A pretty good article in the news about ...

... what motivates school violence.

Turns out it is hard to predict. Like all criminal behavior.

In criminology, it's called the "prediction problem."

What creates a mass killer?

If you're wondering who else in the United States might fit a "profile" of becoming a mass killer, just look around: They are everywhere, and they're most likely harmless. FULL STORY | OPINION: PREDICTING MASS MURDER IS IMPOSSIBLE

BUT, if there is a criticism of this article, it is that it fails to note the clear profile that has emerged in such cases.

Almost universally, these guys are white males, with easy access to guns, in rural areas, that were bullied or tormented, that suffered serious stress or strain in their lives including mental illness, and that told not one but multiple people in advance.

The problem is, most people who fit this profile don't shoot up schools. So how do you stop the one who does?

The only solution is to take them all seriously.

Random crime stories from NC today

Just saw this on Yahoo when checking my mail.
Iredell authorities make record heroin haul- Charlotte Observer
Teen assualted, robbed in Charlotte high…- WCNC
24 men charged in NC child porn cases- Rock Hill Herald

Weird, no?

Nothing about whether the heroin bust makes any difference.
Or how rare such attacks at schools are.
Or why we should care about guys looking at porn on their home computers.

Just random crime news to scare the heck out of you.

Another Columbine?

Police in Tampa, FL say they thwarted another Columbine attack.

The story is all over the news, including overseas. Her is the story in the UK's The Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/17/tampa-police-thwart-teen-columbine

See the link to Columbine? He wanted to hav

It should be pointed out that the Cole more victims than Columbine.

That is it.

So there is no link.

Notice the lack of context. How often does this occur? What was his motivation? How safe are schools? What is actually most dangerous to kids?

This young man ahd "bomb making materials" at his house, whatever that means (heck, we all do).

It should be pointed out that the Columbine attackers also used bombs, but they all failed to detonate. What is to say this kid was not just as inept?

Yet, the media needs us to be afraid, even of things that are extremely rare, so that we do not focus on bigger issue that might call into question the status quo.

You'll find no such answer in this story or any others on this "event."

Love how this story ends

"Students are safe. Police are in control of the school."

I love that ending. Because it implies that without the police students would not be safe. That dangerous people would be in control of the school.

As noted in the book, schools are extremely safe places.

Kids are much more likely to be hurt and killed at home. By people they know.

School violence is extremely rare. Perhaps that is why it is news.

http://www.katu.com/news/national/112955259.html