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It isn't going to get any better with the revelations of what, where, when,
how and why either, Blanche. I think there are seven of those wounded still in critical condition also, so the death toll may rise. Let's hope not. The young lady was too many.
posted by
saul_relative
on September 14, 2006 at 10:12 AM
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Sadly, Saul, I just heard the news about the events in Montreal
My God.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 14, 2006 at 12:22 AM
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Blanche: Somewhere kids like Klebold and Harris and all those other
students who emulate them suffer a societal disconnect. Instead of venting in the normal methods (exercise, yelling, ranting, cussing, writing, sports, and media entertainment), these guys took out their feelings of frustration and rage on their peers. As a society, we are going to have to figure out just where and when such a disconnect begins, what its roots are, and develop and implement various strategies to eradicate these deadly mindsets.
posted by
saul_relative
on September 13, 2006 at 8:53 AM
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Another thought on Columbine and Klebold and Harris, Saul,
they took the next step, of taking out of fantasy, games and movies, what I think most people recognize as cathartic projections, fantasies blowing off steam, which might actually prevent actual violence, in the way that swearing might prevent physical violence, by giving it a vent.
Again, not condoning or making excuses, just postulating. I agree, though, that it is regrettable that they provided that as a model, it makes it just that much more dangerous and difficult to get an education.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 12, 2006 at 4:22 PM
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True, Saul, I wouldn't want to imply that I condone Klebold and Harris,
because they did go way, way too far. Because someone is a jerk does not condemn them to death, and the idea of regaining personal power by killing is anathema anyway, it removes the victimhood and transforms them into evildoer themselves. No, those two are not excusable, but the triggers are there.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 12, 2006 at 4:11 PM
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And Pat B, there is something to the argument that some look for an excuse
for an outlet for their particular brand of rage/revenge. We used to call it "going postal", now it's just going to school.
posted by
saul_relative
on September 12, 2006 at 4:08 PM
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By the way, Blanche, I believe you have a point on studies need to be done
to disentangle the emotional mess of the high school clique systems. But condemnation will always be there for these two young men who went beyond too far to exact their revenge.
posted by
saul_relative
on September 12, 2006 at 4:06 PM
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Yeah, it was a long, extremely long moving week. Now, where were we?
posted by
saul_relative
on September 12, 2006 at 4:03 PM
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Saul, you're back. Whew.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 12, 2006 at 4:00 PM
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Disaffected" and "alienated" youth usually just endured the torments, Saul.
of high school and plotted long-term revenge, like the Revenge of the Nerds, by getting a life, when the "socs" and the "jocks" and the other miniscule minds, who roamed the halls of high school, overestimating their own worth, and taunting anyone who didn't wear Abercrombie and Fitch.
The disaffected and alienated, like myself, just emulated the Dutch, whose motto was in French, (I won't attempt it), "I maintain". Or went spectacularly insane like Winona Ryder's character in "Girl Interrupted". Klebold and Harris did introduce a new model for dealing with the jerks of high school, and it definitely leaves a lot to be desired, in terms of overall effectiveness. Like suicide, it's a permanent and nasty solution to a termporary, although long-standing problem. Perhaps someone should look at the rinterperssonal dynamics of high schools and viciious and nasty they can be before completely condemining those two.
posted by
Blanche.
on September 12, 2006 at 1:39 PM
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If you're not killing something to eat...
then the kill is for sport. Oh, there are other motivations: greed, jealousy, revenge, religious fanaticism, but at the animal level (closer to our heads than we'd like to think from an evolutionary standpoint) it's for the fun of it, the pleasure of the hunt, the notion that one has the power to decide someone or something's fate. The dark side is there, in our psyche. Some are just looking for any little excuse at all to let it take over.
posted by
Pat_B
on September 5, 2006 at 10:56 AM
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That is a difficult and relative question to answer, charice. Many things
drive us to kill another. Greed, hatred, ignorance, anger, fear, self-defense, etc., all of which can be commingled with various forms of psychopathy, sociopathy, or neuroses. But this guy (and the other Trenchcoat Mafia disciples and copycats are a strange breed. Delusional, angry, often intelligent, they strike at what they believe is causing them their problems. Collateral damage doesn't matter.
posted by
saul_relative
on September 5, 2006 at 8:48 AM
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Very Interesting!
What makes a person wanting to kill- Is it because of no fear- angelle
posted by
charice
on September 4, 2006 at 1:26 PM
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