Deadliest school shooting in U.S. History has just occured.

[Tynan]

Well...typically we look at the history of the shooter themself...for instance the carnage in Montreal all those years back, the man shot those women because they were accepted into a program that he was not.

[Noise Monkey]

Why do all the wackos who wants to massacre people in the US do it in a school? Why not in a shopping mall or an airport? I'm not being a smartass here, I'm seriously wondering if school shootings have just kind of become "the thing" to do if you feel like going crazy.

There was a guy in a mall not too long ago. The thing is, malls usually have better security, more men per square foot, not to mention the security in individual stores. Also, there's usually a police station near the mall, leading to quicker response time. Even though these are probably not things that are taken into account by the lunatics, they do keep them from doing less damage than they could in a school with one or two cops at best or a security team that watches an entire campus (not to mention that most of the time, security is lighter during daylight hours).

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

Why do all the wackos who wants to massacre people in the US do it in a school? Why not in a shopping mall or an airport? I'm not being a smartass here, I'm seriously wondering if school shootings have just kind of become "the thing" to do if you feel like going crazy.

This guy was a student at the school, and his "disturbing note" mentions things like "rich kids" and "debauchery." His hate was directed towards the students it seems. The stories are updated every half hour it seems, so more mention of this note will surface.

[Rkolter]

You see more attacks in schools for the same reason you see more attacks in offices and warehouses. If you're going to be insanely angry at a group of people, it's more likely to be the group of people you see most often.

For kids (and young adults) that's schools and colleges. For older adults, that's work.

At least, that's my opinion. I haven't researched it, but I don't think they want to kill a lot of people in general; they want to kill a lot of a specific grouping of people.

[Stinkywigfiddle]

And Whacko Jack-o's right out of the gate with Video games.
Phelps plays his "God hates you and your heathen lifestyle" card, shows off new stick in his ass.

Those f*#@ers.

That's my two cents.

[Sput]

We had a lockdown and drug search for two hours today ): *sadness.* they're especially terrified of copycats so close to columbine, they said.

everyone was miserable.

[CJBurgandy]

And Whacko Jack-o's right out of the gate with Video games.
Phelps plays his "God hates you and your heathen lifestyle" card, shows off new stick in his ass.

Those f*#@ers.

That's my two cents.

These two sicken me. IMO the only thing worse than tragedy is people who turn around and try to make a buck off it.

[Rkolter]

They'll just be yelled at until they appologize, all along the way getting more and more advertising.

[Lunar]

Anyone remember that film about a fictionalized school shooting called Elephant? Here's what Ebert said in a review:

Let me tell you a story. The day after Columbine, I was interviewed for the Tom Brokaw news program. The reporter had been assigned a theory and was seeking sound bites to support it. "Wouldn't you say," she asked, "that killings like this are influenced by violent movies?" No, I said, I wouldn't say that. "But what about 'Basketball Diaries'?" she asked. "Doesn't that have a scene of a boy walking into a school with a machine gun?" The obscure 1995 Leonardo Di Caprio movie did indeed have a brief fantasy scene of that nature, I said, but the movie failed at the box office (it grossed only $2.5 million), and it's unlikely the Columbine killers saw it.

The reporter looked disappointed, so I offered her my theory. "Events like this," I said, "if they are influenced by anything, are influenced by news programs like your own. When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The story is assigned a logo and a theme song; these two kids were packaged as the Trench Coat Mafia. The message is clear to other disturbed kids around the country: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. The kids and teachers at school will see they shouldn't have messed with me. I'll go out in a blaze of glory."

In short, I said, events like Columbine are influenced far less by violent movies than by CNN, the NBC Nightly News and all the other news media, who glorify the killers in the guise of "explaining" them. I commended the policy at the Sun-Times, where our editor said the paper would no longer feature school killings on Page 1. The reporter thanked me and turned off the camera. Of course the interview was never used. They found plenty of talking heads to condemn violent movies, and everybody was happy.

I just read through this thread, and I just wanted to xommetn that this/\ made more sense than a lot of theories I've heard about shootings of this nature.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

His theory is right on, and I pretty much believed the same thing before I read it. The people that do these horrible things are already seriously disturbed, and when they see how others that have gone on a rampage get their face plastered everywhere, with dramatic music and headlines like, "The Face of a Killer" like we just saw on Fox.com a few hours ago, that can inspire them to go out in a "blaze of glory." I can only imagine mow many other troubled kids are getting ideas from this, to "punish" those that have "wronged" them. According to Cho's note that he left behind, this is what he was doing in his mind, and it's damn scary. This doesn't make good headlines though. Having something to blame it on makes good headlines.

[McDuffies]

Rkolter: I can't see measures taken from close, of course, maybe actual useful actions are never reported in the news, all I do hear about is things that I can't actually support: increased security in schools and monitoring of students, actions against what school officials percieve as deviant behaviour (like that guy who got in trouble for writing stories about zombies). I think that such actions only put more pressure on students and create more tension.
I think "Bowling for columbine" made some serious points about that, which were duly ignored, and Ebert in text that TSL copied, reiterated one of them: increasing tensions and paranoia in society just makes a surrounding in which more fragile people are more likely to crack. Such events, then, push officials toward measures that create even more tension and paranoia. It's really a problem that has to be fixed on a national level because it's causes aren't in schools. Triggers, perhaps, but not the causes.

[Rkolter]

I think Roger Ebert's statement is pretty accurate too.

