Although similar incidents have occurred repeatedly, this time, discussions in the United States about the recent school shooting in Nashville, where Audrey Hale entered a school and killed three children and three adults, have focused more on the gender of the perpetrator rather than the massacre itself.
Understanding the reactions to such an event is not difficult. The incident is, of course, a terrible act of violence with no mitigating factors. It's not easy for individuals to make sense of the psychology behind the killer's actions, and that aspect is a matter for the legal system. Therefore, the magnitude of anger directed towards the perpetrators of such mass killings is natural. However, using Hale's transgender identity as a reason for the massacre is a dangerous discourse that vilifies transgender individuals.
Many are claiming that Hale committed the murder due to the revenge for not being able to convince their family of their gender transition, saying, "They committed the murder because they are trans." While there is no defense for Hale's brutality, it is unfair to use their transgender status as a justification, especially when the heterosexual status of those who commit similar atrocities is not used as a reason for their crimes. This unfairly stigmatizes millions of transgender individuals who have never committed any acts of violence.
Not being religious(!)
The highly conservative American society often tends to exploit such opportunities against minorities. The identification and targeting of defined groups are favored by such a society. By using Hale as an excuse, this opportunism is now being directed against transgender individuals. It's indeed strange that some claim that if Hale had received a good religious education, they wouldn't have committed the murder. This is strange because the school where Hale carried out the massacre, The Covenant School, is a Christian institution where Hale himself was once forcibly sent to receive Christian education. Having received religious education, whether forcibly or willingly, does not prevent a person from becoming a murderer. It might even exacerbate their anger. Some of the perpetrators of previous school shootings were considered religious individuals.
Psychologists, of course, approached the case in the right way. They diagnosed Hale with "Emotional Distress," acknowledging that what they experienced as a transgender individual had an impact on these crimes.
Hale doesn't seem to be a person who would naturally kill, according to what has been written about them. Hale is described as a commercial illustrator/graphic designer who publishes their works online and is sensitive enough to work on a children's book about a service dog.
The perpetrator: Family pressure
Hale is unquestionably the perpetrator of a terrible massacre. There can be no justification for what they did. However, growing up under the pressure of their very religious family, who are known to be extremely conservative, seems to have nurtured hatred in their heart, and this played a role in their choice to target a religious school. It's clear that they didn't have a healthy mind to think that their anger could be resolved by killing people. The fact that the three adults they killed were teachers at a religious school shows their accumulated resentment towards conservatism. The reason for killing the three small children may be related to the fact that they are the most vulnerable targets in society, causing the most pain. I'm not making this up; an FBI unit that studies the mental state of perpetrators of such massacres has shown in conversations with captured right-wing assailants that a strong desire to cause great suffering to society is prevalent when they choose innocent individuals or children as their targets. This is likely true for Hale as well.
But Audrey Hale or people like Hale have the biggest helpers in the country that claim thousands of lives every year - the easily accessible gun laws. Authorities have disclosed that two of the three automatic rifles used by Hale were purchased from a local gun store. It's clear that conservatives who support the gun lobby will not criticize the easy accessibility of firearms.
Attacking transgender individuals through Hale is easier because...