I Still Wake Up in a Cold Sweat

I occasionally still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.  I don’t do it as much as I did 20, 30, and 40 years ago, but I still do it.

My good friend Doc Brad Spaulding, was a deputy sheriff before he became a doctor.  One evening as we visited reliving our past lives he commented that we’ve seen things that men aren’t supposed to see.  He was right, you know.  By the way, I miss Brad.  A different enemy got to him.

The things I saw bothered me and yes, occasionally kept me up at night.  But, they didn’t have the same impact on me as did the other thing that kept me up.

I was on duty the evening that Richard was shot in the chest.  He was off duty at the time.  It was touch and go for him for a while.  But, as soon as the news came over the radio everyone on the department went on hyper alert.  We all began looking for a suspect and a suspect car without knowing what to look for.  It didn’t matter.  It kept us busy in spite of the difficulty of looking through the tears.

Richard survived and the shooter was identified.  We all breathed a sigh of relief.  However, it was a stark reminder that at any time, for any reason, and in any manner it could have been any one of us.  It could have been Frank.  It could have been me.

Police live on the edge.  I know.  Police do things that most people don’t do.  There’s a price for doing that.  Some officers are killed in accidents while in pursuit of someone who has committed a crime.  Some are killed while responding to an accident or a crime when a person not paying attention pulls out in front of the speeding police car.  Some are struck and killed by cars while the officer is out issuing a motorist a traffic citation or while changing a stranded person’s tire.  Some drown while trying to save someone else.  Some are stabbed to death.  Some are exposed to hazardous materials in the line of duty.  Some even contract deadly diseases while trying to help another.  Some have been poisoned.  Of all the manners of death an officer can face though, gunfire outnumbers them all.

Sometimes the gunfire is in the heat of a gun battle.  Lately, ambush seems to be the preferred method of killing police.  Sometimes police are killed with their own duty weapon as they scramble to retain their weapon from the “bad guy” who didn’t want to go back to prison or decided it was time to kill a cop.  That was my story, but I lived to write the reports.

Police officers know all of this.

So, when the dust settles officers tend to look back and evaluate or assess what they did earlier in the night or day or evening and think about where things could have gone south.  They think about things like when their cars fishtail and their back bumpers hit the guardrail protecting them from a 500 foot drop-off.  Had the guardrail been just a little weaker or had they hit it just a little harder someone would be knocking on a surviving spouse’s door.  They think about drawing their weapons first and the other guy having second thoughts and what if.  They think about the shadows that move in the darkened buildings that were left unsecured.  (Your heart hasn’t sufficiently stopped if you haven’t seen a moving shadow in a building at two in the morning.)  They think about the car that started to pull out in front of them but stopped just in time.  They also think about the times when they pulled a gun on a suspect, finger on the trigger but didn’t pull it.  Of course, it usually is the right decision, but what if he or she should have pulled the trigger.  Or, what if he or she pulled the trigger but should not have done so.  These are the kinds of dream - nightmares - that wake police officers up.  The dead bodies, abused babies, tortured souls - the things Doc Spaulding talked about -  simply add to the nightmares.

They have constant reminders.  Friends they’ve never met end up being the headline; except now it seems that it happens so often that it’s a byline.

I occasionally still wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.  I don’t do it as much as I did 20, 30, and 40 years ago, but I still do it.

The Effect of the Obama Administration of Firearms Applications

I posted something recently saying that a salesperson at the firearms counter at a sporting goods store said that they lost their best salesman in the last election.  It was a true account that took place at the Academy Sporting Goods store in Amarillo on Saturday, December 30, 2017.  The salesman was dead serious.  When I posted the summary of that conversation I added three little words: “Think About It.”

I recently spoke with a salesperson at the firearms counter at the Cabela’s store in Albuquerque.  His comment to me about firearms sales was telling.  Firearms sales slowed to a crawl compared to sales during the previous eight years following the last presidential election.  I am compelled to once again say, “Think About It.”

