Take someone who is mentally ill/unhinged, add rage, and paranoia, then weaponize this individual, and you’ve got a murderer/mass murderer on your hands.
The “rage + paranoia” is a highly incendiary combination. In these mass murders it strikes me that “paranoia” is almost surely present and necessary—the murderous individual believes that it’s “him against a world” that has “screwed him over,” the world (and everyone in it) becoming a global, generalized “object” and “target” of his violent contempt and rage.
His is a worldview in which he is the “outsider” and everyone else is “on the inside;” in his paranoia, immaturity and narcissism, he has divided the world into these rigid categories—himself on the “outside,” and everyone else “on the inside” (literally and figuratively “on the inside”); the latter become “fair game” for the vengeance he has accumulated and the plans he incubates to ventilate it.
This is how innocent people, and small children, seemingly inexplicably get lopped into the vortex of his rage: as members of the “inside,” everyone in his warped mind becomes a “target”–a generalized, deserving target of his hatred (again, by virtue of merely being “on the inside,” where he, alone, is not.)
I worked for two years, weekly, with a client who, two years after I last saw him at the community mental health center where I worked, gunned down seven children at a hotel swimming pool. He had been full of rage, paranoia and was mentally unhinged. He found himself some weapons, big surprise, with perverse ease. Having weaponized himself, he went to town and shattered the lives of these innocent kids and their families.
He was on the “outside,” perceiving himself to be alone there; where the world, and everyone in it, had it easy, he perceived himself as a “victim,” as an “outsider,” as not belonging, as ignored and persecuted; blatant paranoia and delusions warped his thinking terribly; his rage was chronic and rose as implacably as flood-waters, becoming uncontainable.
Finally, easy access to weapons was the final stage of what, in retrospect, seemed an almost inevitable outcome.
(This article is copyrighted (c) 2012 by Steve Becker, LCSW.)
Truthspeak,
I am sorry about your son. It must be awful to be in your shoes and I don’t know what I would do but I would hope and I believe I would be honest with myself like you are and OxD is. I think to myself a mother brought them into this world so if they really feel they are such a danger……well………..These offspring destroy their own parents and families with their actions.
Skylar, it’s like I typed before: this is our opportunity as individuals and a group of recovering individuals to finally “Do Something” that could not only have an impact, but to spread knowledge about sociopathy and psychopathy through media coverage.
I have, up until Oxy’s request, felt as impotent as a rotten salmon with regard to my own experiences with the exspath and my eldest son. I have felt that my voice has not only been muffled, but completely ignored. From my concerns about my son’s probable actions (based upon PAST patterns) and the exposing and pursuing the exspath’s forgeries, I have cosistently felt that I was insignificant and invalid. Even though I’ve been working on self-validation, being ignored and actually ridiculed by People In Authority is demeaning and defeating.
So, again. This is MY chance to “speak” truthfully and have a positive impact that would not only protect Joyce, but society, as a whole.
As individuals, and as a group in recovery, the simple act of putting our concerns on a paper and placing a postage stamp on an envelope to Joyce’s attorney is a self-validation and helps Donna to spread the word about the disordered.
Whether or not it’s the proper perception, I “owe” this site and its many readers my very life. Without this site and the readers who have posted, responded, written articles, and caused me to THINK, I don’t believe that I would be here typing, this morning.
Eralyn, as for my son and his actions, they are HIS and I don’t own them, nor am I responsible for them. It used to be “awful” to walk my mile, but I put that baby to bed a few years ago. Yes, I still feel love for the infant that I gave birth to. But, the adult that shares my DNA is a complete stranger to me, and I prefer it that way.
Everyone…..from Joseph Stalin to David Koresh to the exspath……was somebody’s child. But, learning that I am not responsible for my son’s choices and actions was a hard lesson, but valuable. I’ve made the calls, I’ve alerted the appropriate agencies, and I’ve done all that I could without sitting on the steps of the Veteran’s Administration Building and dousing myself in gasoline and lighting a match in protest. There is only so much that any human being can do, and I’ve done what I could. Writing my letter to the TX Parole Board is something that I know that I can do.
