What is the psychology of people who idiolize mass shooters, sees them as heroes and replicate their acts? - eviltoast

Im not fully grasping how the mind of those “copycats” works. People who are obsessed with Columbine for example, and want to do a mass shooting. That is their thought process? Is there some study I can read exploring what’s on their minds?

  • qooqie@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    37
    ·
    10 months ago

    Most are in desperate situations and are truly hurting. So they see someone do that and they tend to think “that would teach the people I view as hurting me a lesson”. They then commit the act and realize it was absolutely not what they wanted and a stark realization of what they did and what their life will become dawns on them. And so they commit suicide.

    This is not a blanket statement, but in general this appears to be what’s going on

    • jeffw@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      29
      ·
      10 months ago

      I agree with most of what you said, but I think the decision to end their lives is often premeditated, not a sudden decision where they realize they fucked up. It’s why some will leave notes or manifestos behind.

      • qooqie@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        10 months ago

        Some for sure. That’s why this isn’t a generalization, but after hearing some psychiatric interviews with ones who were caught they often said it wasn’t what they wanted and they knew their life was over and they were really scared

    • richieadler@lemmy.myserv.one
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      So they see someone do that and they tend to think “that would teach the people I view as hurting me a lesson”.

      I’d bet that works because it seems to be is a culture of solving problems with people you don’t like by shooting said people.

      Damn, that could perfectly be a short description of the US foreign policy.