I believe the vast majority of Americans are concerned about gun violence.  There is a handful of wackos who don’t care.  Thankfully, they constitute a minority - a handful.  However, the debate rages on between conservatives and liberals on how to address the problem.  The extreme left would confiscate all firearms, even from the police.  The extreme right would present newborn babies with NRA membership and a loaded AR-15.  OK, maybe that’s a little extreme for the far right.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a member of the NRA, but I favor their training emphasis, position on the Second Amendment, and mission.  I don’t believe the NRA would issue membership to newborns.

In the course of my studies and research, there is something that rings familiar with these statements from salesmen from two reputable firearms dealers and I believe there is a lesson to be learned in application to gun violence.

Several years ago, a criminologist by the name of Edwin Schur wrote a book called Radical Nonintervention.  In his book dealing with juvenile crime, he presents evidence showing that we have a better success rate at preventing recidivism by doing nothing to juvenile offenders than by running them through the juvenile justice system.  By making a big deal out of juvenile offenses we encourage juvenile offenders to reoffend.

In my own published drug abuse prevention research I assert that children base their actions on their perception of what their older peers are doing.  For example, fifth graders believe that sixth graders use addictive substances at a higher rate than what sixth graders actually use.

Noted criminologist, Howard Becker, stated that the criminal label overrides any other label a person may have once that person has committed a crime or delinquent act.  Consequently, that person will continue to offend, often escalating in seriousness.  Likewise, Edwin Sutherland in his Differential Association Theory states that criminal behavior is learned, which learning includes the techniques of committing the crimes and the motives, drives, attitudes, and rationalizations for committing those crimes.  Further, building on the work of Shaw and McKay, Sutherland describes a type of Social Disorganization that exists that breeds criminal behavior. David Matza in explaining his theory on Drift says that criminals not only drift in and out of criminality, but that delinquent (criminal) behavior is likely to occur in areas of the social structure in which control has been loosened, freeing the person to respond to whatever criminal forces happen to come along.  (See Theoretical Criminology, by Vold and Bernard for discussions on Labeling, Differential Association, Social Disorganization, and Delinquency and Drift.)

Understanding that there is no one theory that fits all, it is incumbent upon serious students of crime to put the pieces together, pulling pertinent parts from appropriate theories and aligning them to meet the requirements of any given situation.  There is no such thing as a common theory to explain all crime.  Likewise, there is no such thing as a common theory to explain any specific crime.  The number of theories to explain behaviors of multiple people for a specific type of crime would be as big as the number of people engaged in those behaviors.  It would be irresponsible to state that all mass murderers commit their crimes because of Theory A or Theory B or Theory X.  Nonetheless, many of the mass murderers and spree killers share several things in common.  It is that common thread we look for in the process of explaining criminal behavior.  That common thread acts as a springboard for looking deeper into the actual nexus between offender and offense.

Since we are interested in gun violence I suggest that we first look at the anecdotal evidence provided by the two firearms sales clerks.  Firearm sales have slowed to a crawl since the last presidential election.  We need only review recent history to understand that the Second Amendment was under serious threat from the Obama Administration and a Democrat Party controlled Congress.  A period of several months passed when it was impossible to find firearm ammunition.  Though that period has passed, it is still difficult in many places to find .22 caliber ammunition, popular for plinking.  The lack of availability of ammunition caused widespread panic and fear among firearms owners and many gun owners began to stockpile ammunition.

The threat of removal of ammunition is over and the threat of confiscation of firearms and making firearm purchases more difficult have ceased.  Once again ammunition of all calibers is found on sporting goods shelves firearm sales have slowed.

Longitudinal studies are helpful in looking at trends and allow us to compare one unit of time to several other units of time.  While there are no control groups for comparison we can at least look to see what historical events took place during the time being studied which allows us to make some assumptions about the effects of those events on the data.

As I began researching the history of firearms sales over the past 20 years I found a number of articles that actually used the wording of the Academy Sporting Goods salesman that firearms dealers lost their best salesman when President Obama went out of office.  So, I dug a little deeper.

I checked the The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, database for answers.  At first, I checked 18 selected states as sort of a check against the news articles and salesman’s comments.  What I found was astounding.  There not only was a noticeable increase in instant criminal background checks beginning with the Obama Administration, but there was also a noticeable decline in background checks during the beginning of the Trump Administration.  Of course, we have only one year to look at with the Trump Administration, but there is more.

