Mass Killing at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown Conn.

[ebacon]

Here's a blurb on German gun laws and their rash of school shootings. It was written in 2009.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...-shooting-laws

Gun laws are not the answer. There is something else going on. I'm tired now, but a cursory glance at the school shootings seem to have a pattern. The shooters are typically in their early 20s, previously attended the schools, and for whatever reason have grudges.

It might be that the shooters are despondent because they are worried that they will never find work and blame the school. I don't know, I just have to believe that increasingly unstable socioeconomic situations are a big part of the equation. People tend to get edgy when they don't know what's next. That's why job stability is always a big issue in union negotiations. The easier a society makes it for people to mess with each others livelihoods the more stressed the people get and the more likely a few of them are to act out. It's simple statistics. That's my take at least.

[merrylander]

The odd part is that as it turns out his mother was not a teacher at the school, she was unemployed and a gun collector. In fact some reports suggest that she was one of those slightly paranoid types who live in fear. The shooter himself apparently did not attend the school, or had not attended for some time. If he bore some sort of grudge he had been holding it for a long time as he was 20 years old and the school is K-4.

I recently saw a pellet gun that holds 15 rounds and has a muzzle velocity of 550FPS. Now my Crossman only has a MV of 350FPS yet it can bury a flat nosed wadbuster full length or more into hardwood. Got myself a box of the pointed variety must try it out on some oak trees. If 350FPS can bury them deep in hardwood 550FPS ought to go pretty deep in someone's hide. Oddly enough when a county police officer was her on some unrelated call he was rather impressed with its appearence as it is a copy of a Colt Python.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by icenine

Why are fireworks illegal?

Excellent question.

Dave

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by merrylander

The odd part is that as it turns out his mother was not a teacher at the school, she was unemployed and a gun collector. In fact some reports suggest that she was one of those slightly paranoid types who live in fear. The shooter himself apparently did not attend the school, or had not attended for some time. If he bore some sort of grudge he had been holding it for a long time as he was 20 years old and the school is K-4. . . .

Yes, there are some things that don't add up with the family situation of this shooter. It will be interesting to hear the story when it comes out.

My understanding is that he was a student at the school, was expelled for disciplinary problems, and then home schooled. I also find it strange that the mother had a gun collection. Maybe she got them in a divorce. Maybe she is a doomsday prepper. But I doubt that she is a gun collector in the typical sense of preserving history or heirlooms for the simple reason that it would be a statistical outlier for a woman to be engaged in that sort of hobby. At least I have never heard of it.

One thing that seems to be recurrent in school shootings is the black clothing. In the German school shooting case I posted earlier the article said that the kid was a fan of the video game Counter-Strike. The outfits in that game are typical black tactical uniforms. That might be a seed.

As far as video games alone being the problem, I don't think so, but they may well be part of it. Or if not the game, the internet aspect that goes along with multi-player games.

I helped moderate a gaming board for a few years (teamplayergaming.com). We hosted Counter-Strike (CS) along with other popular first person shooters. Out of all the games CS clearly caused the most problems in game and in the associated forums. The game plays at a faster pace than most games (too fast for me for sure -- I tried to play and could not match the kids reaction times). Given that games frantic pace emotions often ran high and fights often ensued that divided the on-line community.

Luckily our community had an outstanding moderating team. We had a good mix of younger mods and adults and prided ourselves on working together to keep troublemakers out and clean players in. Younger members often used their online experiences as subjects of school papers, they used their moderating experiences on their resumes, etc. We were by all accounts a professional operation.

But it is easy to imagine that a kid could really get despondent in the online realm. Let's say he causes some trouble in the game because he repeatedly thinks his strategy is better than the CS squad leaders in the games. As such he runs lone wolf, messes up the strategy, and repeatedly takes the fun out of the games for the players that are playing nice and following the squad leaders orders. Those lone wolves eventually get banned for non-teamplay.

Once they are shown the door they get together online with other players that have also been banned and then, within that group of misfits, one might be so ill behaved that he even gets kicked out of the misfit group. What would run through a kid's head if he is not even good enough, or more likely too arrogant, to be a misfit? I don't know. But I suspect at that point he will be thinking about revenge.

For some time I have pondered the effects of rejection on the internet. I'm not certain that the human brain is wired to deal with being rejected by thousands of people. It's like getting ignored or kicked out of a village. And the emotions are not limited to say teenagers. Even on this board or on AK we occasionally see posts from adults that express frustration for feeling like their posts are ignored. The ego is delicate.

The communication bandwidth that we have put in place over the last twenty years has brought with it some new problems IMO. The human brain isn't yet adjusted to being in a community that big and fitting in with so many different opinions.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by ebacon

For some time I have pondered the effects of rejection on the internet. I'm not certain that the human brain is wired to deal with being rejected by thousands of people. It's like getting ignored or kicked out of a village. And the emotions are not limited to say teenagers. Even on this board or on AK we occasionally see posts from adults that express frustration for feeling like their posts are ignored. The ego is delicate.

The communication bandwidth that we have put in place over the last twenty years has brought with it some new problems IMO. The human brain isn't yet adjusted to being in a community that big and fitting in with so many different opinions.

Here may be another example of that. This was fairly recent near my neck of the woods.

http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-defri...194607349.html

[merrylander]

I'm curious, in these multi=player online games does everyone know wher the other players are located?

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by merrylander

I'm curious, in these multi=player online games does everyone know wher the other players are located?

No. Not unless the players tell each other. It's just like any other internet discussion.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by ebacon

No. Not unless the players tell each other. It's just like any other internet discussion.

So a mass killing by a disgruntled player would be a little hard to pull off. Then again most of these whack jobs seem to go for innocent bystanders.

[ebacon]

Here is a thread on teamplayergaming.com regarding the shooting. Some of you might find value in reading gamers reactions.

http://www.teamplayergaming.com/news...-shooting.html

[BlueStreak]

How about this;

We use violence as entertainment, in movies, games and even books. How often do we speak of violent acts in casual conversation as if they are justified, even glorifed in some cases?

Weaker minds and the mentally ill sometimes, unfortunately, lose the ability to differentiate between the fantasy of a movie or game and the realities of picking up a deadly weapon and using it in the real world. They may hear Grandpa proudly telling war stories and not understand that killing VC in Khe Sahn in 1969 is different than shooting up a crowded theater in Colorado in 2012.

Now add a society that has become so saturated with deadly weapons that such a disturbed young man can simply steal a few from his MOM, and have himself a spree. Or, in certain states, (AZ, for example.), simply walk into a dealership and purchase them---WITH a documented history of mental illness. (You can argue the legality of that all you want. It happens.)

Sorry guys, I still support the second amendment....tenuously. I say that because I think that the only recourse we have left is for even those of us who don't care for guns to go buy one anyways to protect ourselves...........from our fellow citizens.
But, I'm beginning to think the founders made a horrendous mistake in ever letting this monster out of the bag to begin with. The words, "...shall not be infringed." should have been left out of the wording. (Something about the road to Hell being paved with good intentions.)

I'm afraid there is only one answer to this problem and Finn has already covered it, quite succinctly. But, that will never happen here, because we are a nation full of folks determined to continue down that road to Hell, than to compromise an inch.

(And don't give me any stupid stories about killer cars or stabbing Chinamen or "gun control doesn't work" becasue all of that crap is getting pretty worn out as the death tolls climb...but only here in second amendment land.

Bon Voyage, America!

Regards,
Dave