Gun violaence versus blowing people up

[dan_bgblue]

If I, and this is just me talking, or in this case typing, want to kill a bunch of folks for whatever reason my demented mind has conjured up, I am going to blow them to smithereens and sit back and watch the aftermath on the evening news. Not only that, I am going to blow the hell out of the building they occupy. It is great theater for the evening news.

Now on a serious note, what makes a person want to take a firearm or several of them, invade a public place, and start killing at random?

That is an honest question. Anyone have any answers to the question?

btw the first part is true to some extent. If you make me mad enough to kill you, I am going to blow you to smithereens if I have the chance.

[BigBlueBrock]

Now on a serious note, what makes a person want to take a firearm or several of them, invade a public place, and start killing at random?

A "**** the world and everyone in it" mental snap. The Columbine kids had been picked on for years, wanted revenge. Prosecutors in the Aurora case say that the shooter was upset about grades and not getting into a doctoral program. I think at a basic level, they are just mentally unbalanced and hanging on the edge of the abyss until something nudges them over. Of course, we're trying to logically explain the kind of behavior and mental state that I can't possibly fathom. I can't imagine murdering one person in cold blood, much less a dozen or more innocent people. The very idea is abhorrent to me, as it would be to anyone not teetering on the edge of psychosis.

[badrose]

It's the ultimate tantrum. Real life doesn't give a rat's patootie about your self esteem. Total lack of preparation for that kind of reality.

[CitizenBBN]

We've all seen different theories presented, but almost all of these people can be described as "loners", quite people. The quintessential wall flower.

So my money is on it being attention getting, esp. as a suicide that gets lots of attention but as a psychotic break with their world where they don't get attention or have peer connections. I think Columbine is a little different in that they had specific grudges, whereas Aurora and Sandy Hook and almost all the rest seem to be randomly chosen targets. It's not "I saw a bad movie there and they won't give me my money back" scenarios, just "wanted to kill a lot of people and this seemed like as good a place as any."

it's also consistent with what we see in assassinations. They are also carried out by people usually described as loners, again people who are described by quiet, withdrawn people by neighbors and those who knew him, but not seen as violent or aggressive in any way.

The nut job who seems always on the verge of a shooting spree, who goes down to the city council and rants at them, ends up rarely doing anything like this if ever.

They're loners, quiet, unassuming, not seen as "normal" by those around them but also not seen as a threat to others (generally, some are). How that flips to the killing spree I dont' know. I like the "plea for attention" or "punish those not giving me attention" starting point b/c it seems to tie to their consistent pattern of not getting attention as people, but it's all just a swag.

[CitizenBBN]

It's the ultimate tantrum. Real life doesn't give a rat's patootie about your self esteem. Total lack of preparation for that kind of reality.

This ties in with my "attention getting" view. A child's tantrum is as much about attention as getting their way, them making themselves the center of the universe again. The Terrible Twos psychology is that it is the child realizing the entire world doesn't revolve around them and they don't like it. It's a bid for that attention of being the center of things.

Of course explaining the logic of bat crap crazy is probably just impossible, but it would be good if we could identify the warning signs and distinguish this 0.001% from the rest who may just be loners or unassuming and be perfectly fine.

[suncat05]

I do have to tell you guys though.......there certainly is a lot of satisfaction involved with blowing stuff up.......I'm just sayin'..........

[BigBlueBrock]

I do have to tell you guys though.......there certainly is a lot of satisfaction involved with blowing stuff up.......I'm just sayin'..........

When I was a teenager, my dad took and emptied the gun powder out of a bunch of fireworks into a pill bottle. Cut a hole in the cap for the fuse, then wrapped it in a great many layers of tape. Lit it and blew a few large limbs off a tree in our yard. Fun.

[dan_bgblue]

I do have to tell you guys though.......there certainly is a lot of satisfaction involved with blowing stuff up.......I'm just sayin'..........