Elliot Rodger: The Original Incel Killer

 (Warning: Graphic details ahead)

 

            This is it. From all of those true crime stories ever explored, this is the one that feels like the most compelling case worthy of an episode on Criminal Minds or any police procedural drama (I am a big fan of CSI anyway). You see, humans regulate their emotions in different ways, that includes coping mechanisms for certain negative emotions, like the feeling of rejection, hopelessness, and seclusion. This particular story is about an unsub (short for unknown subject. Thanks, Criminal Minds) who was too busy in his own world trying to seek for love, only to be ignored and in the end, brought his own hammer of justice in the form of a mass killings in the name of unreciprocated love. 

 

            Today's crime historians and crazed incels may know him as "The Supreme Gentleman", but this unsub had a name at some point, which was Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger, Elliot Rodger for short. Come to think of it, he was born from an esteemed British filmmaker Peter Rodger and Malaysian research assistant Chin Li Rodger. He was born in London, England on 24 July 1991, and moved to the United States when he was 5 years old, living his childhood in Los Angeles, California. He had a younger sister just before Peter and Chin Li divorced, dan a half-brother from Peter's second marriage with Moroccan actress Soumaya Akaaboune. To say that his early life is full of turbulent events is honestly an understatement, since he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. By the accounts of a family attorney, young Elliot had seen multiple therapists since the tender age of 8, but was never formally diagnosed until 2007, in which he was officially diagnosed with two disorders stated above. HIs school days are bad just on his own. attended Crespi Carmelite High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Encino, Los Angeles, and then Taft High School in Woodland Hills, in which he attended for only a week due to severe bullying. He last attended Independence Continuation High School in Lake Balboa in which he graduated in 2009. Rodger then briefly enrolled in Los Angeles Pierce College and Moorpark College before ultimately transferring to Santa Barbara City College in 2011. By the time during his ninth grade, Rodger was "increasingly bullied", and wrote later that he "cried by [himself] at school every day"; at this time, he developed an obsession with the multiplayer-online game World of Warcraft, which dominated his life for most of his teenage years, and briefly into his 20s. At Crespi Carmelite High he was bullied; in one incident his head was taped to a desk while he was asleep. Despite all the help that he received, he insisted to not take those advices and medicines, and by the time he turned 18, he began rejecting mental health care and began isolating himself. 

 

            For the next bit, I must assure you that I am no FBI profiler working at the Behavioral Analysis Unit, but when researching for this piece made me realize that Elliot Rodger was one of those people living with an unstable mind. The one that stands out the most is his total shyness when it comes to the opposite sex. He was also, as described above, heavily bullied by his peers. By his claims, he was unable to make any friends, but people said that the reason why he didn't have any friends was basically himself, rebuffing any attempts of anyone trying to befriend him. At some point, he began documenting his life on his YouTube channel, mainly expressing his loneliness and contempt from constantly ignored and rejected by girls. Hell, long before the events that would eventually cement his infamy among the incelsphere, he already committed petty crimes as documented by his manifesto titled My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. In 2011, he allegedly threw a hot coffee onto a couple out of jealousy, in another incident, two girls got splashed by him for "not smiling back at him". But an incident in July 2013 might left the biggest scar on this troubled soul. While attending a party, he was ignored and mocked. He then tried but failed to shove some girls over a ten-foot ledge; instead, other boys pushed him over and his ankle was injured. When he went back for his sunglasses he was again mocked and beaten. This was the last straw for him. 

 

            For years lead up to the event, he prepared himself by practicing in a shooting range, and bought three weapons, all legally. On his possession were a Glock 34 and two SIG Sauer 226 pistols. He also had his black BMW 328i Coupe as his daily drive turned battering ram when the time has come. One day before his "retribution day", he recorded and posted his final YouTube video, where one excerpts on said video read:

 

"Tomorrow is the day of retribution, the day in which I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you. For the last eight years of my life, ever since I hit puberty, I've been forced to endure an existence of loneliness, rejection, and unfulfilled desires all because girls have never been attracted to me. Girls gave their affection, and sex, and love to other men but never to me. I'm 22 years old and I'm still a virgin. I've never even kissed a girl. I've been through college for two and a half years, more than that actually, and I'm still a virgin. It has been very torturous. College is the time when everyone experiences those things such as sex and fun and pleasure. Within those years, I've had to rot in loneliness. It's not fair. You girls have never been attracted to me. I don't know why you girls aren't attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it. It's an injustice, a crime, because ... I don't know what you don't see in me. I'm the perfect guy and yet you throw yourselves at these obnoxious men instead of me, the supreme gentleman."

