1. From the article:

Instead, given modern journalistic trends, follow-up articles tend to focus less on the perpetrator's individual behavioral history and personality and may stress some relevant societal ill (e.g., the pressures of bourgeois life, the problems of bullying or taunting in school, racism or other prejudice, poverty, availability of weapons, the failure of the mental health or criminal justice systems). While important, these issues don't get at the essential human "why" of the crime.

...and:

Even with such training, it is daunting to look directly at human evil. Confronting these issues runs against the very tide of our "non-judgmental" society.

For a psychologist from the San Francisco Bay area, this guy actually has some decent points. I'm suprised the PI let these slip through...

R

Posted by: Randy Mueller on April 1, 2006 08:52 PM

2. Just because they have a viewpoint just to the left of Lenin's doesn't mean they aren't _also_ completely incompetent.

Posted by: Al on April 1, 2006 09:13 PM

3. I presume that normal is in quotes because some people are able to present a veneer of 'normalcy' while fighting some very severe demons. The BTK killer in Kansas is a good example. No one suspected him at all. To everyone who knew him, he was 'normal'. But in reality, he had some severe mental problems. It's basically a worthless editorial. Some people can hide abnormalcy to the point that no one will ever know that the individual in question is clearly troubled.

Posted by: thehim on April 2, 2006 12:25 AM

4. The problem with liberals is their failure to understand that the fundamental nature of humanity is to gravitate toward chaos ane evil in the absence of justice.

There is no justice when we try to justify a mudering idiot as a victim of society, such as the liberal press are attempting. Even when the real victims of the crime may not be angels, the perptrator remains evil. He is not a victim of drugs or of guns or anything else. Just evil - nothing more.

Posted by: Deadwood on April 2, 2006 12:31 AM

5. Normal people don't commit mass murder, but Rethuglican presidents do, and lie about it.

Posted by: Quiet Liberal on April 2, 2006 10:02 AM

6. Deadwood,

Well said. If we inject a sense of consequences for actions into society, we will see it improve. The current culture of moral relativism and decline of traditional moral outlets such as religion, contribute to the fall of our civility.

The fix is quite simple. First, we need to teach people from an early age of the value of critical thinking and rational choices. Showing a child good choice leads to a sense of pride and confidence. Couple that with a return to the nuclear family where a child is raised with love and two parents and we won't see as many humans like Kyle Huff being turned out. Latch-key kids learn that they can get away with a lot more. Having a parent around at all times sets up a moral compass that will guide the child in the future when there is no longer a parent present 24/7.

Right now, there's a huge class of our youth that are aimless and vacuous. They've never been taught many of the basic lessons that we all learned. They see life as pointless and hopeless and that's reinforced by poor teachers, poor role models and poor or non existent relationships amongst their immediate family. They watch way too much TV that glorifies all of the above, and as a result are tuned in to the culture of moral relativism and progressivism that pervades Hollywood.

And frankly, we need to get our justice system back to the point where it's a bit more tough and a bit more swift. If would be criminals knew there were more immediate consequences for their actions, they would be less likely to commit crime in the first place.

Posted by: Jeff B. on April 2, 2006 11:38 AM

7. The headline:

"'Normal' people don't commit mass murder"

Duh

"Unfortunately, bizarre killings are much too
common..."

If they were that common, they wouldn't be bizarre. I guess what he means is that even one inadequately explained killing is too common.

The gist of this article seems to be a criticisim of the news coverage of this event, with an attempt to give a more realistic diagnosis. What he is failing to mention is that all news outlets are biased by the need to get eyeballs. If they printed only known facts without speculation, innuendo, and provocative headlines, they could publish monthly.

The idea that a completely non-threatening person could suddenly crack and kill random strangers has a visceral effect on our lizard brain instinct to survive. That sells papers....along with sex.

Posted by: Aaron on April 2, 2006 01:13 PM

8. QL:
What about leftists like Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot? That's true mass murder. Millions were butchered for no other reason that they didn't toe the Communist party line.
And by the way, the murderers in the Middle East aren't American or allied troops, but Muslim thugs who hate all of the West, including you. But you're so blinded by hatred for Bush that you and your fellow libs won't realize that until it's too late.

Posted by: MES on April 2, 2006 02:45 PM

9. I bet the liberal media are searching like crazy for anything that can tie Kyle Huff to conservatives, gun nuts, right wing wackos, neocons, etc. or any other label they have for those whom with they disagree politically. They love the fact that he shot up the moose sculpture a few years back so they can advance the "anti-gun" action line.

