I met a mass murderer once. The frightening thing, he looked and acted like anyone else.

What about those of us who got the polar opposite of coddled?

I think murder is a common thought, but 99.9 percent of the people don't act upon it. Growing up both my parents worked and my siblings didn't do much when watching me. I feel like I pretty much took care of my self since I can remember. My upbringing didn't help me out in life, but i don't blame anyone it is what it was and I can't go back and change it.

I think you are asking the philosophical nature vs nurture. I believe it is nature some people are just born evil.

@Lostpoet I'm not sure about "born evil" but some may have traits that eventually cannot control.

Here is another possibility...

I cannot say it this happens in other countries but a worrying trend in Britain is the number of children who have become fixated on violence via nasty web-sites. Even primary-school children have been found with knives.

I forget its name despite hearing about it on the news earlier this evening, but we have an organisation designed to help young people to escape having become radicalised by extreme dogmas, and so risk becoming "terrorists".

Unfortunately it was set up with that rather narrow remit; and the Children's Commissioner has reported that about 70% of the children referred to it cannot be counselled because they are not following any particular cause or ideology.


One such, who has been used to exemplify this bureaucratic obstacle is Axel Rudakabana, who attacked a children's dance-club in 2024, killing three girls and injuring ten others. He was known to various authorities but could not be labelled a "terrorist" or "extremist ideologue", so no-one really knew what to do with him; and he slipped through the net until he did indeed carry out that atrocity.

My view is that labels be removed to prevent loopholes-by-definition. A child showing signs of being potentially very dangerous, showing an unhealthy obsession with weapons and killing, needs counselling out of those traits before becoming a killer; irrespective of any motive. Motives, such as having been lured into supporting some extremist cause, should be taken into account to help direct the treatment, but not used for the initial decision of needing it.

If the individual does go on to kill or attempt to kill, that is a matter for judicial process by normal criminal law.

I’d agree with you about people I meet online. Especially SWers.

But thankfully there are enough real life examples of younger people who have a strong work ethic and enough grit not to be deterred .

I don’t know how much of it is environment & upbringing or how much of it is some type of mental illness. And if someone is on certain anti-depressants or mood stabilizers they can have such thoughts. It rarely gets reported in news stories. There has been research done on them in the UK and they found that some of them blunt the conscience. That seems like it could be a huge factor in such crimes. But they also did research on certain allergy meds and found similar results.

Exactly....given participation trophies !!! WTF for....
And you can't spank kids today....why the fuck not ?
The nuns in my grade school spanked me, and then spanked again when got home !
Lessons well learned.
Kids meed that today

Big pharma meds and tv make Homer go something something..

I am not convinced.

Although even one mass murder is totally wrong and inexcuseable, the proportion of the murderers to their own peers of similar backgrounds in the population is far too small to support your theory.

Why these murders take place, no-one really seems to know except where an individual killer either gives his motive, or has left clear evidence of intent and influence.

Many are either killed or kill themselves, at the scene, so without definite evidence, we will never know their own reasons.

Sometimes people realise later that the murderers had shown signs of being potentially dangerous, well before they commit their acts; but even then no-one can foretell if, when, where and how they will attack, and whom they will attack.


So their motives are vague and probably vary, "terrorism"* in pursuance of some dogma, apart.

Some killers are dangerously mentally ill, or have serious "personality disorders".

Some hold festering grudges against persons or institutions.

Some have deep fascination with weapons and violence, fertilised by hours of gawping at on-line glorification of them.

++++

*I think terrorism / terrorist, and some other terms for murder, ought be removed from the Statute Books. Murder and attempted murder (and in UK Law, manslaughter) are those, plain and simple.

It is for the specific trial in a Court of Law to examine the details and motive in each case, as those will influence the sentence and any future parole; but trying to classify the crime otherwise can lead to some "types" of murder being thought less serious than others. Or even, in some cases, may risk giving the perpetrators and any sympathisers, a spurious feeling of power or prestige.

There is an important exception in UK Law, for manslaughter: the offence of "Corporate Manslaughter", introduced as I remember after the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry disaster - possibly the Lyme Bay Canoeing tragedy too. This holds that an organisation as well as its Directors personally can be held responsible.

Probably what you said. It makes them feel cheated when life's hard. They figure the world wronged them so it becomes a murder suicide situation.

I can't put it any better than you did. I was raised the same. We were expected to participate and help with the housework. As soon as I was old enough to get my working papers, I was proud to get a job and earn my own money. We were taught respect; for ourselves, for others, and for the law.
Kids now are ignored, and left for the internet to raise. They are never told "no", never expected to do anything, yet they think the world owes them. They have no respect for anything or anyone, and they never mature beyond babyhood. They are completely unable to deal with anyone disagreeing with them, or telling them "no".

I'm pretty sure that it's not a matter of one size fits all. The fact that some enter into it expecting to die while others are prepared to rot in prison makes that clear