The Voices All Say "Snark!"
- Not that NBC was ever held in high esteem by your humble Snarkatron, but are they going to take responsibility for all the copycat murders perpetrated by mental midgets who also want to see their screedish manifestos on Prime Time Media? Maybe they should add "Preferred by homicidal maniacs!" to their advertising.
- To all of the hyperventilating Europeans (oh, heck, just about anyone else on the planet) we HAVE tried gun control. Virginia Tech was a little slice of Europe, no guns allowed. Which is why 32 people are dead from gunshot wounds, because a little-known side effect of severe mental derangement is the inability to read and comprehend signs that say "Gun Free Zone". Yes, yes, I know. You *meant* that all guns, everywhere, should be banned and melted and scolded severely. I wonder what the Mayor of Nagasaki thinks of that idea? Could it be that criminals and the insane don't follow laws? Who would have thought? (N. B. everyone, including criminals and the insane, obey the laws of physics. Like the ones about conservation of momentum. Guns DO work on them.)
- The Virginia Tech Nutcase followed almost exactly the classic signs of a mass murderer laid out in the very interesting book, "Anatomy of Motive". Just in case you were wondering, there was nothing in that young man to reach out to. He was literally living in his own world, and nobody else was a part of it. And that was anybody's fault but his, in his mind.
- On the other tentacle .... years ago, your humble Snarkatron attended advanced studies at a certain centrally located School for Mad Scientists in Pennsylvania (excellent ice cream!). At first all we knew was the police had closed off one of the major roads out of town, and someone was out there with a gun and, apparently, a not very firm grip on reality. Later, we found out more. The guy apparently *knew* he had a problem. That he was a danger to himself and others. Was terrified that he would hurt someone, and compensated by keeping everyone at a distance. Just to be safe. Was a hard worker, in construction. Could. Not. Get. Help. Because he *hadn't* hurt anyone. Yet.
That day he fired a rifle over the heads of his coworkers at the construction site. Note that; over their heads. He was still fighting to keep control of his personal monster. They thought he had run off and was going to attack other people, hence the road closure, but then they found him. Dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the construction boss' office trailer. He never hurt anyone but himself, so in a sense he won the battle. I don't have much sympathy for the Virginia Tech shooter; he was so far gone it was like he was a rabid animal. But that other guy ... I wish someone had helped him. I can't imagine the hell he went through, just sane enough to know his mind was crumbling away.
- To all of the hyperventilating Europeans (oh, heck, just about anyone else on the planet) we HAVE tried gun control. Virginia Tech was a little slice of Europe, no guns allowed. Which is why 32 people are dead from gunshot wounds, because a little-known side effect of severe mental derangement is the inability to read and comprehend signs that say "Gun Free Zone". Yes, yes, I know. You *meant* that all guns, everywhere, should be banned and melted and scolded severely. I wonder what the Mayor of Nagasaki thinks of that idea? Could it be that criminals and the insane don't follow laws? Who would have thought? (N. B. everyone, including criminals and the insane, obey the laws of physics. Like the ones about conservation of momentum. Guns DO work on them.)
- The Virginia Tech Nutcase followed almost exactly the classic signs of a mass murderer laid out in the very interesting book, "Anatomy of Motive". Just in case you were wondering, there was nothing in that young man to reach out to. He was literally living in his own world, and nobody else was a part of it. And that was anybody's fault but his, in his mind.
- On the other tentacle .... years ago, your humble Snarkatron attended advanced studies at a certain centrally located School for Mad Scientists in Pennsylvania (excellent ice cream!). At first all we knew was the police had closed off one of the major roads out of town, and someone was out there with a gun and, apparently, a not very firm grip on reality. Later, we found out more. The guy apparently *knew* he had a problem. That he was a danger to himself and others. Was terrified that he would hurt someone, and compensated by keeping everyone at a distance. Just to be safe. Was a hard worker, in construction. Could. Not. Get. Help. Because he *hadn't* hurt anyone. Yet.
That day he fired a rifle over the heads of his coworkers at the construction site. Note that; over their heads. He was still fighting to keep control of his personal monster. They thought he had run off and was going to attack other people, hence the road closure, but then they found him. Dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the construction boss' office trailer. He never hurt anyone but himself, so in a sense he won the battle. I don't have much sympathy for the Virginia Tech shooter; he was so far gone it was like he was a rabid animal. But that other guy ... I wish someone had helped him. I can't imagine the hell he went through, just sane enough to know his mind was crumbling away.
posted by Snarkatron at 5:20 PM
3 Comments:
I hear what you're saying about the terror of losing one's mind and share your sorrow that this poor soul was forced to take his own life to prevent taking others. But what prevented him from committing himself when he recognized his mental demons? Obviously part of the answer is his own derangement, but still...
That's a good question, Barb. It was a while ago and I haven't been able to find the newspaper account. All I remember was he had sought help and hadn't gotten it. This was a fairly isolated area of Pennsylvania, and he may not have known what options were available to him.
Hard to know afterwards, I'm sure. Rest assured that when you finally blow the big gasket, I'll come escort you to the funny farm. And, of course, take care of the kitties, and the Kimber. *guh-rin*
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