Who cares. People do stupid things all the time. We focus a lot of attention on a mass killing like this, but people do far more total damage in subtle ways through their bad driving habits, poor health habits, etc. on a daily basis. This is news simply because it fits an abnormal sensational pattern. Nothing left to see here folks. Thanks Kyle Huff, you did us all a big favor by shooting yourself in the head and rendering justice swift and complete. Would only that OJ, Joseph Duncan, Ted Bundy, Tookie Williams, Gary Ridgeway, etc. have done the same.

This will fade from the media in the next few weeks or so, and that will be that.

Posted by: Jeff B. on April 2, 2006 03:19 PM

10. What, we needed a psychologist to tell us all that normal people don't commit murder? Most of us had mothers and fathers who let us know that, real early! They must think we're imbeciles!

Posted by: katomar on April 2, 2006 03:29 PM

11. While we're discussing motives, let's talk about Zaslav's. Since there's no defendant whose trial to expertly appear at for $500 per hour, Zaslav may be guilty of conducting a little advance BD for the next tragedy, crossing his fingers that next time the defendant is stopped before he kills himself.

Posted by: Organization Man on April 2, 2006 03:54 PM

12. Just taking issue with the headline, not the article which wasn't badly written but hardly a St Paul on the road to Damscus insight.

Normal people can and do commit mass murder, given the right environment and encouragement. Just look at Nazi Germany, Communist Cambodia, tribal Rwanda and many many other examples through history.

All what you need is an ideology that splits people into "them" and "us", and have leaders who encourage violent methods of dealing with "them".

Posted by: Pauly on April 2, 2006 09:12 PM

13. Who are they to judge?

Posted by: JDH on April 3, 2006 07:39 AM

14. Normal people don't go to raves.

If we are to find a reason I think that we must look to the rave scene itself. The music that they dance to is called "Trance" and the purpose its beat and the lights that is put with it is to put one into an altered state. Along with that the mind altering drugs and alcohol and the tiredness from staying up all night, one of these things alone might not do it, but flashing lights, drugs, tiredness, the relentless pounding, anyone who knows about how to put someone into an altered state (I wouldn't call it mind control because that is too extreme, more like mind alteration) knows those elements make for a dangerous combination.

Many cults have been known to use such techiques. And the CIA has experimented with it some.

Posted by: Eric on April 3, 2006 12:21 PM

15. You only have to hear some of this "trance" music to understand what continuous long term exposure to such lights and beat sounds can do to ones consciousness.

And then you mix in the drugs and alcohol with their known mind altering qualities.

And then fatigue from staying up all night or for some many nights.

It isn't strange that this happened. What is strange is that it doesn't happen more often.

For am example of the music you can go here.

http://www.eye-candy.info

We really should be using this stuff at Gitmo. I think we would have great effect with it.

Posted by: Eric on April 3, 2006 12:28 PM

16. If he goes on trial here in Thurston, he might be able to get off on all charges because _____

you fill in the blank....

-he's angry about Iraq and it's bush's fault(3 pts)
-it wasn't a bank nor was it bank customers he shot (2 pts)
-he was really a minority woman in the country illegally and was beaten for years by all of these domestic partners and the only way to escape the controlling cycle was to kill them all (1 pt)
-the judges don't like the prosecutors here because they sometimes don't play ball with the Paula Casey court money train. (10 pts for knowing thurston politics).

Posted by: Andy on April 3, 2006 01:36 PM

17. It was the Seattle Freeze.

http://charybdis3001.blogspot.com/2006/04/rot-at-heart-of-seattle-kyle-huff-and.html

The ravers invited Huff because he gave off \"bad vibes\". Think of it as like the movie \"Carrie\". Carrie was eventually made prom queen as a kind of elaborate joke. Everybody was in on it but her. This is what this looks like to me. They invited Huff as part of an similar joke. Peace, love, unity, respect (PLUR)? No, just ordinary, banal, tiresome teenage cruelty.

Posted by: Steve on April 4, 2006 03:14 AM

18. Here is a good explanation.

http://astrodynamics.blogspot.com/2006/03/motive-behind-massacre.html

Blame it on the stars.

But my favorite theory right now is the Seattle Freeze.

http://charybdis3001.blogspot.com/2006/04/rot-at-heart-of-seattle-kyle-huff-and.html

Posted by: Steve on April 4, 2006 11:29 AM

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