Profile of a School Shooter: Ingredient 4 - A Sense of Alienation

In almost all cases these boys felt as if they were separate from the rest of the world. They were misunderstood at home, they were teased at school. As a result they began to develop an "it's me against the world" mindset. They fail to understand that image isn't everything. They felt they had no friends. they felt they had no support, and they felt like things would never change for them.

You notice that I say they "felt." In many cases it seems they were not as alone as they imagined themselves to be. After the fact many had friends or acquaintances come forward who had no idea the boy felt that isolated and alone in the world. Perception is 9/10th of our reality. They felt alienated, even when they weren't. This became their reality.

Whether they were alone in life or not, these boys felt alone. In most cases, they had a severely damaged self-image. Many of them would have gone on to lead happy and successful lives. They would have gotten married, they would have had families. They couldn't see that future. All they saw was their deep loneliness. If you can for a moment imagine facing the prospect of a life spent in isolation, you can easily see the loss of hope that accompanies thoughts of the future.

Feeling rejected in the real world, they found hope a fantasy world whatever it may have been. Within a book, or a movie, or a video game they felt powerful. This world accepted them. In many cases it wasn't just the violence, but the feeling of being in control while in that world that attracted them. A loser in real life often seeks out a way to become a hero in their fantasy world. Eventually, they got so caught up in the fantasy this it became their reality.

Movies like Natural Born Killers and book like Rage were about people who felt powerless taking their power back by force. Video games like Doom helped them find a world where they were in control. One of the Columbine shooters even built a Doom level that mirrored their school.

This loss of self within a fantasy world made them feel more powerful, but only served to isolate them further. For one reason or another the boys never talked and they never found anyone to listen. By the time they got our attention it was far too late.