I read another interesting essay (also from Time), the thesis of which is that it's not bullying, media violence or our gun-happy culture that is to blame for creating serial killers and mass murderers, but extreme narcissism.
Only a narcissist could decide that his alienation should be underlined in the blood of strangers. All infants are narcissists...but as we grow, we ought to learn that other people have lives independent of our own. It's not their job to please us, applaud for us or even notice us--let alone die because we're unhappy. A generation ago, the social critic Christopher Lasch diagnosed narcissism as the signal disorder of contemporary American culture. The cult of celebrity, (and) the marketing of instant gratification were signs of a society regressing toward the infant stage.
I don't know about you, but this makes a whole lot of sense to me. Lots of us felt isolated and were picked on in our youth, yet the vast majority of us don't grow up with a lust for vengeance and a raging Christ complex. Mental illness is a huge factor in these acts of terrific violence but, and unfortunately, so many of our budget-strapped schools are making the decision to eliminate those school psychologists who can identify the violent narcissists, proving that lessons aren't being learned. I find this to be quite scary indeed.
Only a narcissist could decide that his alienation should be underlined in the blood of strangers. All infants are narcissists...but as we grow, we ought to learn that other people have lives independent of our own. It's not their job to please us, applaud for us or even notice us--let alone die because we're unhappy. A generation ago, the social critic Christopher Lasch diagnosed narcissism as the signal disorder of contemporary American culture. The cult of celebrity, (and) the marketing of instant gratification were signs of a society regressing toward the infant stage.
I don't know about you, but this makes a whole lot of sense to me. Lots of us felt isolated and were picked on in our youth, yet the vast majority of us don't grow up with a lust for vengeance and a raging Christ complex. Mental illness is a huge factor in these acts of terrific violence but, and unfortunately, so many of our budget-strapped schools are making the decision to eliminate those school psychologists who can identify the violent narcissists, proving that lessons aren't being learned. I find this to be quite scary indeed.
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