-winger? Like, what? Never mind the insanity, what was his political position? Seriously? You care about the political views of a suicidal nut case?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones

David__77

(23,434 posts)
17. Perhaps his "insanity" flowed from his politics.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 12:15 AM
Sep 2012

But they happened not to be right-wing at all. At least not in my opinion. He followed an ideology of "revolutionary suicide."

Warpy

(111,305 posts)
4. He shot them because he was CRAZY
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 10:29 PM
Sep 2012

and we do diddly squat about getting crazy people help in this country.

sofa king

(10,857 posts)
30. Even more sad because he acted on disinformation.
Sun Sep 30, 2012, 11:10 AM
Sep 2012

He didn't arrive at "Obama's ruining the country" all on his own. He knew that because the news entertainment industry has shouted it at him for four years.

It's not true, never was true, and more people are going to die because their beliefs, as programmed by the people who wish to steal the last of what they have, do not comport with reality.

rsweets

(307 posts)
6. I hope Rove,Bachmann,Hannity, Perkins and the like are very proud.
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 10:30 PM
Sep 2012

Looks like convinced at least one person they were right.

congrats

zbdent

(35,392 posts)
14. not sure sociopaths realize that what they're doing is so f*cked up ...
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:06 PM
Sep 2012

that's how the crowd you named sleep at night and brush off ANY hint of their "involvement" in things like this ...

JeffHead

(1,186 posts)
8. What is wrong with these people?
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 10:35 PM
Sep 2012

Paranoid Schizophrenia, fueled by fear and hate. I just don't get it.

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
11. I strongly believe after Obama is re-elected we are going to see more outbreaks of violence
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 10:55 PM
Sep 2012

Along with increased gun sales. The right is going to become unhinged when they lose.

The Republicans are the weapons of self-destruction.

SoapBox

(18,791 posts)
13. I have "some" concerns too.
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:04 PM
Sep 2012

I think many will come unglued.

America has some serious mental health issues.

qwlauren35

(6,148 posts)
21. That I don't agree with.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 04:10 PM
Sep 2012

If they were going to freak out, they would have done so 4 years ago. Nothing has changed for them, no new revelations have come. He hasn't restored us to 0% unemployment, so some people are unhappy with him. And frankly, not having a job sucks. But otherwise, it's just 4 more years of what they already have. It's not as if things are really going to get any worse.

Wait, I take the back. We have gotten more involved with the Middle East, and that seems to scare people, even though for months we were "treated to" a phenomenal record of dead al-Qaeda leaders. Some people are convinced that Obama will "sell us to the Muslim Brotherhood" even though our military in the Middle East are killing Muslims on a daily basis.

People believe what they want to, but I don't think most will go ape-shit over 4 more years of Obama.

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
24. I don't know, some of them are pretty desperate
Sun Sep 30, 2012, 09:31 AM
Sep 2012

I hope I am wrong. There are a lot of crazy people with guns who are paranoid. You just never know what to expect.

TheFarseer

(9,323 posts)
15. God job Glenn Beck
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:08 PM
Sep 2012

I've been told listening to him makes you think death is preferable to Obamerica.

Not to downplay a tragedy but odd that he didn't think his vote was needed urgently in a swing state.

TomCADem

(17,390 posts)
16. Another Murder By Fox News, Limbaugh and the other Merchants of Hate
Fri Sep 28, 2012, 11:13 PM
Sep 2012

The sad thing is that with a cottage industry devoted to pushing the most extreme right wing conspiracy theories about President Obama being a Muslim Socialist who was born in some foreign country, it is not too surprising that someone who is a bit unhinged would begin to accept the propaganda as truth.

Shitty Mitty

(138 posts)
20. (Probably) wouldn't have happened if we had actual mental health facilities in this country
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 09:07 AM
Sep 2012

The mentally ill are treated like lepers and unless you live in a mega-city like NY or LA, you can forget about finding REAL help concerning mental health problems.

Duct Tape

(196 posts)
22. Wow, that's terrible and disgusting.
Sat Sep 29, 2012, 04:30 PM
Sep 2012

I blame this on the RW hate speech, hate radio, and hate tv that we're all overexposed to.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
29. Fox and the NRA must be so proud. At least, he and his family died with their freedumbs.
Sun Sep 30, 2012, 10:15 AM
Sep 2012

Guns, the path to freedumb.

Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»2016 Postmortem»Virginia man kills family...