The Latest School Shooting

[slipstrike0159]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

So a boy at my school was murdered yesterday and it's left me pondering.

- Is it normal for people to kill people?

What I mean is, is it apart of human nature for people to kill their own kind?

I think that what you need to understand is that as humans (or even as animals) we have a natural tendency to show superiority and to protect what we want to keep. Killing has always been an instinct and it can be triggered by pressure, or even severe anger. Anger at other people because they believe differently from you, from fear that you may lose something, or from the thought of being less superior on the evolutionary chain. I think that our chances of killing own species increased a lot because we have the ability to think complicated thoughts and interact with others based on these thoughts.

Im not saying that murder is excusible by any means or reason, im just saying that in nature, we have an instinct to kill. There are many reasons that may push someone to something like that because of our complicated thinking abilities, but because of that ability we should also be able to see what a bad idea it is and why it should not be followed through with. Personally i see it as all being related to personal restraint that is affected by what you are taught and what you believe.

[Cj_leonine]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

I think that what you need to understand is that as humans (or even as animals) we have a natural tendency to show superiority and to protect what we want to keep. Killing has always been an instinct and it can be triggered by pressure, or even severe anger. Anger at other people because they believe differently from you, from fear that you may lose something, or from the thought of being less superior on the evolutionary chain. I think that our chances of killing own species increased a lot because we have the ability to think complicated thoughts and interact with others based on these thoughts.

I think your'e right

[Just drawing conclusions from what I've seen]In cases like this though I don't think we kill as apart of our instincts but more of a feeling to really just hurt something when people feel certain intense emotions which sometimes lead to murder.

[slipstrike0159]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

Yeah thats what i meant but what i was also saying was that because of those intense emotions and whatnot that primal need to kill is invoked at least somewhat. It might even be that they just think about it for a minute, it all depends on how long they linger on the thought and actually let their emotions take hold of them.

[KC-THE-KING]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

I have personally questioned bringing a gun to school once...I dont think tis a good idea to post on here...but im going to seeing as I have already told my school about it. I wanted to do it because of people...constantly hammering on me and my ideas...i guess i should have just learned to shut my mouth. But, I can't do that because to me it was a good idea...I have always been a very agressive person and relitively violent (i hospitalized a kid for pantsing me). I know that when I thought about it i wanted to make them know that its not alright...ITS NOT OK TO HARRASS PEOPLE FOR THEIR IDEAS, CLOTHING, SEX, GENDER, RACE, PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, OR WORDS.

I see that what TrueBOSS has said makes the closest comparison to what I am saying...Yes by purposely harrassing someone because they think differently they are bringing punishment upon themselves, and I personally feel that if I have to be the one to exact that punishment, It is really my duty to make it happen.

Sc hools don't do anything about it. Teachers tell the students to stop and they simply don't take it seriously. When I brought it to the principal he said he would stop it...the people who were harrassing me just used that against me. They called me a pussy and whatnot. If the school system can't do anything...then the police...and they simply showed me out of the Police School Liasons office, assumed it was nothing...

At this point it had been going on for long enough...I decided to take one of the harrassers out...I am a decently built guy...I took him against the wall, and broke his nose. They punished me for my violent act. Understandable. But now that they knew I was serious i assumed something would be done...people don't usually do that, due to the consequences, which I like the current physical consequences. But, as I was given a citation and In School suspension, I was still not heard and after I was allowed back to class the 3 days later I was harrassed for that as well...It is still going on...but I realize that a gun is not going to help me at all...one person isnt worth that...but with the current news coverage it is getting and threads like this it may actually do something. If people realize that some people will go to extremes, even to silence one person. The news will make people know that this does happen *from her on is worded incorrectly and is subject to a little flexibility* and that if you dont want to end up at gun point you should learn some respect. I guess thats really all i have to say at this point...I think i need serious help... I dont know. I hope that people realize that words hurt more than fists...much deeper and much longer...a bone will heal, a soul will not.

[slipstrike0159]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

I understand full well what you are saying, but one thing you gotta realize is that no matter how much of it goes on it is still just small stuff that you shouldnt give any thought into. If people always worried about the little things other people did, then no one would be friends and everyone would hate each other. If anything, you should learn to not let it bother you. I know what you are talking about because i thought about doing that once but it was only for a moment, i never took it anywhere. I thought the best thing would be to leave that school and go to another one but i decided to stay even though it didnt stop. Later i basically stopped caring what they said altogether, we moved up into high school and none of it was a problem anymore. If you distance yourself from them and not let it get to you, then you wont have a problem and thats what i learned.

[Kekiz]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

Have you read Lord of the Flies? It's relevant.

