Is this a new thing?

Loxley

Water Chip? Been There, Done That
Are you serious?

Because this has been happening forever. The first case that jumps to mind is all the way back from 1966. Whitman killed 15 and wounded more than 30.
 
I do not condone this behavior in the least, but to me it seems to be a new form of suicide that has become popular in more affluent countries. The killing is just a very selfish and dramatic way of saying F--- you instead of a suicide note.

Killing others while killing yourself isn't relegated to Western culture - just look at kamikaze pilots or suicide bombings. But those are usually for nationalistic/political/religious reasons. I think in some ways people that commit suicide by going on a shooting spree and then killing themselves, have made themselves and their misery the center of their world-view to the extent that by going on their murder-suicide rampage they are expressing their own selfish personal political/religious protest.
 
Loxley said:
America starts the round with a rabid maniac driving around killing passerby. Killing ten.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/ten-die-in-alabama-shooting-spree-20090311-8ukj.html
Europe answers with a rabid maniac in a school shooting. Killing 15.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7936817.stm

Now I know some people here are a bit old so answer me. Is this a new trend? Or were there cases in the 1980s or 1970s of the same kind of nutjobs shooting wildly at innocent people?

The issue is that in the past it was legal. You had most of the time enough wars every 2-3 years.

People going crazy was always a issue. Its not a modern phenomenon. Like child abuse or rape. Historians investigated that since the first recording of child molesting it stastisticaly is not much different compared to today with the relation of population in mind of course.

Global media and news almost in real time obvously just show more of such things so it seems like there is more violance around.
 
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