Your theory on why Adam Lanza did it (psychological motive) (complex, everything)
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I have no doubt that Lanza was evaluated. After all, he did receive special services from the school district. It's not like the parents just diagnosed it themselves and the school district went along with it. It's very likely he did have Asperger's. He wasn't normal, that's for sure.
I hate to be "rude." But a picture is worth a thousand words. As a nation waited for answers, his picture really showed how odd he was, as does that of the Colorado shooter. With Adam Lanza, we can't know whether he was always like this, or became like this. We know that the was estranged from his father and the media painted a neither favorable, nor unfavorable, picture of his mother. All we know is that she was wrangling with his school district quite a bit and that she had these friends who owned a pizzeria with whom she'd do the suburbanite thing with. I just think this kid was a handful from when he was young and that it accumulated.
I know it's all speculation, so don't take what I say too seriously. This is based on the very very little information I know, but here's my brief take on it:
Some of you have heard of the 'Lucifer Effect' by Phillip Zimbardo. He was involved in psychological experiments in the 60s and 70s that had some disturbing results: most of us had the capability to be 'evil', in the sense of causing malice because of blindly following orders. It only really relates to Lanza as much as I want to say that I believe 'evil' exists as a potential in all of us, and perhaps we shouldn't think of it as just another crazy kid doing something crazy, too crazy for us to understand. Perhaps he was a young man driven to do what he did by extreme circumstances.
I also wanted to raise this idea of 'evil' and how it in itself becomes seductive. Think about video games that compete to be as gory as possible, or young lads going out hunting and behaving in a sadistic manner. The gladiatorial contests of Roman times or bear-fighting in Medieval times and Bullfighting or even UFC today show that bloodlust is an inherent part of our brutal animal makeup. Lanza might've been SEDUCED by the idea of serial killers, by the notoriety of previous killers. I wonder if he was indeed obsessed with violence to a point where he became detached from reality. Being quiet and seeming like a nice, bright kid counts for squat: nobody probably knew what really want on in his brain, and they only see the face he presented to the world. He was clearly a very secretive person and all that idle time alone provided an ample breeding ground for dark, morbid and macabre thoughts to fester.
So he probably had Asperger's syndrome. I was diagnosed with the same condition at age 14, although I've had mixed opinions since then and I think I'm very borderline. I also know many people with Asperger's syndromes, some of whom are my closest friends. They are some of the most humane, gentle, caring people I know and would literally not hurt a fly. HOWEVER, I'm not saying someone with AS COULD NOT have done what Lanza did: sure, people with AS exhibit the gamut of human personality traits, both good and bad. From what I've read Lanza had violent fits of rage - anger problems can be a problem with some people with AS, because of pent-up frustrations over 'strange' things (like being forced to do something they're not used to doing) but I'm not aware of it in itself causing someone to commit such a violent crime. Anyway, no, Asperger's alone doesn't cause people to be mass murderers, I think there were other psychological and environmental factors at play.
Some news articles have portrayed his mother Nancy as a bit crazy too, because she owned the weapons she did, took her sons shooting and apparently 'exposed them to violent video games/movies.' Firstly, most males aged about 13 and above are exposed to violence: from video games, to movies, to the daily news. We know so little about Nancy, that I'm not even going to speculate. One possibility I did think of, however, was that Adam was somehow jealous of the students and resented Nancy for some reason...maybe he was incapable of DISPLAYING affection, but could've been experiencing some pretty extreme emotions related to his mother, some deep-seated pain and hostility. Not excusable of course, but that could be the key. This was mostly because of the fact he killed his own mother too.
There's also the POSSIBILITY of abuse, perhaps psychological, but there's no hard evidence for that. It would be another possible motive for the killing, perhaps again with the jealousy thing, or simply a deep-seated hatred for his mother and all that she represented. There's also the POSSIBILITY of abuse, perhaps psychological, but there's no hard evidence for that. Nancy Lanza was reported as being ‘loving’, although even if she was we don’t know the frustrations she might’ve experienced and if she took them out on her son… It would be another possible motive for the killing, perhaps again with the jealousy thing, or simply a deep-seated hatred for his mother and all that she represented. It could also be related with OCD thoughts... It could also be related with OCD thoughts...
Although it doesn't say he had OCD, I wonder about that...for the vast majority of OCD sufferers, these thoughts torment them the most...but OCD can implant violent/sick thoughts into someone's brains, unintentionally. Like I said before, if society labels something as 'sick' or 'evil', the innately insecure person with OCD will imbibe all of this and then start getting obsessive about being 'evil', since they fear being an outcast. Of course there's nothing more that can be said about OCD since there's nothing to say that Lanza did suffer from it.
