Payton Gendron, the suspect in the killing of ten people in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, is the latest far-right extremist to allegedly murder defenceless people in the name of white supremacy. His hate-filled manifesto is full of baffling contradictions, vile stereotypes, unhinged conspiracy theories and, predictably, Norse symbolism.
Gendron ended his manifesto with the contradictory message: “God bless you all and I hope to see you in Valhalla.” This follows the lead of the terrorist who attacked a summer camp in Utøya, Norway, who named his guns after the weapons of the Norse gods. Even more recently, the shooter who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand bookended his manifesto with references to Norse culture.
In pre-Christian Norse belief, Valhalla is the hall where those who die heroically are taken to prepare for Ragnarök, the battle at the world’s end, under the watchful eye of the god Odin. Dying heroically, according to most Norse sources, means having fought bravely in battle. There is no mention that massacring unarmed civilians earns you a seat at the table. According to Norse tradition, Gendron is more likely destined for Náströnd (Corpse Shore): an area of the underworld reserved for cowardly murderers to wade rivers of poison until the end of the world.
