Who Is Mark Conditt, the Suspected Austin Serial Bomber?

It's not surprising that this young white male terrorist was homeschooled, and that his family is evangelical Christian. His published views line up with extremist evangelicals, and according to NY Mag, he was a member of a splinter group for homeschooled kids called Righteous Invasion of Truth (RIOT) ...that "would discuss chemicals and how to mix them and which ones were dangerous." (!) ...it certainly appears that his righteous homeschooling didn't prepare him for any success in the real world, and only succeeded in planting dangerous, hateful views in his challenged mind. This bomber is the very definition of evangelical White Trash.

The media and the video game industry should look at the products they deliver to our children, grandchildren and other youth. It is not a coincidence that this bomber, that killer in Florida and the Vegas shooter all attempted to kill as many people as possible. It is these industries that have turned death into a game. The NRA is also remiss in not calling for a strong ban on military style weapons. Ultimately the responsibility rests with the families, the friends and the communities in which these people live. The families should be aware of the emotional state of its own members. The friends have similar responsibilities. The communities have been stripped of the ability to guide through a moral perspective, God has been banned from the public, except when we view our leaders commencing their sessions with prayer, why would they allow God to be removed from our lives while continuing the reverence of deity in their own. The results of the violent gaming, the nonstop killing action of movies, produced by the same people screaming the loudest about gun control is these public massacres. So let us address what goes into the minds of our youths and not look for the easy fix that is impossible to institute. It's not just the guns, for it could be knives or cars or trucks just as easily.

What was Mr. Conditt's job at a gym for kids? Did he leave with a recommendation or for other reasons ? He did have a rather odd opinion that sex offenders should not have to register- was that a random opinion? This bland 24yo seems to be someone whose real life was online where he was learning all kinds of sadistic ways to kill people. Can law enforcement fill out what he was looking at for the public?

"....child of a devout Christian family that held Bible study groups in their white clapboard house, where an American flag hangs from the front porch." That'll do it.

“Quiet and polite”? “Loner?” Well, then he couldn’t possibly have been an antisocial, deranged monster. Oh wait: the Las Vegas shooter was quiet and polite, too. Kind of a loner, too. In fact he amassed guns in his hotel suite for a week while being quiet and polite. See also: Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Dylann Roof. Ted Kaczynski. Why do we have to rehash this tired storyline over and over, where neighbors insist the person was a fine citizen, and can’t believe what happened, and insist the person must have been “broken” by some tragedy? Do most people respond to a parent’s death or a lost job by methodically plotting a mass murder? Would you? These men are SOCIOPATHS and TERRORISTS. Stop pussyfooting around it.

I know it's standard employer claptrap, but could we have a few more details on how he "didn't meet job expectations" at his previous employer? It might shed some light on events, which badly need light shed on them. As a college teacher, I know that when a student talks about "clarifying his stance," it often means he/she has one that they know not to utter in public, and are trying to figure out how to sugarcoat. I'd also be curious what led the family to homeschool: some parents honestly believe they can do a better job than professional educators, but others do it to shield their children from parts of the real world they object to, such as some social policies and routine interaction with people of other races or faiths.

Perhaps home schooling is a viable option for certain children. I'm not saying it is the reason this happened. I do think it affects socialization and learning how to interact with others and deal with various institutions and life expectations. Are there any unbiased studies of how home schooled students progress in society versus private and public school? It seems isolating children is not "education."

How was the unexploded package at the FedEx facility addressed?

Another white male Christian terrorist. Perhaps a little more education in reality and a little less education in religious fantasy could have helped this lost soul deal with reality a little better.