After reviewing the statistics for the 18 states I continued my search and found data for criminal background checks from 1999 through 2017 and all of January 2018.  I selected January 2018 as it is the only month available at this time and compared it to each January from 1999 through 2017.

Year     January Year Total

1999 591,355 9,138,123 

2000 639,972 8,546,037 

2001 640,528 8,910,191 

2002 665,803 8,454,322 

2003 653,751 8,481,588 

2004 695,000 8,687,671 

2005 685,811 8,952,945 

2006 775,518 10,036,933 

2007 894,608 11,177,335 

2008 942,556 12,709,023 

2009 1,213,885 14,033,824 

2010 1,119,229 14,409,616 

2011 1,323,336 16,454,951 

2012 1,377,301 19,592,303 

2013 2,495,440 21,093,273 

2014 1,660,355 20,908,547 

2015 1,772,794 23,141,970 

2016 2,545,802 27,538,673 

2017 2,043,184 25,235,215 

2018 1,000,530

The results again were dramatic as can be seen in the graphs below. 

Looking at the numbers and the graphs in another way helps us to understand the impact that the Obama Administration has had on the sale of firearms, or at least on the applications to purchase firearms.  The eight years prior to the Obama Administration from 2000 to 2007 there was a 37.8% increase in the number of applications.  The same eight-year time frame in the Obama Administration from 2008 to 2016 saw a 116.7% in firearm applications.

Now, criminal background checks do not necessarily represent the total number of firearms purchases.  First of all, there are denials.  And, states have their own restrictions on sales.  Not all states are equal when it comes to firearms sales.  Secondly, private sales are not included and clearly stolen firearms are not included.  However, if the background checks are representative of legitimate interests in purchasing firearms, then we can assume that there was a fairly significant jump in the number of firearms purchased during the Obama Administration.  Why is this important?  Simple.  President Obama had a campaign of reducing firearms in the hands of citizens which stimulated a scare among people that their guns would be taken away.  Therefore, people bought guns when they had the chance.  That threat went away with the Trump Administration.  Of course, we’ll need a few more years to see what effect the Trump Administration has on firearms sales before we can conclude that his administration’s stance on firearms has any bearing on the sales of firearms.  But, it is hard to deny the decline in firearms purchase applications during Turmp’s first year in office.

If the trend holds true for the rest of the Trump Administration, then we may be able to conclude that if you want to slow down gun sales then stop the threat of taking guns away or making the purchase of a firearm more difficult.

However, tying the sales of firearms to murder rates by firearms is a bit more tricky.  FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) are not especially helpful in sorting through the data.  One thing is clear and that is that murder and non-negligent manslaughter have steadily decreased over the years.  The other thing we do know is that these murder rates were at a low from 1950 through the mid-1960s.  Then a dramatic increase took place until the early 1990s and took a plunge from about 25,000 per year to about 15,000 in 2010 (https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/htus8008.pdf#page=27).

Follow-up study needs to be conducted to determine the role of firearms in each murder during this short study.

Conclusions

1.     You cannot slow down the sales of firearms with the perceived threat of restricting firearms ownership.

2.     If you want to slow down firearms purchases and ownership you need to remove the perceived threat of restricting firearms ownership.

3.     The number of murders appear to decrease with the number of firearms in circulation.

4.     There may actually be something to the assertion that guns don’t kill people but that people kill people.

5.     Think About It.

Note: This is not a purely academic study.  However, statistics were obtained from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.  See also Theoretical Criminology by Vold and Bernard.

Longmire

I have been watching the first couple of seasons of a Netflix series called Longmire.  Walt Longmire is the sheriff of a Wyoming county that apparently includes a Cheyenne Indian Reservation.  The relationship between Longmire and the residents of the reservation is not good.  The relationship is especially troubling between the sheriff and the chief of the tribal police or BIA.  It isn’t exactly clear what tribal jurisdiction is in play here.  Regardless, the relationship is sour.

Though set in Wyoming, much of the filming is done in Northern New Mexico.  In fact, the filming of Longmire’s home is located just outside of Los Alamos in the Valle Grande.  The Valle, as it is known by the locals, is a huge extinct caldera.  I recognize the landscape and the buildings that are in the Valle.  (The Valle Grande is also the setting for some of the story lines in my first book, Desperado.)

