I do not understand mass murderers

[uppityperson]

I do not understand their motivations, their mental health, their actions. It doesn't matter what form the murders take or whether individually or at one time.

I just do not understand how someone would, how someone could, think that it be a good idea to kill a bunch of others.

Explain it to me like I am dumb because I just do not understand.

My heart is heavy.

[raging moderate]

1. I'm with you on this.

[ZombieHorde]

2. I assume they want to show the world how hurt they are.

Obviously I don't know what they're thinking, but when people "suddenly" act out it's usually to communicate pain. Many of the mass shooters weren't known for violence before the shooting, so it seems to be something more than just violence.

[KMOD]

6. I think you're right about the showing the world how hurt they are,

but they must be completely void of empathy, and completely self-absorbed as well.

I can't understand why no one ever sees the signs. Maybe they don't want to see them, or maybe they don't take them seriously, but it's so very hard to imagine someone just snapping in a moments notice.

This pilot obvious waited for the opportunity to present itself. It was clearly premeditated.

Just evil, and sick.

[JI7]

13. but then you would think they would have sympathy for others that would hurt because of their

actions

[nomorenomore08]

19. Extreme emotional/psychological states can sometimes override a person's natural empathy.

It's not as if only sociopaths do terrible things to others.

[WDIM]

3. I dont understand why we let them run our governments.

The world leaders that create wars are sociopaths.

[Electric Monk]

4. I found these for you with a quick google

https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=136809

Abstract: Mass murder is the killing of a number of persons at one time and in one place. There are significant differences between mass and serial killers. Mass murderers often die at the scene of the multiple slayings, either through suicide or police action. Only occasionally do they turn themselves into the police after the killings. Serial killers, on the other hand, go to great lengths to avoid detection and apprehension. The exact etiology of the mass murderer is unclear. The unique combination of the biology, sociology, and personal psychology of an individual accounts for the personality and thus the behavior of an individual. Victim traits are not a crucial element in mass murder. The types of mass murderers are "the disciple" who kills in response to the dictates and wishes of a charismatic leader; the "family annihilator" who kills all or most of the members of his family; the "pseudocommando" who is obsessed with weaponry and is driven by something inside himself to use the weaponry to massacre random victims; the disgruntled employee who commits mass murder of a particular group of persons with whom he has been associated at work; and the "set-and-run" mass murderer who differs from the other types in his use of techniques to allow escape before the act itself occurs, usually with a timer on a bomb or anonymous tampering with food or medicine in a store. The first step in dealing with mass murder is to gain a clear understanding of the nature of the act itself. This article aims to help achieve this first step.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/136809NCJRS.pdf

and

Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder

In Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder, renowned experts James Alan Fox and Jack Levin examine the theories of criminal behavior and apply them to a multitude of well-known and lesser-known cases from around the world. The authors draw upon research from two large data sets - one comprised of serial killers and the other of those who have committed massacres. Extreme Killing is a fascinating introduction to an extreme set of homicidal behaviors for any interested reader.

http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Killing-Understanding-Serial-Murder/dp/0761988572

[Xipe Totec]

5. Rational thought is deterministic. Insanity is a stochastic process.

You can no more understand a mass murderer than you can understand the toss of a coin.

[Rex]

7. That is a good sign! Just think if you COULD rationalize and negotiate a mass murder!?

Be thankful some things are unfathomable. Don't try and rationalize it, it is an irrational act like all murder and torture. What he did was torture those folks for 8 minutes of hell and then killed them all. You don't want to understand, I don't want to understand.

Be thankful for your humanity. Some people will despise the fact that you have it. He probably was one of those people.

[Marie Marie]

15. Wow!

Rex, for some reason your post just blew me away. Thank you for that perspective - you are a wise man.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. I fear that the problem is that people learn to internalize their emotions.

They don't cry when they should cry and they don't have enough laughter in their lives to push away the blues. After years of carrying this burden, they begin to disconnect from society--which they may view as the source of the problem.

That's my best guess.

[cyberswede]

9. I don't even understand single-victim murderers

I can't even conceive of killing another human being.

[JayhawkSD]

10. Well, of course you don't.

They are aberrant. They are not normal. Their wiring is errant.

We can't explain it to you because it is not explainable. If we could explain it we could cure it, and watch for it to prevent it.

We can't, but don't let that ruin your life.

[Douglas Carpenter]

11. I don't really understand it either. For example I can at least understand the motive for robbing a

bank. I can - even though I would never in a million years consider doing it - can grasp the motivation of killing in revenge some protagonist who tormented them. I can even understand an explosive fit of rage that resulted in multiple deaths - of course I am not approving - but I can at least understand the line of thought.

When it comes to mass murder of innocents who have nothing to do with the protagonist - I don't really understand - but I am guessing that they had become obsessed with a certain script in their mind that became so powerful their normal restraint mechanism of conscience, guilt and fear of consequences was unable to disrupt their script.

[LittleGirl]

12. The only thing I see over and over

with these mass murderers is that they are MEN and some of them in their 20s. What makes these men snap?

[craigmatic]

14. I kind of understand it. Basically it's just being so full of hate because you feel like you've

been the one targeted to get unfairly dumped on so you figure it's best to make the rest of society feel what you're feeling. I could never pull that trigger because I don't have the heart to hurt other but I know that level of anger and hostility.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

16. No cause justifies the deaths of innocent people. Albert Camus

[winter is coming]

17. If you don't feel connected to the world or to the people in it, you're not going to feel guilty

about hurting them. If you blame the world for your pain, for the "unfairness" of your life, I suppose it's easy to justify taking others with you when you kill yourself. My guess is that they see it as a sort of revenge killing.

[deafskeptic]

18. Many mass murderers are said to be suffering from a severe break from reality at the time of murders

Mass murderers are not to be confused with serial killers though. Mass murderers typically kill 3 or more people at once.

Serial killers kill one person at a time over weeks, months or even years. Ted Bundy could be argued to be both a serial and a mass murderer(murders in FL) though. I do not think he ever suffered from a break from reality.

That said, I find it very difficult to fathom actually doing the deed.

[nomorenomore08]

22. Ted Bundy supposedly arranged knives around his aunt's bed when he was 3 years old.

I'm normally dubious of the idea that anyone is "born evil," but if that story is true...

[deafskeptic]

23. I heard that too. your speculation is a good as mine. n/t

[nomorenomore08]

20. Pathological obsession, lack (or loss) of empathy, uncontrollable rage/hatred, a general break

from reality... Put two or more of these together and you've got the makings of a Columbine or an Aurora. That's the simplest way I can explain it, and I'm not even sure how often my theory would hold.

Some mass killings are (relatively) easier to explain than others, usually when the killer has a clear motive or obsession. In the case of Elliott Rodger or Marc Lepine, it was hatred of women.

[ND-Dem]

21. Do you distinguish between mass murderers and soldiers killing en masse or countries

killing en masse?

do you understand those kinds of mass murders?

[raven mad]

25. Are you just sick, or are you trying deliberately to be provocative?

nt

[raven mad]

24. ...

[TBA]

26. Trying to understand the actions of others is like trying to imagine a color that does not exist.

That is what I tell my children when they wonder why their father did some of the things he did.

[jeff47]

27. If it was rational, it wouldn't be mental illness. (nt)

[RedCappedBandit]

28. I'd be really concerned if you did. nt

[jwirr]

29. If we understood what they were thinking that easily it would not be called mental illness. My

brother is bi-polar and has two phases: the biker and the preacher. I do not to this day understand what he is thinking or where it comes from. I can only recognize the phase. I honestly don't think that the psychiatrist understands either - he is just more willing to listen.