And it occurs to me that what we might call the failure of integration and failure of empathy which drives all school shooters is now on wider display. These students are not so very different from the kids who take up arms against the slings and arrows of a world which comes to feel like it hates them. They are not unwilling to tell the “world” to go fuck itself. They are not unwilling to use powerful social violence against anyone who dares stand against them. I would not want to be a kid in any of these schools with known NRA parents, at least in the bluer areas of the country.
This video game world is pervasive. This violent movie world is pervasive. They are all marinated in the same ritual experiences, which teach them to denigrate others, to depersonalize them, and at the same time to fail to properly individuate and acculturate to a world where they are not just allowed but required to think for themselves, and form their own opinions. The facts are that they are not taught to think critically–in far too many cases–and that they face social violence if and when they form unpopular conclusions.
I can’t know what we are building as a society, but I think the achievement of generalized mental health is a vastly more important project than flying or self driving cars, better computers, or a trip to Mars.