 

            Then the day arrived. 23rd of May 2014. He began the day by stabbing three people in his apartment multiple times. One of them feuded with Rodger over a petty theft. He had the total audacity to stop for a coffee and to upload his video and manifesto (he even sent it to his therapist, and somehow, made its way to his parents), before driving off to the Alpha Phi sorority in the University of California, Santa Barbara. His initial plan was to shot every member of the sorority, until his knocks went unanswered. He began shooting people nearby, resulting in two women killed and one injured. He also opened fire at an unoccupied coffee shop and a delicatessen; a man was struck seven times and killed. He then hopped onto his BMW, striking 8 people (pedestrians, skateboarders and cyclists) and shot 8 more. He briefly involved in a gunfire with the sheriff's deputy, and after hitting a cyclist (the 8th people he struck with his BMW), he crashed his car. And after another brief exchange, he ended the day, and his life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. In the aftermath, 7 lives were lost (including Rodger's) and fourteen injured. It is easier for me to list all the deceased than to write them in a paragraph. So, here is the names of the deceased:

 

1.     Weihan "David" Wang, 20, stabbed at Elliot's apartment

2.     Cheng Yuan "James" Jong, 20, stabbed at Elliot's apartment

3.     George Chen, 19, stabbed at Elliot's apartment

4.     Katherine Breann Cooper, 22, shot outside the Alpha Phi sorority

5.     Veronica Elisabeth Weiss, 19, shot outside the Alpha Phi sorority

6.     Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, 20, caught in a drive-by shooting at the Isla Vista deli mart

 

On the day after the killing spree, a candlelight memorial was held in honour of the victims. This was followed by a memorial service at UCSB's Harder Stadium, which had over 20,000 people in attendance.

 

            Even after the horrific event, many people inside the extreme side of the manosphere, specifically those who dubbed themselves "incels" (short for involuntarily celibate) praised Rodger for his heinous actions. Some of them even inspired to commit copycat crimes in honour of the sick bastard. One of which is the 2018 Toronto Van Attack, in which another unsub, Alec Minassian, is apparently friends with Rodger due to their shared hatred and contempt of girls who rejected them in favour of other, more attractive men (dubbed "Chad" and "Stacy"). 

 

            Elliot Rodger is certainly an interesting case where someone who suffers from many mental illnesses who lashed out to the world instead of getting help. He was a troubled man with obsession for affection, an obsession he never got. He blamed his loneliness and his lack of love to other people not related to his problems, and in the end, he perished from the world, dragging few souls with him as a result of his one-sided anger through blood and violence. I might have slight sympathy to the guy, as he has differently-wired brain like I do, but I would never in a million years condone acts of violence, hell this is outright massacre to be committed out of years of hatred and disdain for affectionate relationship, just because you never experience one. To all six kind souls lost on the attack, may you all rest in eternal peace. And for Elliot Rodger, rot in hell you incel freak. 

Formula E: Racing Sustainably One City at a Time

 On Saturday, June 4, 2022, I had the utmost privilege of attending the Jakarta ePrix at the Jakarta International ePrix Circuit in Ancol Beach, North Jakarta as part of the FIA Formula E World Championship Round 9 of 16 races. As a fan of motorsport, I can say that the atmosphere was electric (no pun intended). The Indonesians are always passionate about motorsport in general, and with two motorsport events under the belt in recent years (the other being the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika Circuit in Lombok), who knows what the future holds. But for now, we can all be proud of our achievements after a rough two years caused by the pandemic. 

 

            But most of you watching the race might be a first timer when it comes to the Formula E racing series. By looking at the name, you can all tell that this series utilizes single-seater cars powered by a battery pack and an electric motor. In short, this is the first motorsport series that uses all-electric power cars. Quick history lesson, this series was conceived in 2011. Oddly enough, the idea was pitched through a dinner at a small Italian restaurant in Paris by the president of the Fédération Internationale d'Automobile (FIA) Jean Todt and presented to politicians Alejandro Agag and Antonio Tanjani and Italian actor Teo Teocoli. Later on, in 2012, Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi joined as the first ever Formula E driver, at the time running show cars and prototypes of what would become the modern Formula E car. 

