Under normal circumstances, for a writer like me to paraphrase even one word of the magnificent language of the King James version of the Bible would be hubris. But these are not normal circumstances. So in all humility we submit:
“Greater love hath no woman than this,
that a woman lay down her life
for her friends.”
Rest in peace:
RACHEL D’AVINO
DAWN HOCHSPRUNG
ANNE MARIE MURPHY
LAUREN ROUSSEAU
MARY SHERLACH
VICTORIA SOTO
Chris H, I am not the expert here but I think it is clear that causation of mass murder or any murder and the causation of heroism these women show are crossed above by faith and crossed below by the insanity that makes Mr. Douglas, Mr. Ressler, Mr. Reichert and Mr. Keppel perform the jobs they did. What I am saying is a lack of faith or faith in the wrong God is always present in serial and mass murderers. Or the Atheist keyes.
Sure they may say they have faith but Susan Atkins was a very Godless and brutal woman merely wanting parole, Bundy said he was raised in a strong Christian home which is a lie. He merely wanted sympathy of the Gov. to stay his execution. Do you see the trend Chris H.
My question is why these teachers? My experience tells me they were selected as victims and why this school, thoughts which require introspection but this is how we can help stave off this madness. If the criminal of this and more specifically sexual predators feel they are safe in committing these serial crimes I want to stress by legal methods they are not.
The point is ongoing… Mr. Olshaker what do think?
Yes, There Was a Reason. Yes, There are Answers. No, We Could Not Have Predicted, Nor Stopped the Initial Crime of a Spree Killer.
Based on what has been reported, it appears that Adam Lanza’s mother was mentally ill, suffered from paranoid ideology, and prepared for a perceived crisis by hoarding guns. It is not known if the mother was ever been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, but she certainly had paranoid thoughts and pathological delusions.
Adam Lanza has been reported as quiet and withdrawn. He was isolated and home schooled for most of his young life. Adam was mentally abused by an overbearing, rageful, and controlling mother. The mother was very critical of the father and placed Adam in the confusing role of both “the father” and “the dependent child.”
The father was weak and left the marriage unable to manage his responsibilities. He left a mentally-disturbed mother to raise the two sons.
Without the influence or counsel of a strong male figure, isolated and badgered by a paranoid mother, and ignored by his only sibling, Adam withdrew into himself and surged with humiliation, rage, anger, and pain.
Given the triad of an unstable family life, an abusive mother, an absent father, and a depressed and angry son with easy access to weapons, you have the makings of unabated violence.
Add an antecedent event, such as a horrendous argument, and the disturbed young adult decides to take control . . . and pay back the abusers . . . his way.
So, why did Adam choose school children? Because he was denied the classroom experience, school friends, freedom to play, and a loving/supportive family. The children had everything that he did not have, and never would.
The children weren’t the target – Adam’s intent was to shock and hurt the parents. To vent his anger and pain toward his mother and his father by hurting as many families as possible.
Now why did Adam kill his mother first? He wanted to both end her life and protect her from the international fall-out that was sure to come. Adam left his weak and distant father to pick up the pieces.
We know who the spree killers are at the start of the crime. They make no attempt to hide. We know that spree killers act fast and furiously and at close range. We know that spree killers enter a fugue state in which their anger is directed at symbolic or real targets of perceived abuse. We know that most spree killers end up on the coroner’s slab by their own hand.
Could this crime have been predicted or prevented? No.
So what can we do? Fortify our public buildings? Invoke tougher gun laws? Educate people about mental illness? Hope it won’t ever happen again?
I’m 55 and I just can’t cry like I did when I was younger, but this got to me.
Really lovely. I heard about Dawn Hochsprung’s attempt to save her students on NPR and it brought tears to my eyes.
“But, brothers, this biting of their toe-nails over what is the cause of badness is what turns me into a fine laughing malchick. They don’t go into the cause of goodness, so why the other shop?” – Alex, Clockwork Orange
Maybe while we’re focusing on the “cause” of the killer, we should also focus on the “causes” of heroism, self-sacrifice and resiliency.