Thousands of Facebook fans label UK killer Raoul Moat 'You Legend'

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The six-hour stalemate on a Northumberland riverbank eventually came to an end when the 37-year-old shot himself dead at 1.15am on Saturday.

Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim told a news conference: "Right up until that time police officers were striving to persude Mr Moat to give himself up peacefully.

"During this time, officers discharged a taser, however this did not prevent his death."

She would not take questions after the media briefing, but from the wording of her statement it can only be assumed Moat was hit with the tasers before he shot himself.

....

Moat was released from prison on Thursday, July 1, after serving a short sentence for assault.

The following day, prison staff warned police he had been threatening to harm his ex-girlfriend, Samantha Stobbart.

And on Saturday, July 3, Moat shot her, critically wounding her, and then blasted her new partner dead.

Moat was now a fugitive. He was on the run with a vendetta against police, convinced Ms Stobbart was having an affair with an officer.

The next day, he shot PC David Rathband in the face, pointing the gun through the officer's car window while he sat on duty at a busy roundabout.

Moat declared "war" on police and in chilling letters left for detectives claimed to be a "killer and a maniac" and pledged to keep shooting until he died.
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http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Raoul-Moat-Facebook-Group-Calls-Gunman-Legend-And-Gains-Thousands-Of-Members/Article/201007215663191?

The page entitled "R.I.P Raoul Moat You Legend" is being given as an example of the "anti hero" status the gunman took on in some people's eyes.

Despite shooting three innocent people, killing one, many have cited Moat's troubled background and apparent rejection by some of his family as indicators that he was also a victim in the situation.

Comments on the Facebook page are increasing rapidly as more flock to write their own memorials and theories of what really happened in Moat's final moments.

More than 2,750 people have opted to "like" the page set up in remembrance of the former doorman, with some going as far as to praise his actions over the last week.

Many of the themes focus on congratulating the gunman for shooting a police officer or blaming the police - often referred to as "scum" - for his death.

Others go as far as blaming his ex girlfriend Samantha Stobbart, who Moat shot twice through the window of her house, for supposedly driving him to desperation.

One user called Gary Marsh wrote: "best group av ever joined rip raoul u legend we all know it was the scum who killed u really!!!"

Another Facebook member, Ste Kay, wrote: "The true criminal in all this is the system that pushed him further and further towards doing what he did. He went to prison for a short time for a miner (sic) offence.

"To take his job, home and family away from him is a harsh punishment and is not going to help any one. If some one was taking your livelihood away from you ,the...n (sic) you would also act on instinct."

Criminologist professor David Wilson said it is "astonishing" how Moat had "tapped a nerve" among some people in the UK and is seen as a legend.

But he was quick to explain that throughout his time on the run, Moat constantly manipulated his image to present himself in the best possible light and as a victim.



"There will be many people out in the community who feel that people who have power are unnecessarily giving them a hard time," he told Sky News.

"He's tapping into that dispossessed, white working class, masculine mentality, whereby they can't make their way in the world legitimately so behaving the way that Moat has behaved, as this kind of anti-hero, has, I think, touched a nerve."

A separate memorial page has also been set up online by Gemma Munro, who claims she was a close friend of Moat.

She cites his cause of death as "murder" and writes: "For all those who dont agree with this page Raoul may have done things wrong but he was still human and a really kind one.

"True what they say never judge a book by its cover and people shouldnt judge till they've heard all the FACTS because they will be revealed one day and then people might understand why someone felt the need to do the things he did."

Both memorial sites have also attracted their fair share of critics, with many leaving comments condemning Moat for his past domestic abuse and the shooting of unarmed, innocent people.
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I have no words for these idiots.
 
No matter how desperate you may be, killing innocents can never be justified, and anyone who tries to justify such actions deserves to meet Mr. Bullet.

But from what I've read it sounds like Moat was the classic psychopath - which would explain why one of his alleged close friends is unable to see the truth of his actions, i.e. he manipulated her.
 
many have cited Moat's troubled background and apparent rejection by some of his family as indicators that he was also a victim in the situation.
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Of course they rejected him. He's a ginger!
 
gdiza said:
I bet all of those likes are stupid brits... that country is full of morons!
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Yep. It's always "kewl" when it happens to someone else. They have this bizarre childish cock-measuring contest mindset where the more outlandish your views, beliefs and interests the more awesome you apparently are. I don't, personally, understand it.

Ask any one of those people to actually spend 10 seconds thinking about their anti-hero support of this murderer and they'll say, "Oh, it's not meant like THAT!"

One of the most important lessons to learn on the internet is to take everything with a bucket of salt.
 
Lyca, they are so tied up by their nanny laws and can't seem to muster up the courage to get out from under the gaze of the ever watchfull eye that they applaud the occasional lunatic that does rebel.
 
Datura said:
Lyca, they are so tied up by their nanny laws and can't seem to muster up the courage to get out from under the gaze of the ever watchfull eye that they applaud the occasional lunatic that does rebel.
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He killed a few innocent people just going about their day though, not something to applaud. Then again in war it's called collateral... these sort of crimes are not justified.
 
Datura said:
Lyca, they are so tied up by their nanny laws and can't seem to muster up the courage to get out from under the gaze of the ever watchfull eye that they applaud the occasional lunatic that does rebel.
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I agree. I think it's a sort of cry for individuality. A somewhat morose and macabre cry, but a cry without the intention it portrays nonetheless.

I've always said--the problem with freedom is complacency and inevitably trying to govern and control those freedoms. I think many youths feel like there's nothing that sets them apart from the others, and that they don't "fit in" with their peers, so they take on extremist icons and interests to "stand out" instead of coming to terms with their own identities.

Admittedly, it's a much deeper problem than that, but it all stems from, as you say, nanny laws which ultimately do the opposite of what they're intended to do. Which is pretty much a given the moment you try to control freedoms and turn people into what they're not.

Although, you and I could be thinking of two different things here :D
 
Aqua_lung said:
He killed a few innocent people just going about their day though, not something to applaud. Then again in war it's called collateral... these sort of crimes are not justified.
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I agree, it certainly isn't an act that deserves an applause. Murdering bastard took the easy way out like the coward he was and now thousands of FB idiots are calling him a legend. It's sick and very strange. Unless all those facebook users that are applauding this git are also gingers...
 
It's Facebook - you're not exactly going to get 'educated' or 'informed' views on there. Debating current affairs on Facebook, with the exception of a few people, will be like talking to a brick wall.

I'm appalled at the 'nanny-state' type thinking on there though - blaming other things (background/former girlfriend) rather than himself. What happened to taking responsibility for your OWN actions?
 
Aqua_lung said:
Not that different here...
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Yes there are some trolls on here but Facebook, imo, is much worse. The threads that seem to get de-railed heavily are Israel/Palestine ones and any threads with the word "racist" in them on here. Which is why I stay out most of those threads because they bore me too death too be honest.
 
This is why I steer clear from facebook and it's followers.

Are you a facebook follower??? Let me steer clear of you.
 
I think a lot of the sentiment is fueled by backlash from the UK's march to becoming a police state.
 
Chris said:
Yes there are some trolls on here but Facebook, imo, is much worse. The threads that seem to get de-railed heavily are Israel/Palestine ones and any threads with the word "racist" in them on here. Which is why I stay out most of those threads because they bore me too death too be honest.
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I fear it is worse here. At least on Facebook the majority are not hiding behind pseudonyms.
 
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