How to spot the warning signs and prevent mass shootings

[cronus]

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn ... shootings/

How to spot the warning signs and prevent mass shootings

The US experienced yet another school shooting last week, when a student at a community college in Oregon opened fire on his English class, killing nine people. How can we thwart such crimes?

It may sound a little “kumbaya“, but research on planned shootings that were prevented, as well as the psychology of loneliness, suggest that we have had the wrong idea about the role of mental health in these situations. Sorting out our thinking would help us identify individuals who may commit mass shootings, and empower communities to respond appropriately when suspicions arise.

A common stereotype is that the perpetrators are mentally ill, but that is not usually the case, says Eric Madfis, a sociologist and professor of criminal justice at the University of Washington, Tacoma.

“The majority of people who are violent are not mentally ill, and the majority of people who are mentally ill are not violent,” he says.

But one stereotype does seem to stand up: mass shooters tend to be isolated. Those who knew the Oregon gunman described him as “withdrawn and quiet” and an “awkward loner” – and that’s not an unusual profile.

(continued)

[cronus]

It is clear from reading the article that some sort of military training school would overcome the loneliness of the lone gunman as well as overcoming the humilation leading to aggression side. And these 'mass shooters' are exactly the sort of wild bunch you'd require as forward troops in a war setting anyway. Why waste talent?

[Hermit]

Interesting article.

Some researchers have homed in on the statistic that 95 per cent of mass murderers are male. Most are also middle-class, heterosexual, white – all indicators of relative privilege in the US...

Another such behaviour is telling a third party about a plan to carry out an attack, which researchers call “leakage”. The gunman in Oregon allegedly posted his plans on an online message board, for instance. “That’s classic leakage,” Meloy says.

Given that would-be shooters are prone to giving away their intentions, encouraging others to voice their concerns may be crucial, especially in close-knit environments like schools. Madfis studied 11 schools in the north-east US where a shooting had been forestalled, and found that in each case, the thing that helped was a student reporting the planned attack.

That stands in contrast to most schools’ responses to the threat of violence on the premises: armed guards, metal detectors and punitive zero tolerance policies.

“Those just makes kids trust administrators less and not go to them,” Madfis says. “Having an environment where people believe they can trust people in the school, whether that’s at a high school or at a college campus, can diminish the code of silence.”

[cronus]

Makes you think about what the effects of genuine mass unemployment might be in America today?

[Sean Hayden]

Well, if the article is right, then should that happen the problem will sort itself out.

My first thought was that a small percentage of people that eat cheeseburgers also go on shooting rampages.

[Sean Hayden]

It looks like everyone's saying the same thing: http://www.politicalresearch.org/2014/0 ... 9Lcbg.dpbs

[cronus]

It's a very American thing. Notice when American male middle class white tourists visit these parts they shout at one another in a totally absurd way. Completely unnecessary - it is hardly a raging sea around here.

[Sean Hayden]

Yar, the need of some to talk to everyone within earshot while conversing is maddening.

This explanation though, it's too easy eh? -very intuitive