As stated in our opening article, the patterns that emerge from the study of the full history of school shootings in the United States do not support the narrative in mainstream media that shootings with AR-15s have become an epidemic. In fact, most mass shootings are committed with handguns.
what is the "hypocrisy related to the crisis of masculinity."? And if a homeowner in a state with a high number of guns, shoots and kills a home invader how is that categorized? Last but not least
"right‐wing terror organizations, neo‐Nazi groups, skinhead and motorcycle gangs, which have engaged in more terrorism than Muslim jihadist groups" This list from the CIA "Facts book includes 60 Islamic Jihad Terror groups. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/references/terrorist-organizations/ The Hells Angels are now a bunch of potbellied Boomers.
The shooting death of a single home invader would not fall under any of the existing definitions of mass shootings.
And yes, Larkins' commentary is peculiar and establishes a clear ideological bent - that's why I highlighted it. He is considered an expert on this subject but routinely mischaracterizes all of the risk factors.
The single greatest predictor of violence by far is trait narcissism. The higher the level of trait narcissism, the higher the risk of violent outbursts of all kinds.
There is a similar quote from Larkin in our article "1999 Columbine: Motivations and Excuses," where he claims that nearly all mass shooters leave behind "right wing rants," and we highlight the contradictory nature of his claims in different writings on the subject
Here is an excerpt:
In the Wiley Handbook, Larkin writes, “The fundamental contradictions… between social status and masculinity percolated into an ideology in which “civilized” men… practice eugenics in the betterment of the human race.”
In Comprehending Columbine, Larkin theorized that the massacre triggered a kind of slow revolution of outcast, bullied, and otherwise disenfranchised students, "An overtly political act in the name of oppressed students victimized by their peers… The Columbine shootings redefined such acts not merely as revenge but as a means of protest of bullying, intimidation, social isolation, and public rituals of humiliation."
We also mention in the same article that the FBI’s professional opinion was that Harris was a narcissistic psychopath and Klebold had paranoid depression, and that Harris's use of nazi iconography is typical of teenagers using shock tactics as a coping mechanism to signal a need for support while hiding intense feelings of fear, pain, and low self-esteem.
Although some of his work is insightful, overall Larkin is highly questionable as an authority on this subject, and his work seems to skew towards supporting whatever popular narrative is currently trending regarding motivating factors for these behaviors.
Thank you so much! It was a labor of love; this series took an insane amount of work to research and put together, and this article in particular took almost a year to research and complete.
what is the "hypocrisy related to the crisis of masculinity."? And if a homeowner in a state with a high number of guns, shoots and kills a home invader how is that categorized? Last but not least
"right‐wing terror organizations, neo‐Nazi groups, skinhead and motorcycle gangs, which have engaged in more terrorism than Muslim jihadist groups" This list from the CIA "Facts book includes 60 Islamic Jihad Terror groups. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/references/terrorist-organizations/ The Hells Angels are now a bunch of potbellied Boomers.
The shooting death of a single home invader would not fall under any of the existing definitions of mass shootings.
And yes, Larkins' commentary is peculiar and establishes a clear ideological bent - that's why I highlighted it. He is considered an expert on this subject but routinely mischaracterizes all of the risk factors.
The single greatest predictor of violence by far is trait narcissism. The higher the level of trait narcissism, the higher the risk of violent outbursts of all kinds.
There is a similar quote from Larkin in our article "1999 Columbine: Motivations and Excuses," where he claims that nearly all mass shooters leave behind "right wing rants," and we highlight the contradictory nature of his claims in different writings on the subject
Here is an excerpt:
In the Wiley Handbook, Larkin writes, “The fundamental contradictions… between social status and masculinity percolated into an ideology in which “civilized” men… practice eugenics in the betterment of the human race.”
In Comprehending Columbine, Larkin theorized that the massacre triggered a kind of slow revolution of outcast, bullied, and otherwise disenfranchised students, "An overtly political act in the name of oppressed students victimized by their peers… The Columbine shootings redefined such acts not merely as revenge but as a means of protest of bullying, intimidation, social isolation, and public rituals of humiliation."
We also mention in the same article that the FBI’s professional opinion was that Harris was a narcissistic psychopath and Klebold had paranoid depression, and that Harris's use of nazi iconography is typical of teenagers using shock tactics as a coping mechanism to signal a need for support while hiding intense feelings of fear, pain, and low self-esteem.
Although some of his work is insightful, overall Larkin is highly questionable as an authority on this subject, and his work seems to skew towards supporting whatever popular narrative is currently trending regarding motivating factors for these behaviors.
This is a great article! Enjoy reading it.
Thank you so much! It was a labor of love; this series took an insane amount of work to research and put together, and this article in particular took almost a year to research and complete.