Note to Michael: Knives are most effective as slashing weapons. Hold point up and slash back and forth at your attacker avoiding any attempts he makes to grab your knife from you. Stabbing is a mistake; the epidermis is tougher then you might think and you put yourself at more risk getting so close. Unless your knife has a crossguard it is likely you'll end up cutting yourself as well. Besides, you could put somebody's eye out stabbing like that! Gross.
The better option is the gun, of course. I highly recommend it. The best solution is to be more open with each other. Invite the neighbors over and chat even if you don't have anything in common with them. Stay in touch with old friends and make an effort to make new ones. Get involved with the community. It all sounds like too much work to me which is why I have so few real friends I guess. Or maybe it's just because I'm an asshole. *shrug* dj On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 11:50 AM, Michael Berkovits <[email protected]> wrote: > > One fact that's always interesting in these contexts is the two tribes > studied by sociologists. I'm not going to look them up now, but I > believe one was called the Yamamoto. Anyway, one tribe had a rate of > violence of essentially nil, and the other had an extraordinarily high > murder rate - probably something like 5% of all adult males were > murdered. It was a pride-driven culture, where males asserted > masculinity in the face of (real or perceived) insults to themselves > or their loved ones by killing the offender. > > Because of sexual selection, male competition is well-entrenched. But > as the sociological tribal studies illustrate, the expression of that > competition is not pre-ordained. Sometimes there are a lot of > murders / duels / the like going on, and sometimes not. So there is > some truth to the notion that social structures can decrease violence. > But I think it is not a fair assumption that certain bugaboos of > current society are to blame. After all, the Yamamoto didn't have > cable tv, violent video games, and the internet, and they were way > more violent than is modern Western society. > > Does anyone know the stats on how much more violent Europe and the US > are, today, as compared to say the 1800's? I'm not sure it would be > very different - but you'd have to figure out good ways of accounting > for whether wars count, accounting for population, for population, > density, etc. > > One factor that I think could reasonably be expected to have made a > real difference is the invention of guns. It used to be that in order > to kill someone, you had to do it in a really hands-on way. And only > a sociopath could, say, gut someone to death, or kick and punch > someone to death, without an extraordinarily compelling reason (e.g., > finding them in flagrante delicto). But guns depersonalize violence. I > would have no problem firing a gun at someone, if I had a reason - > like, if they were robbing me on a train and I felt in danger - while > I think I would have a real problem stabbing them. It's too... icky. > Too evil and sadistic. > > On Mar 14, 8:10 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: >> There have long been killing sprees like this - Foucault brought the >> case of one to light in a paper, suggesting we listen to the account >> directly rather than through 'psychologists'. I doubt people like >> this can be stopped through better understanding. Perhaps we should >> declare free range on gun collectors and then arrest the survivors? >> Craig will undoubtedly support this position! I think some people >> might kill in order to ensure a therapist for life. >> >> On 14 Mar, 11:41, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> >> > We can't assume that social conditions had any influence on little >> > Tim. He's described as a reclusive with some obsessive patterns. >> > Would he had spent more time in social settings and extra curricular >> > activities, there might have been a more positive outcome. I've seen >> > how wealth can sometimes turn children into a type of family bi >> > product with the idea that money can provide all the nurturing >> > necessary for healthy development. Tim was cold and calculated in his >> > intent lacking both emotional and rational aspects, probably a >> > mentally wired zombie. It is really too bad he wasn't still alive, as >> > the results of his psychoanalysis could provide a multitude of >> > information that might prevent future breakdowns. >> >> > On Mar 13, 11:38 am, ornamentalmind <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > > "... One of the problems is conditions allowing the emotional rule >> > > over the rational." - bruce r. >> >> > > Yes and another of the problems is the assumption that one's >> > > 