Ive read battle royale though which is similar. Maybe not to a school shooting but to lord of the flies. The kids immediatly feel cornered and decide its kill or be killed so they find it to be natural i guess.

I believe anyone who would kill someone has some kind of mental problem though. At least in this case of a school shooting.

[Jokee]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

- Is it normal for people to kill people?
"kid got shot gotta go post about it on FFR"
There, I said it for you.

I saw a reportage (don't know if this word exists in english lol) from National Geographic. It was about monkeys (chimpanzees (still don't know if this word exists in enlgish (wow!! 3 paratheses in a row!))) killing monkeys from another "gang" or "clan", for nothing, just like street gangs. :s

[aperson]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

Violence against your own is probably evolutionary, since us and our little ancestors over there in the jungle are one of the only ones that do such things to our own. We are the only two species that engage in genocide.

It would be interesting to learn why such a behavior would evolve though, since it seems anti-evolutionary. There must be a benefit of being violent towards others of the same species. It could also be a by-product of greater self realization.

Society as a whole sort of functions as a mechanism to try and strip violent, primative behaviors from us but that doesn't mean they're not still there. That and people arn't and will never be born equals, hence differences in ideologies and morality arise, and as such there are all sorts of different people, including ones that wreck havok on society.


The upcoming generation? I mean, they should be similar to other generations. Violent. We've been violent as a species for a million years now, that isn't going to change unless something dramatic happens.

Who do we blame? Who do you think? Whoever the shooter was. Pointing the finger doesn't solve anything, but a key self realization is that you and only you are responsible for your actions (excluding special cases). It is self evident that part of the problem is bad parenting, but in the end a child must learn to shape themselves and take responsibilities.

I wouldn't blame my bad habits or poor choices on my moms parenting skills, but rather on myself.

I'd say the sudden appearance of school shootings (i.e. they didn't exist 15 years ago really, now they are all over the place) probably has nothing to do with evolution... It's a phenomenological occurence.

"Why does it develop if it's not good for evolution?" Who said every strategy was good for evolution. It's not like a bad strategy arises than immediately appears. Murder has rarely become a dominant strategy because rarely does it reach evolutionary stability. Most individuals choosing to kill are choosing mutant strategies. If you really think that the rise of killing is biological, it would probably be genetic drift not some deeper statement about the Darwinian Fitness of killing. But really, it could obviously be caused by something else altogether...

Society as a whole sort of functions as a mechanism to try and strip violent, primative behaviors from us but that doesn't mean they're not still there.

What? You realize that 'violence' and 'primitivity' are completely arbitrary markers right? Not all societies have the same concepts of violence and primitivity, and furthermore, not all societies even have a concept of violence or primitivity.

Do you think killing is 'primitive'? To the contrary, I think it shows that we, as a species, have great intelligence to understand the metagame of interactions enough to understand that killing can yield advantages. That doesn't come from a biological spark or mutation that makes us want to kill. It comes from increased pattern and complexity recognition over time due to higher chunking levels in organ development. The instant human beings became self aware they understood the possible value of killing.

[Irodori]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

I try to think of it this way. Chances are there isnt much that you as a student (assuming you are) can do about situations like these. Try to befriend everyone, and if someone looks at you funny, run like hell. There is no sence in getting in the way of a raving looney. Yes they will probabally ruin our country somehow but it's nothing we cant deal with. Remember the bit about the second amendment...You know, the get a big gun and cover your ass one. Just try not to piss people off but if you do try to remeber that there IS a time to fight but sometimes it is better to turn the other direction and run like a pansy.

[TrueBOSS]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

I totaly agree with that. I use a, "Don't have enemies strategy. At my school I have no enemies and many, many friends. Its because I'm perfectly aware of what makes people hate you and avoid doing those things." And, because of how many people I know, if something like this was being planned, chances are that I would know about it in advance and could stop it. Lesson, the more friends and trust you have, the more positive influence you can have on people.

[YungYung]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

As I said, people who believe this tend to be c**ky and act like total p**^s to some people.

Generalization.

'm not saying this guy but I'm saying thats the tendency and the #1 cause.

Nice job pulling a statistic out of your ass.

In the womans case, the suggestion I was trying to get out is to always be ready for something like that to happen and know what to do if it does.

It's this that actually annoyed me enough to bother posting. Are you suggesting that every time a woman walks out the door to get their car and drive home from work, the possibility of being sexual assaulted should be in the back of their mind?

[Cavernio]

Re: The Latest School Shooting

Humans and apes most certainly aren't the only species to kill others of their own species. Counter-example: preying mantis. And any species which fights for dominance can end up killing each other.