Some might think of him as just an emotionless psychopath, but i think it's sort of misleading when they say things like that. For one, I believe it's impossible to truly have no or even little emotion and commit what he did. The acts sound like something that was done out of malice, hostility and hatred. For instance, the amount of rounds he fired into some of the students. I think for whatever reason, hard for us to comprehend, he HATED those he killed. Maybe it wasn't directed specifically at them, maybe he was just misanthropic and he felt the world cared nothing for him, so he was going to do the most heinous thing possible in the most sensational manner towards 'society', and those it valued most, it's children. Maybe he lacked emotional maturity, but I think he experienced TOO MUCH emotion and simply could not contain it anymore, like somebody in a blind rage. I can't fathom why someone would do it unless he got some emotional high from it - perhaps it wasn't rage per se, but in a sick way he got some other kind of pleasure from killing, sexual or otherwise.
Perhaps a combination of emotional immaturity/social stuntedness, a fascination with violence and aiming to be as 'notorious' and evil as possible, with a lack of control or an explosion of emotion led to the tragic events of last week. We'll never know the full story, but I think it is important to at least try to figure out the possibilities, in order to better understand mass murderers and their general motives, even if we don't know the specific motives for specific crimes.
Do you have any thoughts/theories/ideas? Is there anything you agree/disagree with about my analysis/speculation? It's just speculation, so it may be way off base, but I just wanted to sort of brainstorm possible ideas out there to start a discussion from a psychological POV.
I posted the following comment in another thread tonight (i.e., a thread started by someone else that asked "IS THE LACK OF EMOTIONAL CONNECTION CONTRIBUTING TO HUMAN BEINGS KILLING EACH OTHER?". I'll post it here as well. What I said was the following:
In a CNN interview around 12/20/2012 (in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of schoolchildren and school staff and speaking at-large about the level of mass murders and violence in our American society of the past few years such as Aurora, Colorado; Columbine, Colorado; Virginia Tech; Tucson, Arizona; and other mass murders), Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said something which rings true to me and stuck in my mind, and which I know in my heart and mind to be true (being an American male myself). He said:
For me, one of the biggest issues today is how angry American men are becoming. Remember, these are men that are perpetrating these mass murders. I think that we have a single definition of "success" that is alienating a lot of men-- making them feel like they are failures -- and they are taking out their rage on this society that they feel belittles them."
A very wise observation that I haven't heard anyone else in the public forum bring up as an issue and state so explicity and articulately. Some food for thought for all of us.
I think that what I shared above (which was inspired by what Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said in this CNN interview) applies to many of the male mass murderers of the past number of years: Adam Lanza (the Newtown mass murderer), James Holmes (the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre mass murderer), David Berkowitz (the "Son of Sam" serial killer), Seung-Hui Cho (the Virginia Tech mass murderer), Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (the Columbine HIgh School mass murderers), and manymanymany others over the decades . . . way too many to name here. Beyond any real or perceived "mental illness" that they may have had or allegedly had, they ALL felt themselves to be societal and social oddballs and outcasts or misfits who couldn't "make it" or "fit in" to the larger American society the way that men or males are expected to (if they are to be looked upon by others-- and especially by females --as "successful", "attractive", desirable", "redeeming", "worthy", "not a 'loser'", et al). And it filled them with rage and anger which, in the end, they decided to vent their rage and anger on society-at-large or on certain segments or sub-groupings of society-at-large (i.e., at all women or all attractive women, at youths of school age or college age, at a theatre full of moviegoers which represent a cross-section of society-at-large).
And, if I recall correctly, it was stated that Nancy Lanza was ready to have Adam Lanza committed to a psychiatric institution and Adam knew or learned this. If true, he likely felt that he had reached the end of any meaning or purpose to his life and was angry that he had been born and turned out the way he did in life (i.e., autistic- Aspergers, very shy, withdrawn, a social misfit and outcast, neurologically & psychiatrically disadvantaged or impacted, etc. etc. etc.). And Adam Lanza was likely angry and resentful at all the other children who were, in his mind, going to go on and live fruitful, happy and meritorious lives (whereas this was beyond him, in his mind) and he likely thought "If I can't have the kind of life that I deserve, then neither can any of them nor anyone else." So he decided to violently and horrifically end their lives and his own life (and the life of the mother who begat him in the first place to have to live out this miserable life of his).
I posted the following comment in another thread tonight (i.e., a thread started by someone else that asked "IS THE LACK OF EMOTIONAL CONNECTION CONTRIBUTING TO HUMAN BEINGS KILLING EACH OTHER?". I'll post it here as well. What I said was the following:
In a CNN interview around 12/20/2012 (in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of schoolchildren and school staff and speaking at-large about the level of mass murders and violence in our American society of the past few years such as Aurora, Colorado; Columbine, Colorado; Virginia Tech; Tucson, Arizona; and other mass murders), Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said something which rings true to me and stuck in my mind, and which I know in my heart and mind to be true (being an American male myself). He said:
For me, one of the biggest issues today is how angry American men are becoming. Remember, these are men that are perpetrating these mass murders. I think that we have a single definition of "success" that is alienating a lot of men-- making them feel like they are failures -- and they are taking out their rage on this society that they feel belittles them."