I have to admit that I cringe everytime I watch an episode of Longmire.  Evidence collection techniques and proper crime scene investigation is sloppy and do not remotely approximate real life investigations.  I have yet to see an admissible confession.  In fact, many,  if not most confessions would thrown out of court.  Jurisdictional matters are meaningless to the sheriff and his three deputies.  They go about investigating crimes and enforcing the law everywhere they go, including other counties and states.  Still, Sheriff Longmire seems to be able to read people’s minds and fill in the blanks with information that the viewer does not have and solve all the crimes.

For a county the size of his, he seems to have an unusual amount of crime.  The show never tells us how many square miles constitute the county or what the county’s population is, but with a staff of a sheriff, three deputies, and a secretary/dispatcher, there cannot be an awful lot of people in his county.  Still, there is an awful lot of crime going on in his county.  There is an average of more than one murder per week.  During the first two seasons he has uncovered a cult, a prostitution ring, a business hiring scores of illegal immigrants, and discovered that a law enforcement forest ranger and a law enforcement livestock officer were not only criminals, but murderers - in separate episodes.

On top of all the drama, Longmire’s wife was a terminal cancer patient who was murdered.  Longmire and his close friend are suspected by a Denver police detective of murdering Longmire’s wife killer.  Both are innocent, but the world doesn’t know that yet.

In spite of all of this, the entertainment value is tops.  I look forward to each episode, and since we have it on Netflix, I may be guilty of watching a couple of episodes in one sitting.

I’m drawn to Sheriff Longmire.  In spite of all our differences, I see a lot of me in his character.  He is often distant.  He doesn’t generally answer questions, but asks questions when a question is put to him.  He tries to do everything for everyone he can.  He has the answer to everyone’s problems.  His life is wrapped up in his job to the point that it adversely affects his relationship with his adult daughter.  He acknowledges this but doesn’t know how to turn it around.  As you look at him, you see that he is conflicted over something.  At times you know what it is that causes him this stress.  It’s fairly easy to discern and you can predict where he is going and how he will handle a particular situation.  But, a good deal of the time you can tell that he is a troubled spirit.

These attributes that I see in Longmire are in many ways a reflection of my life - distant, always questioning but never answering.  Just as he acknowledges that he has failed as a parent I see that same failure in my life.  And this is what makes watching Longmire hard to watch.

Park Benches

I understand why we see old men sitting alone on park benches.

There is a lot of history sitting on those benches. 

Not all of them sit on park benches feeding pigeons.  Some are alone.  Occasionally you see them sitting in pairs.  There are others like those sitting in pairs.  They sit in coffee shops or at McDonald’s occupying tables for hours and sipping their coffee, black.  Those sitting in pairs on park benches or at restaurant tables talk about the sorry state of politics, their grandkids that they see occasionally, sports scores, their last prostate exam, and whose names they recognize in the obituaries.  Mostly they talk about the past.  Like their counterparts sitting in pairs or in the coffee shops, those sitting alone think about the past.  They think about the good times.  They think about the not-so-good times and when they do, they think about the would have, could have, and should have things that they never did.

You can only sit with your buddies at the coffee shop table so long before you move on to your individual life, then you are in a solo act, like the other old men sitting alone on park benches.

But they also think of where they had been, their successes, and their triumphs.  Some think of the respect they had among peers and the need they filled.  It’s nice to be needed.  Everybody is the best at something no matter how big or insignificant it may be.  It is nice to fill a role, a gap, and to think that when you walked out a door for the last time that you left a void.  But, they know it isn’t true.  No one is irreplaceable.  Not having a place in the world, the world you lived in is hard.  Being valued for who you were and what you were is nice, but that value is worth nothing in the present.  “Thank you for your service.  It’s over now.  Please step aside.  You aren’t needed now.  Someone else has taken your place.”

The title of the book and subsequent movie was No Country for Old Men.  But, there are park benches.

