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27 Dead in Connecticut Elementary School Shooting


Jägermeister

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I have already outlined my thoughts on how the media - and mainly social media - provides the attention needed for these killers to do more than just kill themselves. They want people to visit those pages and link to other sites such as this. They want everyone to see it and know who they are. So yes, to me it has everything to do about Facebook, twitter and any media outlet who's primary story is the one we are discussing. Thats my opinion. Go ahead and not be polite to me. I'd love to see what you have on your mind.

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Yawn... I just repeated what I had already said earlier. I don't see any reason to confirm anything. Looks like you're all bark and no bite. Shame not everyone has the same view point as you and could actually have the audacity to criticize your precious Facebook and twitter. Of which I'm already sure you spend too much time on and are completely biased in that regard.

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I have already outlined my thoughts on how the media - and mainly social media - provides the attention needed for these killers to do more than just kill themselves. They want people to visit those pages and link to other sites such as this. They want everyone to see it and know who they are. So yes, to me it has everything to do about Facebook, twitter and any media outlet who's primary story is the one we are discussing. Thats my opinion. Go ahead and not be polite to me. I'd love to see what you have on your mind.

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You could come for a walk with me and let something catch up with your brain as well. You want to toss around insults here be my guess. I will answer to every insult thrown at me first. I have the right to voice my opinion. Don't like it, don't respond. Simple yeah?

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http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shadow-boxing/201207/mass-murder-motives

In response to the mass murder in Aurora, CO, we seek to know why. James Holmes, 24, was arrested for allegedly entering a theater during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Reports say he was dressed in riot gear, with a gas mask, and that he threw a canister into the audience before he began to shoot. With a dozen dead and many hurt, people want answers and they want them now. However, when media outlets oblige, early reports can mislead.

In truth, there are many different types of motive for mass murder, ranging from revenge to despair to free-floating rage at the world. Some people develop visions of annihilation, while others seek headlines. For the Aurora incident, we should allow time for a proper analysis. The shooter himself might not realize the many threads that wove into his stunning act of violence.

I’ve been reading Dave Cullen’s book, Columbine, about the 1999 massacre in Littleton, CO. I find many of his insights to be quite relevant to the Aurora incident. Notably, Cullen dissects the media coverage to explain how the many myths and misunderstandings emerged about shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Some persist even today (and Cullen admits his own role as a journalist back then in contributing to the errors). In the chaos, reporters had recreated the incident via contradictory eyewitness accounts and brief law enforcement reports, but this “need-to-know-now” approach typically produces errors.

It’s surprising how many media “facts” emerged about the Columbine shooters and how long the errors have endured. Cullen offers a careful account, using interviews and documents that were unavailable until years after the shooting. He includes what we know about the distortion factors in perception and memory, and his evaluation easily generalizes to other headline-grabbing massacres.

Having spent nine years on research, Cullen suggests that Harris had groomed a depressed Klebold for the day of destruction. Harris’s journals detail an intense hatred of his “inferiors,” which included just about everyone. Far from being unbearably bullied, he himself could be a bully. More to the point, Harris had “extinction fantasies” about wiping out other people.

In The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, psychoanalyst and social philosopher Erich Fromm described extinction fantasies as an aspect of “necrophilism,” which can feed malignant aggression. People with a "necrophilous character" are guided by a set of values that glorifies death and demolition.

Malignant aggression, accordng to Fromm, is rooted in the desire to make a distinct mark on one’s world. Such people often have dreams about dismembered parts or rooms full of corpses. They have trouble relating to others and tend to feel bored. Preferring dark colors, they’re often obsessed with devices of destruction or role models who carried out large-scale slaughters. They feel a smirking superiority toward others, often being insensitive about tragedies that involved a loss of life.

As Klebold struggled with a sense of failure, equating suicide with tranquility and escape, Harris aimed his hatred outward. He attended closely to stories of prior school shootings. The way these young men reinforced each other’s dark side is a striking factor in their “mission.” Each time they worked on their plans, laughing over who might die, they took another step closer to action. Setting a date, collecting weapons, and having a clear target and a stated purpose increased the probability that they would play out their fatal scenario.

Although the shooting in Aurora differs in many ways from the Columbine massacre, one thing is certain: pressure to identify a simple reason is a mistake. A motive for planned violence of this magnitude generally simmers for a while, absorbing support from multiple sources until it reaches the boiling point. If we want perspective that could help us understand and prevent, we’ll need to be patient. It’s unlikely that immediate post-incident observations will be definitive.

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This article outlines how media(social media/Facebook/twitter ect ect) can ADD to the 'boiling point' which the article refers. Even the 'frenzy' here in this thread is a clear example. And that's my point is that the kind of coverage these events get can feed future potential mass killings. Even us here blowing up this thread on the issue - and rightly so - could in fact add to the problem. The more attention, the more glorification for 'necrophilism'. Hope that clears things up a little better for those who may have misunderstood my posts.

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While I completely disagree with SpecialEd's theory that mass shootings result from Facebook/Twitter, I do believe that posts like the one you quoted are very much a product of our society's emphasis on social media and the importance of being 'first' to report things (just look at the first page of any GDT). We never think about the emotional element, what this means for people's families. What hundreds of children must be feeling right now. How scared they are, how panicked their parents must be.

Instead, we want numbers. How many dead? How many shots fired? What are the death statistics? Who the frack cares whether its 10, 15, 20? Many people are dead, it that is a tragedy.

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This article outlines how media(social media/Facebook/twitter ect ect) can ADD to the 'boiling point' which the article refers. Even the 'frenzy' here in this thread is a clear example. And that's my point is that the kind of coverage these events get can feed future potential mass killings. Even us here blowing up this thread on the issue - and rightly so - could in fact add to the problem. The more attention, the more glorification for 'necrophilism'. Hope that clears things up a little better for those who may have misunderstood my posts.

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When I saw that the weapon was a .223 calibre I had a slight twinge. In fairness to our American neighbors I can personally attest to the fact that you could buy such a weapon (specifically an AR 15 which is a civilian M 16) here in Victoria at Robinson's sporting goods as far back as 1976 without much fuss. How do I know that? A "friend" of mine thought it essential that he own one of these ridiculous weapons despite their being totally unsuitable for any kind of peaceful purpose (i.e. hunting) because he was too young to go to Vietnam and kill "gooks". Unfortunately he didn't realise that you should perhaps store these things unloaded and with the safety on and one fateful day he was showing it off to a U.K. born friend who had never SEEN a gun before and before you knew it the damned thing had gone off... right into my chest. 10 ribs, one lung and about 20 pints of blood later I was still alive, barely. My "friend" got in very little trouble (had his collection of guns taken away, that's it) and soon afterwards he returned to his native USA where he joined the US Army and became a decorated war hero as a result of his shooting up "sand ni**ers" in Desert Storm. Today he is a very well respected man where he lives.

I'm with Bertuzzi Babe on this one; this kind of stuff has been going on since before the telephone. The media is shameless in their attempts to get the "story" but I'm pretty sure when the facts are known we will find out that there is mental illness involved and perhaps domestic violence issues as well. Combine these with automatic weapons and you have a recipe for disaster. I feel so bad for the literally hundreds of people affected by this tragedy. R.I.P. And there but for the grace of God go I...

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