A very wise observation that I haven't heard anyone else in the public forum bring up as an issue and state so explicity and articulately. Some food for thought for all of us.
I think that what I shared above (which was inspired by what Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said in this CNN interview) applies to many of the male mass murderers of the past number of years: Adam Lanza (the Newtown mass murderer), James Holmes (the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre mass murderer), David Berkowitz (the "Son of Sam" serial killer), Seung-Hui Cho (the Virginia Tech mass murderer), Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold (the Columbine HIgh School mass murderers), and manymanymany others over the decades . . . way too many to name here. Beyond any real or perceived "mental illness" that they may have had or allegedly had, they ALL felt themselves to be societal and social oddballs and outcasts or misfits who couldn't "make it" or "fit in" to the larger American society the way that men or males are expected to (if they are to be looked upon by others-- and especially by females --as "successful", "attractive", desirable", "redeeming", "worthy", "not a 'loser'", et al). And it filled them with rage and anger which, in the end, they decided to vent their rage and anger on society-at-large or on certain segments or sub-groupings of society-at-large (i.e., at all women or all attractive women, at youths of school age or college age, at a theatre full of moviegoers which represent a cross-section of society-at-large).
And, if I recall correctly, it was stated that Nancy Lanza was ready to have Adam Lanza committed to a psychiatric institution and Adam knew or learned this. If true, he likely felt that he had reached the end of any meaning or purpose to his life and was angry that he had been born and turned out the way he did in life (i.e., autistic- Aspergers, very shy, withdrawn, a social misfit and outcast, neurologically & psychiatrically disadvantaged or impacted, etc. etc. etc.). And Adam Lanza was likely angry and resentful at all the other children who were, in his mind, going to go on and live fruitful, happy and meritorious lives (whereas this was beyond him, in his mind) and he likely thought "If I can't have the kind of life that I deserve, then neither can any of them nor anyone else." So he decided to violently and horrifically end their lives and his own life (and the life of the mother who begat him in the first place to have to live out this miserable life of his).
As an add-on to my last posting (immediately above this posting), especially the last paragraph about the psychology and thinking of Adam Lanza:
In addition, Adam Lanza felt absolutely emasculated by his MOTHER (he may [or may not?] have felt likewise toward his father, but his father was no longer in the picture anymore and living away from them), as his mother completely domineered his life and behavior and ruled over him like a small child (even into his young adulthood). He'd already advanced through puberty, his teens, and then his early 20s (making the transition from childhood to a male teen and then to a young adult male in his early 20s) and still was completely lorded over by his mother . . . who controlled every aspect of his life and day-to-day behavior and activities. How could a MAN (a young man but still a man) ever develop a personality and behavioral repertoire that can appeal to the opposite sex and attract girls/women and therefore find love in his life when he has a mother that is always overshadowing him, lording over him, and micro-managing his day-to-day life? And then I read that she was (or may have been) ready to have him permanently committed to a psychiatric institution in the near-future.
So, in summary, Adam Lanza felt that he had no life worth living, regretted ever being born, and hated the mother/father who begat him for giving him this life (and the biological and genetic makeup which gave him his condition). And therefore his first act was to murder his mother (it is conceivable that he may as well have murdered his father if his father was living with them) and then to travel to the elementary school to vent his rage at society-at-large in his murderous spree and then end his own sad excuse for a life (in his assessment). After all, if there is a God and God, in the end, is responsible for how Adam Lanza turned out by virtue of birth, how can he strike back at & seek revenge on God for this life outcome? He couldn't (obviously) . . . so he instead struck out in rage and anger at other mortals (other fellow humans . . . in this case, his parent and then schoolchildren and anyone else who got in the path of his murderous spree at that school).
To relate back to what Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said (from the CNN interview cited in my last posting immediately prior to this posting): Adam Lanza felt that he couldn't ever live up to the singular definition or standard of "success" in our society (social sucess, career sucess, relational success, life success) and therefore be unable to live a fruitful and rewarding life like everyone else who wasn't debilitated psychiatrically/neurologically like he was . . . and therefore he felt like a failure. And, to paraphrase the words of Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and apply them to this case, Adam Lanza decided to take out his rage on this society that he felt belittles him.
If his mother worked there previously as was first reported, maybe Adam felt that she showed more care and attention to the school children than to him.
We can all name them. We all know the names of these killers, because every GD major news program went "inside the mind of madness" and GLORIFIED these scumbags.