And McDuffies - I don't disagree with you, but it's a vicious circle -

• Some bad thing happens.
• People don't feel safe.
• They ask for things that they think will make them feel safe.
• Those things increase paranoia leading to someone cracking.
• Then something bad happens.
• People don't feel safe.
• They ask for more things they think will make them feel safe...

[MixedMyth]

...Phelps...

Man, I hate that guy.

That makes two of us. He kept coming to my hometown, particularly when one of the Lutheran ministers came out. Ooooy.

As to the nationality of the killer, I do predict a xenophobic backlash. Although here is something to consider...I'm a bit surprised at, well, how surprised everyone is that he did this expertly. South Korea is one of many countries with mandatory military training. Now, do not read that as "the South Korean military made him into the messed up guy he was!" I'm SO not saying that. I am saying that if he had served his term already (he might not have...I haven't been able to find it anywhere), then he would certainly have an extra skill set. Although the number of sheer bullet based badness he seems to have totted around seems to be indicative of a looot more than simply that. So in the end, it is down once more to the individual.

At any rate, I really feel for the friends and family of those students. Thank god, I don't think I know anyone going there. At least, I hope not...

Edit: After rereading a couple of the more recent posts, time for my soapbox! (stand still, Soap...)

I do think we live in a society driven by fear. Currently, anyhow. I don't think it is always like this, but it keep reoccurring. It used to be McCarthyism and the cold war, now the War on Terror. I mean, look at that. War on Terror. It's right in the name and everything. We're afraid of threats both legitimate and paranoid, afraid of both baseless maniacs and repercussions of our own shady actions. We just don't sit easy because, whatever one's political stance, the fact is that the US is currently embroiled in a high tension conflict with a force we perceive to be faceless and keep trying to put a face to, often leading to racism and religious bigotry because it's much easier to hate an enemy that conforms to a stereotype and is a singular entity rather than a trend...a meme. I think it comes from a need to identify an "Us vs Them," like in old wars instead of the decentralized world of today. On top of that, many of us are living our own lives...it doesn't FEEL like we're in any kind of conflict. It's not some war movie with bombs falling on us. We're fine. And that's confusing. Anyhow, I think it's all this cognitive dissonance that creates a lot tension and fear. And of course opportunists have played off of that, so it's become even worse. Which leads back into the recent posts about people cracking.

Now, I can't claim that this is this guy's reason. I mean, I talked about the US and the war alot. But I do think it applies to the more general trend.

And now I'll deposit my two cents worth in the Bank of Me and get off my soapbox!

Edit Edit: Also, it appears he came over as a kid...so probably unlikely to have served? It doesn't seem to matter. Follow up readings lead me to conclude that he is officially "A Piece of Work."

[Kirb]

As to the nationality of the killer, I do predict a xenophobic backlash.

We were actually discussing this today in my media studies class. The press (Fox in particular, big surprise) seems obsessed with branding the shooter as a foreigner, without taking into account that the guy'd been living here for 14 years, most of his life.

Gotta love those reporters.


Also, Jack Thompson sickens me.

[The Neko]

I wonder if the killer was actually suffering from a form of severe narcissism. I remember reading that it is one of the more dangerous personality disorders. The misfortune felt by the individual ceases to be about the self, and instead becomes the fault of the world, and since they don't care about others, Nihilistically eliminating them or going through a "revenge plot" is the same as stepping on a bug in their mind.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

I dunno if we'll ever know now that he's dead. Let's hope they can get more info out of the few friends he had. Sounds like it makes sense.

As to the nationality of the killer, I do predict a xenophobic backlash.

We were actually discussing this today in my media studies class. The press (Fox in particular, big surprise) seems obsessed with branding the shooter as a foreigner, without taking into account that the guy'd been living here for 14 years, most of his life.

Gotta love those reporters.


Also, Jack Thompson sickens me.

Yeah. The sites are changed frequently, but earlier Fox had 3 different mastheads that stated "the face of a killer" and immediately states he's from South Korea. I like how yesterday he was a Chinese guy that barely spoke english, only to find out he's not even Chinese, and was an english major.

[Ahaugen]

I'm still surprised that you need more identification to buy a box of Sudaffed than to purchase a handgun in Virginia.

honestly, if there were any sort of sane firearm laws in this country, you would have to go through a psych. evaluation before you could buy a gun.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

I got carded for buying Dimetapp once. I was only allowed 2 bottles too. Though you could refine meth from that, so that's kind of a different issue.

[MixedMyth]

As to the nationality of the killer, I do predict a xenophobic backlash.

We were actually discussing this today in my media studies class. The press (Fox in particular, big surprise) seems obsessed with branding the shooter as a foreigner, without taking into account that the guy'd been living here for 14 years, most of his life.

Gotta love those reporters.


Also, Jack Thompson sickens me.

Yeah. The sites are changed frequently, but earlier Fox had 3 different mastheads that stated "the face of a killer" and immediately states he's from South Korea. I like how yesterday he was a Chinese guy that barely spoke english, only to find out he's not even Chinese, and was an english major.

Yeah, I also predict that there will be too many teachers who think that they're psychologists who are going to look at the Quiet Kid In The Class and automatically assume they're some kind of killer-in-training.

[TRI]

...Phelps...

Man, I hate that guy.

That makes two of us. He kept coming to my hometown, particularly when one of the Lutheran ministers came out. Ooooy.

Three. Had my first exposure to him when he brought his "god hates fags" gang to town the day of Gwen Araujo's funeral.

Anyway... so far I've been really impressed how quickly the media and public have been handling this thing. I mean, all the media blame games and arranging todays memorial... I guess it's practice from previous school shootings, but I remember this all taking a lot longer in the past.