Me Too Campaign

Over the past few days I’ve seen several Facebook posts that included the simple words “Me Too”, either embedded in the post or simply posted as those two words. How sad I thought, but not at all unsurprising. My own personal research shows that it is much more widespread than what we care to imagine. Even one “Me Too” is one too many. Well over half of all women have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation. Rest assured; however, that it happens to men as well.

As I said, some of the posts simply said “Me Too” while others added a few details. I think I saw the greatest pain among those who simply posted those two simple words. They are two words composed of five simple letters. They are insignificant in the eyes of the offender, yet a powerful testimony of devastated lives on one side of the equation and lives gone terribly wrong on the other side. There can be no excuse. Offenders, no matter their biology, economic background, or psychology still have choice.

One person wrote a two-page description of the continuing torment by the offender. I wanted to stand up and cheer when she wrote of stabbing her tormenter in the foot with a pencil. As she began revealing the process of pulling out her pencil and stabbing, I briefly waited to see where she stabbed him and frankly was surprised that it was his foot and not his crotch or heart. I think she showed great restraint. I think I would have gone for the heart after stabbing the guy’s groin a few times.

I studied sex crimes under the guidance of FBI Special Agent Roy Hazelwood (1938-2016). He was a leading pioneer in identifying and labeling various forms of murder and sex crimes. He called it deviant sexual behavior. He had this country boy’s head spinning after the first hour of instruction. After a week of instruction, I walked away fully armed and prepared for conducting sex crime investigations and completely repulsed by what I had learned. There were times I wanted to vomit in his class. I don’t talk much about the years that followed as they led me to investigating such atrocities in my own community and led me through a maze of sleaze and horror from coast to coast. You don’t need to know who or how.

As I left my investigative role and moved into administrative positions I focused my attention on domestic violence. The papers I had written and presented at conferences and interested groups gave me little comfort in realizing that there most likely were victims and offenders sitting side-by-side in those gatherings. Most troubling was the fact that many of those victims of domestic violence could easily say “Me Too” in addition to everything else they had suffered. How, I wondered, could any person violate such a sacred union and trust with such violent, self-serving, demeaning, degrading filthy conduct?

Those years of investigating sex crimes and speaking out against domestic violence in an official capacity are gone. That does not lessen the impact those experiences have had on my life, nor does it mean that I can rest comfortably in the false hope that things are better. They are not. And as I read your “Me Too” a little light came on. So often our past defines our present, and so it has been this week that I have been able to see your beginning from the end. “Me Too” says a lot. I may not know the exact details, but I have a fair idea. Perhaps I should say “unfair” idea.

There is another growing evil out there that is just as sickening as sexual abuse (they are criminal for a reason) and domestic violence. It is just as prevalent now in the United States as it was prior to the American Civil War and we as a nation have turned a blind eye to it. There are no racial or ethnic barriers to this ancient atrocity. Victims come in both genders, of national origins, racial and ethnic origins. It is called slavery. Its victims are scarfed up from our roads and streets along the beautiful country sides and city slums. They arrive daily, generally under cover of darkness, to our shores by the boatload. Some actually arrive to our shores alive. If you breathe at all you have seen them. If you live or work in densely populated areas you have probably seen them on a daily basis. You will find them in the smallest villages and hamlets to the largest metropolitan areas. You may well think that they are sex slaves, and they are, but they are also among the heavy lifters you see working in lawns and gardens and fields, serving in homes and even businesses, and running drugs often concealed within their bodies. They are disposable. Many come under the promise of hope and change but what they find is hell and below. Others are just snatched up and carted off. They are given enough to survive and live under constant threat of not only their death, but the execution of their entire families. To many, death is preferable to the lives they lead. And it is taken.

Too many have said “Me Too” out there. These are the things that tend to keep me awake at night. I so wish I could change the past.

Me Too Campaign

Over the past few days I’ve seen several Facebook posts that included the simple words “Me Too”, either embedded in the post or simply posted as those two words. How sad I thought, but not at all unsurprising. My own personal research shows that it is much more widespread than what we care to imagine. Even one “Me Too” is one too many. Well over half of all women have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation. Rest assured; however, that it happens to men as well.

