Manifestos as Literary Works in Crimes

The 2022 mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York supermarket that killed 10 people was perpetrated by an 18-year-old who targeted African Americans based on the 'Great Replacement Theory.' The shooter had consumed racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant messages from the internet and left a 19-page document outlining his motivations. Despite the common occurrence of manifestos in such crimes, it is argued that manifestos are merely literary works, akin to lyrics, prompting a discussion on whether they should be used to understand the perpetrators' motives.