On 12/17/12 11:00 PM, JustWait wrote:
On 12/17/2012 9:34 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Mon, 17 Dec 2012 15:38:02 -0800, jps wrote:

I wonder what the psychological implications of having an "assault"
style weapon in your hands. Does it's style support these lunatic's
assumption that they're at war with the world?

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I seriously doubt that the appearance of the weapon provides any
inspiration or motivation. I think the primary motivation for most
of these senseless killings is a suicidal death wish coupled with a
desire for 15 minutes of media fame/notoriety. That desire for
notoriety may also be coupled with a revenge motive for real or
imagined misdeeds against them, an alienation from society in general.


I disagree on most of your points. I think the "penis" is in guns, as
badly as boats, or cars.. maybe even worse. Even my girl eyeballs the
black assault rifles in gun shops, "they look bad ass" and they are used
to them in the shooter games..

As to the death wish ok, but the notoriety part I don't see in this one.
This kid just had rage, pure and simple. As you said "revenge motive for
real or imagined misdeeds against them, an alienation from society in
general". But reading the reports, I don't think the guy gave a crap
what others thought of him or making history, he just went on a rampagwe...


We don't know what was going through the mind of the shooter. He
apparently started off his killing binge by committing matricide. That
act, weird and unusual in itself, and the observations offered to date
by those who actually knew him, his age, and the horrific nature of what
he did, point to neither a death wish nor a desire for 15 minutes of
fame. Several mental health professionals who have been interviewed are
guessing the behaviors point to schizophrenia, which typically "blooms"
in young males who suffer from it between the ages of 17 and 21. Most
schizophrenics, however, are withdrawn and non-violent towards others.

Perhaps the police have found or will find some clues that shine light
on the shooter's mental state. Maybe not. The problem with guessing on
these cases where the shooter is dead and there is a lack of concrete
evidence is that it usually points in the wrong direction. I've read and
heard some reports that "violent video games" may have been involved.
Well, video games don't cause schizophrenia.