The city of Austin, Texas
Mark Conditt, the suspected serial bomber in Austin, Texas who killed two African-American men and injured several other, reportedly went on homophobic and sexist rants on his blog.
The 24-year-old, who police believe blew himself up on 20 March, is said to have authored several blog posts in 2012. In these posts, he expressed animosity for women and the LGBTI community.
Blogging for class
On the blog, titled ‘Defining my Stance,’ Conditt describes himself as a conservative who is ‘not that politically inclined.’ The blog was part of a class assignment from Austin Community College, according to a former classmate of Conditt. 23 students were listed as having blogs for that class.
‘I remember him and being in class with him but not his blog specifically,’ McKenna McIntosh, a former classmate of Conditt’s, told the New York Post.
‘I can’t believe I was even within reach, at one point, with someone who is capable of these acts,’ she said.
Conditt attended Austin Community College between 2010 and 2012 but did not graduate.
The blog posts
The six blog posts, written between February and May 2012, discuss topics like same-sex marriage (which Conditt believed should be illegal), the death penalty (which he was in support of), and abortion access (which Conditt was against).
In his post titled ‘Why gay marriage should be illegal,’ Conditt says:
‘Homosexuality is not natural. Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple. The natural design is apparent. It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female. It would be like trying to fit two screws together and to nuts together and then say, “See, it’s natural for them to go together.”
In addition, political protection of a sexual practice is ludicrous. I do not believe it is proper to pass laws stating that homosexuals have “rights.” What about pedophilia or bestiality? These are sexual practices. Should they also be protected by law? If homosexuality is protected by law, why not those as well?’
In the post called ‘My view on free abortions,’ he says ‘If you can’t provide for a child, then don’t have sex.’
Moreover, Conditt expressed support for doing away with the sex offender registry.
Anything else?
Authorities are advising Austin residents to remain on alert, as it’s unclear whether there are any more bombs of Conditt’s that have yet to detonate.