'rational' aspect can rule over the emotional. >> >> > > On Mar 13, 7:27 am, bruce ralph <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > > > Animals do have a basic "fight or flight" response. When it goes into >> > > > overdrive, it does result in sociopathic behaviour. We have to >> > > > reexamine the the societal conditions that result in people "going >> > > > off" like this. One of the problems is conditions allowing the >> > > > emotional rule over the rational. >> >> > > > On Mar 13, 7:20 am, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > > > > Sigmund might say it's all to do with his relationship(or lack >> > > > > thereof) with his Mom. Kids at that age are dealing with raging >> > > > > hormones and other chemical changes that some find impossible to >> > > > > handle. It is unfortunate in the extreme that his therapy didn't pan >> > > > > out. Chances are if he could have toughed it out for a few more >> > > > > months his body and mind would have recovered. I can't imagine how >> > > > > guilty his parents must feel. It's a horrible thing. And so, so >> > > > > sad. >> > > > > Tragic applies. >> >> > > > > dj >> >> > > > > On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 4:34 AM, frantheman >> > > > > <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > > > > > Just to get the facts straight, Vam, it has since emerged that the >> > > > > > report that Tim K. had stated his intention to "whip up a storm" >> > > > > > in a >> > > > > > chat room (Krautchan, a German clone of 4Chan) was incorrect. The >> > > > > > police had received reports of the entry in the chat room forum, >> > > > > > which >> > > > > > later turned out to be false. But Rech, the interior minister, in a >> > > > > > move sadly typical for a politician, had already taken the photo- >> > > > > > oppportunity to go public with the news. >> >> > > > > > Far from being on Ritalin (a popular, if often questionable >> > > > > > treatment >> > > > > > for kids who are hyper and diagnosed as suffering from Attention- >> > > > > > Deficit-Syndrome), as Don suggests, Tim K. is universally >> > > > > > described as >> > > > > > being quiet and somewhat withdrawn. Not, by any means, an over- >> > > > > > achiever, but also not a kid who fully fits into the omega-type, >> > > > > > weird, nerd-loser category in teenage group classification. He had >> > > > > > recently begun therapeutic treatment for depression but had >> > > > > > discontinued it. >> >> > > > > > Part of the psychosis which drove K. to his killing spree may have >> > > > > > had >> > > > > > something to do with gender issues, Slip. The vast majority of his >> > > > > > victims in the school were female, according to the reports, and >> > > > > > most >> > > > > > were killed with aimed, intentional head shots (this kid was a >> > > > > > trained >> > > > > > shooter). This, however, would seem to argue, in my view, for >> > > > > > traditional gender differentiation - speculatively, a generalised >> > > > > > aggression against females because particular girls had rejected >> > > > > > his >> > > > > > advances. If he had been the subject of peer-group >> > > > > > bullying/mobbing, >> > > > > > one would have expected more alpha-jock types amongst the victims. >> > > > > > While it might be interesting to discuss gender-related issues >> > > > > > here, >> > > > > > Slip, my experience is that no group is more conservative and >> > > > > > traditional with regard to gender-differentiation than teenagers. >> >> > > > > > Francis >> >> > > > > > On 13 Mrz., 04:54, Vamadevananda <[email protected]> wrote: >> > > > > >> There is something material to this discussion : The ' boy ' had >> > > > > >> indicated his mind, in his own words, day before committing the >> > > > > >> mayhem. Let's hear. >> >> > > > > >> "I have weapons here and tomorrow morning I will go to my old >> > > > > >> school >> > > > > >> and really whip up a storm," Tim Kretschmer, 17, said in a chat >> > > > > >> room, >> > > > > >> according to the interior minister of the state where Wednesday's >> > > > > >> massacre took place. >> >> > > > > >> "I have had enough of this crummy life... Always the same. People >> > > > > >> are >> > > > > >> laughing at me, no-one recognises my potential... You will hear >> > > > > >> about >> > > > > >> me tomorrow. Make note of the name of the place: Winnenden," the >> > > > > >> posting said. >> >> > > > > >> "He should have just killed himself," pensioner Hildegard Kronbach >> > > > > >> said as she stood on the church steps. >> >> > > > > >> His father is a successful businessman who employs 150 people at a >> > > > > >> packaging firm, according to police, but his son found it >> > > > > >> difficult to >> > > > > >> fit in at school and had few