Brightest blessings
Truthspeak,
I know that feeling of complete inability to control what I know to be true but others just don’t want to see. It goes with the serenity prayer which is hanging on my wall. My personality literally goes until I drop to (which I have dropped) make a difference or alert or right a wrong. It was when I was a teenager that I would attempt to get justice outside of my FOO as their was no justice in my household. Some things never change.
OxD is in that position of trying to get that point across to the parole board which we already know and it’s that these people don’t change.
I wanted to make sure to mention what I kept thinking reading your post and it is if you have a chance and can afford it, I would make a copy of the records or at least the parts which matter most. It’s just a thought. 🙂
Donna creating Lovefraud has helped a lot of people. I read over and over again many who write they would not be here if it weren’t for this board and all the support and information here which validates all of our experiences. It isn’t about political correctness or bitterness. It’s about facts of our lives and those who are disturbed walking among us.
Eralyn, I have made 5 copies of the original documentation and sent copies to the Veteran’s Administration, FBI, Social Services, and to an organization that exposes military fraud as Stolen Valor. That’s a total of 20lbs of paper and probably $60 in shipping. None of the agencies or organizations that I alerted ever responded. Not one.
It is that lack of response that caused me to feel that my concerns were meaningless and that, until he finally does inflict irrevocable harm, he will continue using, abusing, manipulating, and committing fraud. So, I’ve done everything that I could humanly do.
Brightest blessings
Truthspeak,
I know that feeling of complete inability to control what I know to be true but others just don’t want to see. It goes with the serenity prayer which is hanging on my wall. My personality literally goes until I drop to (which I have dropped) make a difference or alert or right a wrong. It was when I was a teenager that I would attempt to get justice outside of my FOO as their was no justice in my household. Some things never change.
OxD is in that position of trying to get that point across to the parole board which we already know and it’s that these people don’t change.
I wanted to make sure to mention what I kept thinking reading your post and it is if you have a chance and can afford it, I would make a copy of the records or at least the parts which matter most. It’s just a thought. 🙂
Truthspeak,
Your attempts to get the word out ARE not meaningless. I picture someone who is shuffling papers, shuffling your very important ones around and around not knowing what to do with them. I believe mainly because of “procedures”. It seems free thinkers and troubleshooters don’t live here anymore. They surely aren’t working in the government jobs. There is nothing in their employee manual about a mother sending a packet to inform them of what may be to come. I bet they don’t even have procedures to cover their arses after you sent it. If anyone runs across this info you’ve sent any time soon, they are going to be VERY uncomfortable with it. It’s protocol and nonfunctioning without direction. I think this is much of the problem with all corporate America.
I thought of the copies as I imagined much trauma if something does happen and I would not want you handing that over without the originals in your posession.
This is so wrong on so many levels. I also believe there is absolutely no line to be drawn in the sand for a parent or loved one who is disordered, just like living with an abuser. We don’t know where we finally say “this is hopeless. I have done all I can possibly do” and be done with it. Heck my parents threshold was very low. I was disowned for “being the family problem” after exposing abuse that was confessed to me and was done to ME! My life hasn’t been a picnic but I sure wouldn’t have minded having a kid like myself. I got good grades, started my own business, was self sufficient and left home at 17 not asking for anything. They actively took part in the destruction of my life and I don’t even have a traffic ticket. I am just the scapegoat. So the line is different to each person.
I believe like OxD does. Liars are not to be tollerated. Voilent criminals will not get support from me. Know the bucket of cold water for what it is.
Biohazard father of my child’s aunt got the water bucket upon her first visit with him when he was released from prison. She went to visit him and saw in his eyes what he was doing to us. She says it is absolutely NOT what she wanted to see but she became VERY concerned because he is sober doing this to us. See his excuse was drugs and/or the devil. His mother still believes he’s changed and he is using the crap out of that. (praise JESUS) I have become a money grubbing, alienating bitter mother who won’t let him see his daughter. BUT I have to wonder if his mama knows with his bible in tow, he has a brand new order of protection from a man who filed it against her crazy more polished from prison son……….?
