NCJ Number
194946
Journal
Campus Safety Journal Volume: 10 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2002 Pages: 14-15,31
Date Published
2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article identifies hate and dehumanization as the ingredients that have contributed to both past and current premeditated homicides, with attention to the motives of student shooters of classmates and teachers.
Abstract
Pre-World War II Germany's climate of hate for Jews that led to the holocaust and the My Lai massacre by American soldiers in Vietnam are presented as examples of how hate born from frustration and stress can lead to the dehumanization of persons viewed as the source and cause of one's problems. The same dynamics have operated in "school shooters." The shooters themselves as well as persons familiar with their interactions with students and teachers speak of their abusive treatment from other students, their sense of isolation from the school community, and their inner pain that fosters hate and thoughts of violence. The hate fostered by emotional distress leads to the dehumanization of the targets of the hate as they become obstacles whose destruction is necessary for relief and resolution of a tortured inner world. From this state of mind, it is a small psychological leap to violence. Easy access to firearms is the final variable that can enable a troubled youth to become a campus assassin. With a gun, the bullied teen believes he can stop his torment and obtain justice.