WE: After school shooting in Connecticut, Piers Morgan blasts America’s ‘gun madness’

[Painkiller]

Have independent individual mass murderers ever been found to have a common link that connected a vast majority of them? Seems like they are so few in number that things like how children are disciplined by society in general wouldn't really matter. They are outliers by nature and they've popped up in different nations and in different generations.

Everytime an incident happens its viewed as a statement on society and perhaps that isn't the right approach. Maybe it's not us and it really is them?

I think you often find that many were social outcasts. Sociopaths. Angry people who are angry at everything and everybody for a variety of reasons, combined with a propensity or serious potential for violent behavior. People with mental health problems, in some cases undiagnosed, where people close to them should have realized something was wrong. These things are difficult to measure, but they always seem to be present in these cases.

I guess the question is what to we do about this, can anything be done about this? I don't know. You will always have angry people who have had screwed up lives. Combined with a genetic problem, and/or no morals or empathy for anyone and you get a deadly mix.

[RansomthePasserby]

Have independent individual mass murderers ever been found to have a common link that connected a vast majority of them? Seems like they are so few in number that things like how children are disciplined by society in general wouldn't really matter. They are outliers by nature and they've popped up in different nations and in different generations.

Everytime an incident happens its viewed as a statement on society and perhaps that isn't the right approach. Maybe it's not us and it really is them?

At least recently, it seems like strange and anti-social behavior, and mental health problems are a common theme with a these mass murderers.

Adam Lanza: Asperger's Syndrome.

James Holmes: Mental health records were blacked out by court order, but he apparently met with mental health professionals before he went on his shooting spree.

Seung-Hui Cho: diagnosed with selective mutism (which, incidentally, is a symptom of Asperger's), and severe depression.

[AsburySkinsFan]

Morgan Freeman's interesting and very pertinent take on yesterday's horrific tragedy: http://www.examiner.com/article/morg...-hook-shooting
.

Meanwhile Morgan has to his credit several movies that glorify violence, murder and high body counts. Is he wrong? Not necessarily, does he have a plank in his eye which needs removed?

[Painkiller]

And your choices only serve to perpetuate the extremes and ignore the reality that there are an almost infinite degree variables between the two people you describe. The media loves to play the extremes against each other, and in doing so many people are duped into the belief that there are only two sides to each argument, as such they live in black and white while there are a lot of hues in between.

Oh don't get me wrong. I firmly believe we have more things in common with each other than we realize. Even those two extremes could find something to agree on. I just think people have just forgotten, or maybe they have never really understood the idea that it takes all shapes and sizes, and all types of people. Like it or not, the other side is here, and they aren't going away. If we all want to live together, we have to find a way to work together. I want that. I don't think many Americans want that though. I think they are more concerned with "dominating" the other side and "winning"

[tx skin]

We REALLY need to make punishments for crime painfull and public again!!!!

[alexey]

well to be fair "timeouts" and "postive reinforcement" aren't exactly working either. The evidence is all around us. NO, beating a mentally challenged child who can't understand the reason for the beating isn't the answer. There is nothing wrong with corporal punishment for a child that understands right and wrong though. We have too many kids walking around who were allowed to run their households, and they think the whole ****ing world revolves around them.

We can just as easily say these come from living in smaller families and having stuff to eat.

Personally, I think that corporal punishment is what parents do when their emotions get the best of them and/or when they run out of ideas.

I am generally very skeptical about anecdotal claims about relative effectiveness of various parenting approaches.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Meanwhile Morgan has to his credit several movies that glorify violence, murder and high body counts. Is he wrong? Not necessarily, does he have a plank in his eye which needs removed?

Just my personal opinion, but there's a discernible difference between escapism in a film and sensationalist reporting on real life events.

Hail.

[alexey]

Alexey,

No but a regular child can take a beating. All of my WW2 friends are the nicest people I have ever met and they took serious beatings as children and turned out to be great men. The same men beat their own children as well when the children were young. I took my share of beatings and am one of the more self diciplined people I know as a result.

I took beatings for very serious issues and hated my parents at the time but now looking back I am glad I took some beatings throughout my adolescent years. I definetly learned my lesson and refused to repeat my mistakes in later years.

I understand that you see a direct link between the parenting approach your parents used and the end result, but unfortunately it is not as easy to actually demonstrate it. How many people can we find that say different things on the matter? Some will say "i got beaten and it worked great on me," others will say "I did not get beaten and I worked out great," "I got beaten and now I'm a complete mess," "I did not get beaten and now I'm a complete mess," and so on.

My position is that children learn behaviors modeled by their parents. I do not want to model to my children an approach of teaching lessons or solving problems by using violence.

My authority/respect does not come from being stronger. It comes from knowledge and experience.

[Destino]

We REALLY need to make punishments for crime painfull and public again!!!!

How is that relevant in a situation where the killer committed suicide?

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

Im all for a ban. Complete and all-out ban.

Enough is enough.

I can't see any angle that makes this a good answer.

---------- Post added December-15th-2012 at 11:01 PM ----------

We REALLY need to make punishments for crime painfull and public again!!!!

General deterrence has had such a positive effect in the past

[Prosperity]

We REALLY need to make punishments for crime painfull and public again!!!!

Just what we need, more glorified violence

[Bubble Screen]

How is that relevant in a situation where the killer committed suicide?

Glad I'm not the only one confused by that statement.

[DCSaints_fan]

because the military(people with guns) remained neutral or protected them

The Freeman post is spot on,as others have already mentioned

remember the heroes and victims, piss on the scum

And you think in a potential conflict if the US military overwhelming sided with the US government, a US civilian force would be able to beat them ?

[twa]

And you think in a potential conflict if the US military overwhelming sided with the US government, a US civilian force would be able to beat them ?

does it matter?

[DCSaints_fan]

does it matter?

It does if the argument against gun control is as a defense against a future hypothetical tyrannical government.