Yes, guns are a problem. Yes, mental health. But the entire world STOPS when a shooter is on the loose. The media has turned reality into a first-person shooter game, with death toll as points.
Something that puzzles me... His mother seemed to hover over him, which is understandable considering his mental problems. Why then, did she leave him alone for 2-3 days? It seems out of character.
Did she simply need a break? Did she give up on him? Was she frightened?
No, the question I asked was WHY are the majority of these mass shootings coming from UPPER CLASS HOMES and NOT THE POOR ONES?
By right, people born and raised in misery in this country should be shooting up everyone in their path, but they're not.
What makes kids from the "good homes" turn into deranged, psycho misfit killers??
So far none of the kids have come from poor or lower income homes.
I guess parents and teachers should be more concerned with "Chad" from the beautiful mansion in the hills before worrying about the kids from the 'wrong side of the tracks' shouldn't they?
They AREN'T all Rich and White you liberal dummy...MOST Mass Shooters are White, but thats simply because 65 percent of the Male population (not counting women since they don't commit mass shootings) in the US is White..
In fact Mass Shootings in the US are done EXACTLY at the same rate per capita per race...Their is NO racial bias for mass shootings and that alone makes it seem like more Whites are doing it since Whites are so under represented in virtually every other violent crime.
44 of the last 67 Mass Shooters have been White (66 percent)
11 of the last 67 Mass Shooters have been Black (16 percent)
Non Hispanic Whites are approximately 65 percent of the USA Male population and Blacks are approximately 15 percent of the USA Male population.
Nice lie you liberal fool....And this data came before the most recent Fort Hood Shooting which involved a Hispanic Shooter (Ivan Lopez) so in reality it should add another shooting for the Hispanic Male area in the pie chart
Blacks are 15 percent of the population yet commit 58-60 percent of the violent crime....Blacks are the LAST people who should be complaining about violent crime since they commit such a hugely disproportionately high amount of it.
Last edited by Mike Libertarian; 04-18-2014 at 09:07 PM..
I have no clue on why Lanza did it.....However I do know that the "Failed Masculinity" hypothesis was brought up as an explanation for Rampage shooters who killed their peers aka people the same age as them.....The shooters feel emasculated compared to their peers (They have no girlfriend or sex life, but mistakenly think that every other Man in their school/town of their own age does, they feel they are not seen as strong or powerful by anyone etc) and than try to use violence and guns as a way to dramatically overcome that and turn their humiliation onto others.
I think "Lack of masculine validation" is another way I have heard it being described, but the victims are always the same age as the shooter as those are the ones he secretly feels unmanly or week compared to. And he's trying to make a point by killing them.
Since Lanza shot a group of 5-6 year olds I don't think that hypothesis holds much ground for him....Obviously he didn't feel emasculated by 1st graders....Nor was he being out-competed over chicks by 1st graders....I'm thinking Lanza was just a legitimate nutjob where as alot of these other Mass Shooters have just been weak and rageful.
The Ghetto Blacks in the hood don't do such things or school shootings because they can just get laid on their own (through Hood tough guy behavior) and get the respect from their fellow "hood" piers.....However like I said Blacks from middle Class families DO commit Mass Shootings (and do it at the same rate as Whites per capita), but they are generally not school mass shootings.....They are often Work Place shootings like Aaron Alexis or Omar Thornton or random attacks like the Long Island Subway Shooter Colin Ferguson.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightlysparrow
No girlfriend. Really. Or, in absence of that, a good friend.
Same problem with the Colorado Joker, and with almost all of these mass shooters.
Having a girlfriend is ego-strengthening for a young man. At that age, parental love alone just doesn't cut it.
I don't think Lanza followed this psychology....But the Batman guy and the other Shooters who killed their peers do....They have no girlfriends, no sex lifes (and they clearly witness that most other men their age having sex lives) little/no friends etc and than feel emasculated or unmanly because of it....They than think of a masculine way to take their "lack of masculinity" humiliation out on their peers and a gun rampage seems like a way to do it.
Every single School Shooter who killed their peers was a virgin....Whether Columbine, VT, Aurora Theater etc.
Jamal from the hood obviously doesn't fit this psychology in the way that a White or Asian introverted nerd loner would.....He's to busy joining the Crips or the Bloods and thuggin it out in the Ghetto......But middle class Blacks have done workplace shootings and other random shootings....Just as many as their % of the population would suggest.
For Lanza like I said I have no idea as to why he did his despicable crime....since he took his anger/humiliation out on 5 year olds which doesn't fit the psychology of the other shooters who killed people there age.
Last edited by Mike Libertarian; 04-18-2014 at 09:06 PM..
Possibly Lanza envisioned those kids as the same kids that bullied him when he was a grade school student there.
Another possibility he was quite deranged and only he knows his reasons.
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