My first love/sociopath or psychopath, I left no stone unturned in attempts to give him excuses while giving myself NONE. His parents came to my door 20 years after I had first been with him and apologized to me. His mother said she didn’t want to believe it was her son. While this was bitter sweet, it was way late as they validated my damaged feelings about myself all those years which I learned from my upbringing. I do understand and I am grateful for the validation. Only I know how much they hurt me by blaming me for years. 🙂
Just a little food for thought about school massacres.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster
What strikes me is that these people can be easily profiled. They ARE all the same. They may not all explode due to luck or opportunity, but they all have the potential for violence, guns or no guns.
With their extreme intelligence, they can rig explosions or sabotage aircraft. It’s not hard for them because they take GREAT PLEASURE in it. They love knowing that their victims are taken by surprise and NEVER SAW IT COMING.
It’s true that guns make it easier for them but lack of guns has never stopped them.
I can imagine that working with a client who is paranoid and who is full a rage and capable of minimizing any acting out he does is dangerous in itself. There is more to this story I think. In Canada we are bound by law to report to police anyone who poses a danger to themselves or others. Often this ends up escalating the stress and can result in aweful things happening ie. the police haven’t a clue about how to deal with psychotically angry people.
I think it takes a team of very skilled and experienced people to work with a seriously disturbed paranoid. You can’t make them take medication or force them to get psychiatric help. Add a minor or major head injury to that mix and it means meltdown.
I would think that this affected you deeply. However, it is society that pays for not doing anything about its dark side. One person can’t stop it. One therapist can’t stop a homocidal paranoid delusional person from thinking that it is ok to kill because the bad guys deserve it. It is part of the psychopaths profile to minimize their crimes and blame the victim.
I live in Canada and lots of people have guns. They don’t usually kill people. Not at the same rate as in the States. Why are people killing each other so much? Why are people so afraid? I live alone in the country and I don’t have a gun. There is even a bear that walks through my property. It does not occur to me to get a gun.
When the Constitution was written a gun was a blunderbuss that could fire one shot and that was it. There is a climate of rage brewing in the States and people are afraid of each other. It is being promoted by gun manufacturers, violent movies, violent video games, tv that makes people into fools, disenfranchisement, poverty etc. Put a gun in a peaceful person’s hand and nothing happens. It is not about guns.
sea storm:
Great question! What IS it about America? I have asked the same question. We are all humans, we are all flawed, we are all sinful by nature no matter where we come from or what nationality we are so WHY are there so many more murders in American compared to other countries? I would love to know. It’s a cause worth investigating and studying.
Perhaps we have to start thinking about the necessity of *profiling* patients who exhibit a certain frequency and intensity of very specific negative behaviors and negative thought patterns that are red flags warning of impending violence directed at either the self or at others, or both: patients with severe paranoia or delusional thinking,
perceived narcissistic injury (they feel shamed or humiliated) grudge-holding/grudge-collecting,
a sense of entitlement to seek revenge,
the outsider mentality,
feeling disrespected or disenfranchised,
feeling frustrated or blocked RE achieving a goal,
feeling “robbed” of an earned reward,
etc.
And if such a patient seems to be getting worse or even if they have simply ceased improving, then perhaps such patients need to be identified and placed under professional 24/7 supervision in some way.
In each case of mass murder and homicide/suicide and even serial killings, the perpetrator has been mentally ill yet free to move about unrestricted in his community, with easy access to transportation and weapons.
It seems to me that the sad conclusion is that when certain mentally ill individuals reach a certain point of deteriorating functionality, they need to be assigned a team of full-time “babysitters” or locked up and medically supervised for their own safety and for the safety of others before their freedom results in tragedy.