 

            After years of developing the car, named Spark-Renault SRT01e, the first ever race, and first ever season of Formula E kicked off at Beijing Olympic Park in 2014, won by di Grassi after a scary last lap wreck between Renault eDams' Nicolas Prost (son of racing legend Alain Prost) and Venturi's Nick Heidfeld. The car at the time, used until the 2017-2018 season has a top speed of 225 kph (140 mph), and has maximum power available up to 230 kW (308 HP), with 200 kW (286 HP) usable in race mode. The downside of this car was its limited energy capacity, being only 28 kWh. To counteract this, the regulations stated at the time that teams must provide 4 cars, two to each driver. During the mid-stage of the race, drivers must enter pit road to switch to their fully charged second car. This created its own dramatic element, as some teams often miscalculates their pit stop timing, resulting in wrecks. Starting from the 2018-2019 season, a new car, the Spark SRT05E, or the "Gen 2" is used up to the conclusion of this running season. The new car has new battery pack which in turn, bigger energy capacity that its predecessor (54 kWh), effectively scrapping the need for a mid-race car swap, as these cars can now run full distance of the race. With bigger battery means bigger power, with maximum usable power of 250 kW (335 HP), with the same race power mode, but with an added twist named ATTACK MODE, which increases the power output to 225 kW (301 HP) and the top speed of 280 kph (174 mph). The ATTACK MODE is a fairly new strategic element unique to Formula E, which saw drivers driving off the racing line to a specific activation zone comprised of 3 sensors. Once the three sensors have been activated, the halo would turn blue signaling the extra power. Starting this year, the Generation 3 cars will be used for the next season. This new car is expected to be more powerful and a lot faster, with maximum power up to 350 kW (470 HP) and top speed of around 320 kph (200 mph). The new regulations are also expected to include flash-charging pitstops up to 600-800 kW, which could mean doubling the race distance. The cars are also expected to have massive regenerating capabilities with front and rear powertrains, the front end for the regen, and the rear for driveshaft.

 

            What makes this championship unique in its own right is the race weekend format. Unlike any other racing series that runs through 3 days during the weekend, Formula E events only lasts typically 1 or 2 days if the race in question is a double-header. The events are held in mostly city centers, rather than a purpose-built racing facility, with the exception of Mexico City, Berlin, and Jakarta, with the former and the latter are held in a racing facility of some sort, while the Berlin race is held on an old decommissioned Tempelhof airport. The day starts with two 30-minute practice sessions. Then the qualifying session is held during midday, where 22 current drivers are split into two groups determined by their championship standings, odd numbers in group A, even numbers in group B. Fastest four drivers from each group are put into an elimination-style duels to determine the pole sitter. The race is held in the afternoon, lasts for 45 minutes plus 1 white flag lap. The scoring uses the FIA standard scoring for top 10 drivers (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1), with the driver who secured pole position secured an additional 3 points and for the fastest lap of the race bagged an extra point to their tally. For the team’s championship, the total points of both drivers are counted. During the race itself, aside from the aforementioned ATTACK MODE, there is something called the Fanboost. The feature in question allows the fans to vote for their favorite driver to receive an extra burst of power for 5 seconds on their cars, only usable during the second half of the race (in the older days, the fanboost applied in their second cars once the swap has been done). Each race, 5 drivers receive the feature based on the votes. The voting period opens 3 days before the event and closes 15 minutes into the race.  

 

            You might think that Formula E is only about the racing itself, but it goes way more than that. Since its inception, this series has advocated for climate crisis caused by the usage of fossil fuels and aims for electrification for the next 10 years. This FIA sanctioned world championship series is the first ever to be net zero carbon across 6 seasons, and the first to hold a certification for sustainable events (ISO 20121). The series also investing in internationally specified projects to offset carbon emissions. The events are powered through renewable and sustainable energy generators. Hell, the car itself, when the season has concluded and the Gen 3 car is finally rolled out, will be recycled for parts used for the new cars. The tires themselves are made of natural rubber compound and recycled fibers suited for all weather conditions, and also recycled after each event. This initiative, along with the racing spectacle is heralded as an effort to build upon a more sustainable world with advanced technology for mankind, and I am sincerely hoping that Formula E stays on this track, while also keep on bringing the motorsport festivals to cities across the globe.

 

            In short, The FIA Formula E World Championship was conceived as part of a dinner between the FIA and few public and political figures, as well as many parties across the motorsport spectrum. The series was first launched in 2014, and currently on its 8th season, with the next season expected later this year with new, faster and more energy efficient cars. Aside from racing, Formula E is also an advocate for sustainability, climate crisis and electrification. Now that the 2022 Jakarta ePrix is in the books, I just want to say thank you to all parties involved in this event, and to other motorsport fans, see you again in 2023.