^^^^^ But Rose, there has to be some underlying stuff going on in the brain of a young
man. Was he always devoid of normal emotions? Was he always so brazen about hurting others? Was he so shut down in his home by a controlling father? Was he playing around
with drugs? Had he ever been prescribed psychotropic drugs?
I believe there is a gradual buildup of some problems that the parents deny or totally
missed. I sure would like to hear more about him.
All excellent Qs, enelram.
Lack of parenting? Lack of love? Lack of commitment? Lack of expectations and aspirations? Broken culture?
Toxic parents? Latch key kids? How many parents say but he was such a good kid? Why some young men and not others?
On all the threads here, each shooting, each tragedy, the defunct gun control debate, the statistics that are America's alone; if we go back through these discussions, there are but a few commonalities.
But there is so much we just do not know.
Privacy laws prevent us from pieces of the equation especially psychological and drug components.
Illicit drug use, equally protected?
Admittedly, I went to an excellent public school system many decades ago, and bullying was very rare. Oh sure there were extroverts and introverts, cliques, and, groups and fights (mostly attitude) but not a pervasive hatred, jealousy, or a ganging up on one kid.
How is a teacher in an overcrowded school, with a succession of classrooms of thirty or so kids going to know everything on any given day?
Is it really our teachers' responsibility to parent children? Mentorship is like parenthood but are all teachers capable of that? --Some of my very best teachers were just that, charismatic, tough, with high expectations.
Sometimes I wonder how curriculums compare? Especially high school. Then and now?
I'd like to hear from kids, find a way to let them feel really free to communicate about the climate of their schools, and culture. And not just the schools that are struck by tragedy. Do kids feel like they have an adult they can talk to?
So often kids, naturally with no experience in life, yet, cannot see a red flag in the same way as an adult, have a different way of coping. That's obvious with the TX shooter in that no one connected the trench coat - only that it was strange in 90 degrees. Who's thinking of Columbine? Why would they?