friends. >> >> > > > > >> "He was simply not accepted by anyone and just sat all day in >> > > > > >> front of >> > > > > >> his computer," Mario, a schoolmate, told German television station >> > > > > >> N24. >> >> > > > > >> Reports also said he was keen on computer shooting games -- >> > > > > >> especially >> > > > > >> the violent "Counter-Strike" -- and had become a real-life crack >> > > > > >> shot >> > > > > >> at the shooting range where his father was a member. >> >> > > > > >> After leaving school last year, Kretschmer had enrolled on a >> > > > > >> course to >> > > > > >> train as a salesman. He regularly worked out at the gym, belonged >> > > > > >> to a >> > > > > >> sports club and was a keen table tennis player. >> >> > > > > >> His father owned more than a dozen guns, all locked away except >> > > > > >> the >> > > > > >> nine millimetre Beretta pistol that caused the carnage. Police >> > > > > >> also >> > > > > >> found 4,600 rounds of ammunition at the house. >> >> > > > > >> Rech said Kretschmer had apparently cracked an eight-digit code >> > > > > >> to a >> > > > > >> locked cabinet containing guns and ammunition. >> >> > > > > >> The killer had "destroyed the soul of an entire school and ripped >> > > > > >> into >> > > > > >> the heart of a town," Rech added. >> >> > > > > >> The tragedy brought back haunting memories of a similar bloodbath >> > > > > >> in >> > > > > >> Erfurt in eastern Germany in 2002 that left 17 dead, including the >> > > > > >> gunman, and rekindled a gun-control debate. >> >> > > > > >> Gun laws were tightened after Erfurt and there have already been >> > > > > >> calls >> > > > > >> for even stricter laws and also a ban on violent computer games. >> >> > > > > >> The above were excerpts from The Guardian. The fact that the boy >> > > > > >> was >> > > > > >> filled with the sense of " unrecognised potential," despite >> > > > > >> having all >> > > > > >> ( compared to a teen in an average household in India ) >> > > > > >> materially, is >> > > > > >> what is most germane to the case. >> >> > > > > >> On Mar 13, 3:42 am, frantheman <[email protected]> >> > > > > >> wrote: >> >> > > > > >> > The past few days have seen two frightening series of rampage >> > > > > >> > killings, in Alabama and in Southern >> > > > > >> > Germany:http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,612863,00.html >> > > > > >> > Living in Germany, and having a 17-year-old daughter going to >> > > > > >> > school >> > > > > >> > here, I've been hearing and reading quite a bit about our local >> > > > > >> > horror >> > > > > >> > in the past few days. It seems to have been a typical case of a >> > > > > >> > boy/ >> > > > > >> > young man with major mental/self-image problems irrevocably >> > > > > >> > losing it. >> >> > > > > >> > The talking heads are waffling about the availability of >> > > > > >> > weapons (Tim >> > > > > >> > K. used a Beretta his father kept in his bedroom), graphic >> > > > > >> > computer >> > > > > >> > games (Counterstrike) and all the other usual stuff. Despite my >> > > > > >> > oft- >> > > > > >> > posted abhorrence for privately-held guns, I don't really think >> > > > > >> > that >> > > > > >> > further gun control is the answer (not to this particular >> > > > > >> > problem - >> > > > > >> > rampage killings take place in societies with tight and with >> > > > > >> > lax gun- >> > > > > >> > control - the killers seem to be able to get the guns anyway). >> > > > > >> > I also >> > > > > >> > don't believe that 99.99% of kids are significantly brutalised >> > > > > >> > by >> > > > > >> > graphic games - otherwise no street in the world would be safe >> > > > > >> > to >> > > > > >> > walk, given the fact that almost all 18-year old males in the >> > > > > >> > developed world have,or have had significant exposure to such >> > > > > >> > games. >> >> > > > > >> > I don't know if there is any real answer to such events. >> > > > > >> > Growing up >> > > > > >> > has always has its problems and it certainly isn't easy for kids >> > > > > >> > today, in our high-octane, high-pressure, consuming/consumptive >> > > > > >> > performance- and success-driven society. One interesting >> > > > > >> > comment I've >> > > > > >> > heard claimed that girls tend to internalise aggression (with >> > > > > >> > results >> > > > > >> > such as the repeated cutting of arms) while guys are more >> > > > > >> > likely to >> > > > > >> > channel that argression outwards. That said, it was the amok >> > > > > >> > killings >> > > > > >> > of Brenda Ann Spencer in 1979, which inspired Bob Geldof to >> > > > > >> > write, "I >> > > > > >> > Don't Like >> >> ... >> >> read more »- Hide quoted text - >> >> - Show quoted text - > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
