SF student suspended over Connecticut poem (about school shooter)

[BarackTheVote]

73. First of all

just because you "understand" doesn't mean you condone. I'd say she's displaying an impressive amount of empathy. It seems that your main argument is that nobody should try to understand why Lanza did what he did, and anyone who tries is clearly dangerous, which is absolutely and patently ridiculous. Many great pieces of literature revolve around trying to unpack the motivations of the worst characters the author can conceive, who are usually based on real people. For that matter, do you really think there were no societal pressures that might have contributed to Lanza's actions? The basic foundation of writing, acting, and directing is the idea that we all have the potential within us to be virtually anyone, and everyone is basically the same; our experiences, and the particular pressures placed on us by our circumstances have made us disparate individuals--therefore, if you can imagine yourself in the situation of your characters, you can answer basic questions of motivation. This is the ultimate in unflinching empathy. But most importantly, trying to understand a monster does not mean that you lack sympathy for their victims--but it's no long stretch to accept that the monster's first and last victim is itself, and whether this was a case of man vs. self, man vs. society, man vs. God, or man vs. nature, there is always a personal antagonist and a causal chain that leads to all action, and therein, you can even find sympathy for the worst of people.