As I said, some of the posts simply said “Me Too” while others added a few details. I think I saw the greatest pain among those who simply posted those two simple words. They are two words composed of five simple letters. They are insignificant in the eyes of the offender, yet a powerful testimony of devastated lives on one side of the equation and lives gone terribly wrong on the other side. There can be no excuse. Offenders, no matter their biology, economic background, or psychology still have choice.

One person wrote a two-page description of the continuing torment by the offender. I wanted to stand up and cheer when she wrote of stabbing her tormenter in the foot with a pencil. As she began revealing the process of pulling out her pencil and stabbing, I briefly waited to see where she stabbed him and frankly was surprised that it was his foot and not his crotch or heart. I think she showed great restraint. I think I would have gone for the heart after stabbing the guy’s groin a few times.

I studied sex crimes under the guidance of FBI Special Agent Roy Hazelwood (1938-2016). He was a leading pioneer in identifying and labeling various forms of murder and sex crimes. He called it deviant sexual behavior. He had this country boy’s head spinning after the first hour of instruction. After a week of instruction, I walked away fully armed and prepared for conducting sex crime investigations and completely repulsed by what I had learned. There were times I wanted to vomit in his class. I don’t talk much about the years that followed as they led me to investigating such atrocities in my own community and led me through a maze of sleaze and horror from coast to coast. You don’t need to know who or how.

As I left my investigative role and moved into administrative positions I focused my attention on domestic violence. The papers I had written and presented at conferences and interested groups gave me little comfort in realizing that there most likely were victims and offenders sitting side-by-side in those gatherings. Most troubling was the fact that many of those victims of domestic violence could easily say “Me Too” in addition to everything else they had suffered. How, I wondered, could any person violate such a sacred union and trust with such violent, self-serving, demeaning, degrading filthy conduct?

Those years of investigating sex crimes and speaking out against domestic violence in an official capacity are gone. That does not lessen the impact those experiences have had on my life, nor does it mean that I can rest comfortably in the false hope that things are better. They are not. And as I read your “Me Too” a little light came on. So often our past defines our present, and so it has been this week that I have been able to see your beginning from the end. “Me Too” says a lot. I may not know the exact details, but I have a fair idea. Perhaps I should say “unfair” idea.

There is another growing evil out there that is just as sickening as sexual abuse (they are criminal for a reason) and domestic violence. It is just as prevalent now in the United States as it was prior to the American Civil War and we as a nation have turned a blind eye to it. There are no racial or ethnic barriers to this ancient atrocity. Victims come in both genders, of national origins, racial and ethnic origins. It is called slavery. Its victims are scarfed up from our roads and streets along the beautiful country sides and city slums. They arrive daily, generally under cover of darkness, to our shores by the boatload. Some actually arrive to our shores alive. If you breathe at all you have seen them. If you live or work in densely populated areas you have probably seen them on a daily basis. You will find them in the smallest villages and hamlets to the largest metropolitan areas. You may well think that they are sex slaves, and they are, but they are also among the heavy lifters you see working in lawns and gardens and fields, serving in homes and even businesses, and running drugs often concealed within their bodies. They are disposable. Many come under the promise of hope and change but what they find is hell and below. Others are just snatched up and carted off. They are given enough to survive and live under constant threat of not only their death, but the execution of their entire families. To many, death is preferable to the lives they lead. And it is taken.

Too many have said “Me Too” out there. These are the things that tend to keep me awake at night. I so wish I could change the past.

Men and Mass Murders

As your resident Facebook Friends Criminologist, I would like to weigh in (with a little fear and trepidation) on the ongoing debate about guns and violence in America.  Some of you will want to rip me apart for my comments.  Get over it.  I admit up front that I don’t have all the answers, but I know a lot about mass murderers, spree killers, and serial killers.  I’ve spent years studying them.  Just ask my former students.

I want to specifically discuss the profile of the mass murderer and conclude with a suggested possible explanation for the increase of these types of killings that are taking place in America.

