No one says that outright but poverty and violent extremism are pretty closely linked. Its not the only factor ofc, and youll always have outliers, but comfortable people with things worth losing are less likely to do something to endanger that.

Income inequality and violent crime are linked. Absolute poverty is tolerable to the psyche so long as everyone is in the same boat.

This was a suicide, not violent extremism.

It's less politics, and more to do with empathy for the common man. Mental illness is at an all-time high, wages are low, poverty is incredibly visible, and based off of postings on Reddit, Facebook, etc. there's a general attitude of being despondent due to the current economic and political climate. Something has to change, and it can only really start at the top - with government taking care of its citizens rather than constantly destroying the few social safety nets left.

The lens doesn’t change stagnant wages, health care and housing being out of reach, and income inequality.

Things are terrible, and putting your head in the sand does nothing but exacerbate the situation.

Employment is low, home ownership is increasing, healthcare is too expensive but still more accessible than it ever has been. Things can be better, but I'd say, gently, that you lack perspective. You are mirroring a story that you see online on TV and social media that is created to make you think things are terrible so you'll watch more tv and spend more time on social media. Stagnant wages aren't terrible, 25% unemployment was terrible. Stagflation was terrible. You think housing is tough now, try a home loan at 16% interest rate like in 1981/2. You think things are politically divisive now? Look at the violence and political assassinations in the 1960's. Look at the crime rate which has been declining for a two decades.

Unemployment is low, but the jobs at the lower end are still jobs that don’t pay a living wage. Credit card, auto loan, and student debt defaults are rapidly rising. Home prices have accelerated away from incomes that can support them.

While I appreciate your view on my perspective, it comes from careful analysis of macroeconomic data, as well as discussing the issues with citizens who would eventually be my constituents when I run in the next election cycle.

That is a lens. Wages are increasing, lots of people do have healthcare, and homeownership is increasing.

I'd suggest looking at more data before we cast politics aside - I would like to compare the amount of mental health issues that manifest themselves like this one ranging up to mass violence with other countries. My hypothesis is countries with a larger middle class and robust social care (such as access to affordable health care) have less of these events.

Why pointless? It seemed quite pointful to me. In fact, I would go so far as to say that salawat's point, far from being pointless, is actually correct, and we ignore it at our peril.

Does it happen more in America than in European countries with more socialist policies?

Wasn't the last suicide by plane in Germany or Switzerland with a plane full of passengers?