Massacre in Omaha

According to the Associated Press, a teenager armed with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire on Christmas shoppersat an Omaha shopping mall on Wednesday, killing at least eight people before turning the gun on himself.My condolences go out to all of those who have been affected by this senseless rampage.

I don’t know why the media always reward these psychotic teenage boys by giving them the fame they covet; that is, by plastering their pathetic mugs all over television and on the front page of every major newspaper … worldwide, and reporting pop psychology about why and how they did their dastardly deeds? Isn’t it clear to see, especially in this age of instant celebrity, why some loser kid would find this route to infamy irresistible?

He had said how much he loved his family and all his friends and how he was sorry he was a burden to everybody and his whole life he was a piece of shit and now he’ll be famous. [Debroa Maruca-Kovac, the woman who gave this homeless teenager a place to stay and to whom he addressed his suicide note]

After all, you’d think that – given the record of these psychotic and vainglorious episodes since Columbine – we would have figured out by now that the best way to discourage them is by focusing our attention on the victims and limiting what we say about the shooter to: May God have mercy on your soul as you burn in hell!

Incidentally, as one who enjoyed a fair amount of popularity in high school, I remember well going out of my way to befriend kids who were generally regarded as nerds. And I rather suspect that if more “popular kids” today were disposed to do the same (instead of bullying and treating them like outcasts), many of these shootings would be avoided.

Nevertheless, my support for the revenge of the nerds extends only to those who attain enviable success – like the googleaires at Google and the billionaires at Microsoft. Because I have nothing but contempt for the ones who think that becoming mass murderers constitutes sweet revenge.

But, apropos contempt, I cannot muster enough for the arm-chair psychologists who always spew psychoanalytic gibberish to excuse these American psychos. Never mind the irony that, despite showing obvious signs of psychosis, social alienation and suicidal ideation, the most counseling these kids ever get usually comes only after they’ve murdered a bunch of innocent people.

Meanwhile, these same shrinks invariably heap scorn on the motivation of Muslim teenagers who become suicide bombers. But at least Muslim psychos are motivated by more than posthumous fame. After all, they martyr themselves for Holy Jihad; although, eternal rapture in the bosoms of 72 virgins must sweeten their sacrifice….

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