I.    Definitions

a.   Mass murder: the killing of two or more people at the same location by the same person or persons acting in concert at approximately the same time and is done in a violent outburst.

b.   Spree killing: the killing of two or more people at the same location by the same person or persons acting in concert within a short period of time, as in several hours or perhaps as much as three or four days, or the killing of two or more people at different locations by the same person or persons acting in concert within a short period of time, as in several hours or perhaps as much as three or four days.  Spree killings are also generally done as a violent outburst.

c.   Serial killing: the killing of multiple individuals, generally of the same background as perceived by the murderer (often prostitutes or homosexuals, but not always), by a single individual and generally over a long period of time, sometimes with as much as years between killing.  Of serial killers, there are four primary types: visionary killers, power and control killers, mission-oriented killers, and hedonistic killers

Another classification of mass murderer(s) could easily include terrorists.  Their motivation is typically political or religious-political in nature and may be state sponsored.

None of the above types of killing should be confused with thrill killing, cult killing, or gang killing.

II.    Profile of Mass Murderers

While a common profile can be identified amongst mass murderers, it is important to note that not all mass murderers will have each of the following characteristics.  So, when I say that “most” mass murderers are (fill in the blank), that is exactly what I mean.  It does not mean “all” mass murderers are (fill in the blank).  However, you can probably rest assured that if you have a mass murderer that the individual will have many of the following characteristics.

Most are:

1.     Male

2.     Single, separated, or divorced

3.     White

4.     In their 30s or 40s

5.     Purchasers of firearms through legal means

6.     Depressed, but not mentally ill nor are they out of touch with reality

7.     Frustrated with their situation and tend to blame others for their situation

8.     Socially isolated, feeling most comfortable in the company of themselves

Additionally, they may target specific people for a specific reason.  Their killing is indiscriminate in that if you happen to be among those specifically targeted the likelihood of you being killed is a good as the targeted people.  Finally, mass murderers seldom live to tell their story.  They either kill themselves or are killed by police.

III.  Tongue-in-Cheek Observation

If the object is to eliminate (or at least reduce) mass murders, instead of taking away everyone’s guns, we should eliminate all single white males between the ages of 30 and 50.

IV.  Possible Explanation for Increased Mass Murder Incidents

You have probably seen various theories for mass murders either here on Facebook or in other places.  I will not review them here.  You can seek them out on your own.  I believe there is an elephant in the room that no one really wants to acknowledge that probably plays a role in the increase number of mass murders.  That elephant in the room is the marginalization of men in society, especially white men.  This marginalization has come in the form of everything from the use of gender-neutral vocabulary to using the term “breaking the glass ceiling” to promotion of women and minorities (especially female minorities) to break that glass ceiling and parallels the civil rights movement and the women’s movement.

While there had been occasional mass murders before the women’s and civil rights movement, they were relatively unheard of.  As the women’s movement has become more militant and aggressive, many men have felt the effects of being pushed aside, ignored, and passed over.  It occurs in business and social settings alike as white males in particular become more and more isolated and excluded from their former gender roles as protector, provider, and authority.  In the move for “equal rights”, white males are feeling that others’ rights are now more equal than their own.  Such alienation of some (please, not all) white males results in their feelings of insecurity and anxiety.  This threat is especially dangerous to white supremacist groups who see minorities not only as inferiors, but now as inferiors who are gaining power.  They now have additional reason to be angry and to kill minorities.

V.    Conclusion

I would love to be able to test my hypothesis.  While I have the available time to do so, I no longer have the resources to do it.

I suppose you could question, even challenge my hypothesis.  Call me a crazy lunatic or accuse me of reaching too far, but before you accuse me of being a sexist, misogynist, racist bigot, please consider that the profile in Section II above is real.

If my hypothesis is correct, then it calls for a serious re-thinking of the role of men in society.  We have certainly made strides in equality, but perhaps it is time to work on recognizing the legitimate role of men, and not as warm touchy-feely beings, but something consistent with their traditional gender role.

Borrowing somewhat from an HBO show, the first thing we need to do in solving a problem is recognizing that we have one.  Well, “Houston (and the rest of America), we have a problem.”  I think we know that.  Now we need to be honest with ourselves and determine what the problem is and why we have it.  The fact is, and many of you will not agree with this – too bad, the fact is, confiscating guns or restricting further gun ownerships is not going to solve the problem but will merely exacerbate it.  If you think there are angry white males out there now, just try and fix it with that kind of solution.

Enough?