[verbin217]

"If you walk into a school, start shooting and are captured alive - I think you just forfeited any claim on life or potential rehabilitation."

Unfortunately most of the people who do this are children. They're usually in situations people would rather ignore. They're desperate. They want attention and they get it at some price that's ultimately... above market.

[eric_the_read]

According to http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-m... the average age of mass shooters in general is 35.

[verbin217]

I was only talking about school shootings but I still didn't expect it to be that high. Too bad it didn't have the median.

[omginternets]

>Unfortunately most of the people who do this are children.

eric_the_read's comment notwithstanding, people subjected to extreme circumstances in their childhood years are less likely to be rehabilitated, not more.

The argument is that someone willing to shoot up a school for attention is beyond rehabilitation. His age is irrelevant to someone making that claim, and possibly argues in his favor.

[verbin217]

The attention we're talking about here isn't narcissistic supply. It's basic interpersonal human concern. Shooting up a school because you're being systematically starved of your basic human needs isn't nearly as bad as you just made is sound. Otherwise I never contended with anything else you said. I do think they deserve a chance at rehabilitation but also that they're less likely to attain it.

[omginternets]

I'm just pointing out that your argument isn't very effective. I actually agree with you, but someone taking the position that school shooters aren't rehabilitable isn't going to care whether or not they're minors. Their argument supersedes notions of maturity.

[verbin217]

You're not refuting an argument I made. Read it again. I was simply trying to highlight the point at which we might actually have some meaningful effect on the problem. Hint: punishment is irrelevant.