[asveikau]

I have sometimes read manifestos of perpetrators of similar incidents because I was trying to understand what possesses a person to do such a thing. The most common conclusion I have made from that is they were mentally ill. They have varying levels of rationalization. Sometimes they have touching stories of their childhood or their grievances, even though they are actually insane and the grievances don't make sense.

[young_unixer]

> I have sometimes read manifestos of perpetrators of similar incidents because I was trying to understand what possesses a person to do such a thing.

I think I understand where the frustration comes from, at least for mass shooters in the recent years. It comes from the hypocrisy of the progressive discourse pushed by mainstream media.

Of course their manifestos don't make any sense. In part because 95% of people (including me) couldn't write a coherent and logical political essay to save their lives. But also because they don't understand where their anger comes from. They vaguely know mainstream media is manipulating people and pushing pernicious ideas, but they can't explain why they're wrong. So they just resort to saying the opposite of what mainstream media is saying.

"You say we should have open borders and everyone that says otherwise is a racist bigot? Oh I'll teach you what it's like to be a racist bigot. How do you like that?"

"I'm transphobic for saying that a trans woman is biologically male? I'll show you what a real transphobe looks like"

Meanwhile, progressive media keeps publicly jerking off to their moral superiority and writing articles about how they're saving the world from these abhorrent alt-right white supremacists, which just keeps adding fuel to the fire.

This is not a new idea, Rob Hoffman has a good article about how Trump rose to power thanks to 'liberal smugness' [0], but I think everyone knows that already.

[0] https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/11/how-the-left...

[simon1ltd]

I read “ A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy“ by Sue Klebold last year. It’s on my must-read book for anyone seeking insight.

Mental illness definitely played a role, and a mix of disorders turned into a toxic mix.

This book is a no-holds-barred look into the events from the mother of one of the perpetrators. She apologizes for his actions, and for not being able to stop him — but there’s absolutely no victim blaming.

Very much worth the read.