Why are people so fixed on understanding every move and behavior and possible mind state of the VT shooter?

Question

That being said, I too am finding myself trying to make sense of it. I guess there is either blaming it all on guns (or lack thereof) or going into his mindstate to make sense of this senseless loss of life. I felt like through reading about him from just what little there is about him on the major news headlines...I got the sense that this kid was severely troubled and obviously very very ill. A lot of times school shooters are seen by others as somewhat normal...but somewhat withdrawn. People said that Cho Seong Hui never said a word. In his letter he said he was upset over charlatans, debauchery &rich kids. Honestly I can see how that thinking could drive a sick person over the edge. He must have been sick to begin with &pressures of living in a new country with different and strange ideals that maybe didn't fit what he had originally thought about the U.S.. Maybe it shows his anger for his disenfranchised opportunities &he wanted to take it out on those who had it better than him??

Answer 1

It is people trying to make sense of this malicious act, but they are also trying to prevent it from happening again by informing us of warning signs to look for and speak out about

Answer 2

Everyone is still trying to understand the WHOLE thing--the nation is still pretty much in shock--its only been two days. By understanding it we can hopefully stop it from happening again.

As for blaming guns and lack of gun control, SOMEBODY has to take the blame. Its only natural--there is a tragedy and its comforting for blame to be given whether it is the truth. But then, Truth (with a capital T) is in the eyes of the beholder. One "expert" will say it is X and another will say it was Y and still another will say it is Z

As for pressures of being in a new country, he's been here since he was nine. Maybe it had something to do with it, but he did have more than ten years to assimilate.

Also, a lot of what is said about shooters like these is that they always seem so quiet. But does that mean all quiet people are potential shooters? Only time will tell because a lot of the study has always been done in hindsight. Hindsight is always the best sight in SOME things but not everything.

I don't think we'll ever know. It'll all still be guesses because he isn't around to explain it.

Answer 3

I believe that we are in shock, and our brains cannot believe what has occurred - so we continue to read, trying to comprehend the madness.

I also believe that we are always seeking to find out how we can prevent the next tragedy - and withdrawn college students will now be pushed to center stage, willingly or unwillingly, as others seek to determine if they could do the same thing.

Then there are the copycats, who seek their own twisted fame by replicating the details - the bane of the reality show, where the only thing that matters is to be famous.

I grieve for the young adults and teachers, their lives cut short by a madman. I also grieve for this unfortunate man's parents and family, who are also victims in their own right. They will wonder if emigrating to the US was a good idea, and what they might have been able to do to prevent this carnage.

But the American people have a short attention span, and this will pass, people will trumpet new gun laws, and new penalties, and new interventions. In the end, though, the money to implement such changes will cut down to a trickle, and we will go back to our every day lives.

But the families who have lost their young people will not go back to their lives easily. They will mourn, and investigate, and angry parents will sue, for litigation seems to be a method of punishment. Some will sue for opportunistic reasons, as though you can put a dollar value on a life. Some may create foundations for donations, thus making a positive come out of the horror.

For all, we pray, but we become numb to the death count - numb to the individuals who, for their own twisted reasons, wreak havoc on our educational campuses. I wonder if the mostly liberal campuses, who have been blurring the lines of right and wrong in the interest of eliminating banns on moral behavior, are somehow part of the root. When schools cannot expel troubled students, when there is no right or wrong, just opinions, then there is no standard that we can live by. Everyone has rights, but the rights around them are trampled.

Answer 4

When someone does something unreasonable, we want to find the reason and if it was preventable.
And we ALWAYS go through the “warning signs” topic every time something tragic happens. And someone always says the person committing the heinous crime had the classic warning signs. The shooting that happened in my town at a law school, he had the WARNING SIGNS. A doctor even described him as a "ticking time bomb" It didn't help prevent this tragedy at VT did it??? NO (and this is in the same state)
The police don't use the warning signs, why? Because you can't arrest someone who is thinking about mass murder. They have to actually do it. The warning signs can only be used as evidence against the murderer.

Answer 5

I believe on everything you said. Maybe he couldn't adjust to our culture. We'll certainly never know. He sounded like he was seriously disturbed. I read his plays and he needed some serious help. This is certainly a reason why gun laws should put stipulation laws in place. Maybe people should have a psych evaluation before buying guns. I don't know there though. Then no one would probably have a gun.....

Answer 6

I know there is no way to predict which mental case will snap. But that might be what ppl are looking for...clues to deviant behavior. I knew a guy who moved a lot and talked about killing people. I kept telling him I ought to mention him to the FBI. He managed to get me demoted out of my job, then he quit and left town. I guess he could feel my "shooting spree" coming on! I still worry he'll hurt someone one day!

Answer 7

We try to understand because we want there to be something to blame it on other than it was just his own fault pure and simple, wether he had a gun or a knife i still think he would have done it. We try to make sense out of what happened and sometimes there is none.

Answer 8

It is a general curiosity for humans to ask why something that is not generally accepted as being 'normal' has happened. Although it is tragic considering all the lives lost - we must ask what we expect from those we do not treat as what is to be considered 'normal'.

Answer 9

it is not guns that are the problem it is these lunitics who are bent on killing. we could ban guns an they will use a kinfe , chainsaws , or a car to get their attack carried out. we need to find these mentaly ill folks an confine them.

Answer 10

It really don't matter WHY he did what he did....But people want to know anyway....It could NEVER justify it, but is it an isolated incident? I do hope it was.....