The story of Elliot Rodger is a powerful cautionary tale, that is applicable to more people than one would like to think. Elliot’s story shows how a seemingly normal boy going through normal situations can be driven to commit heinous acts. It shows the extreme results that can happen when anger is allowed to slowly fester without release. It is important to analyze Elliot’s story, and try to decipher his motives in order to recognize at-risk individuals and give them help before a disaster happens.
Elliot’s life and crimes are described in the NBC news article “California Shooting Suspect Elliot Rodger’s Life of Rage and Resentment.” Elliot Rodger was a 22-year-old college student who was born to a very privileged family. He was always socially …show more content…
This concept could be used to explain Elliot’s actions. In “The Perils of Obedience” Stanley Milgram writes “The rebellious actions of others severely undermines authority. In one variation, three teachers (two actors and a real subject) administered a test and shocks. When the two actors disobeyed the experimenter, and refused to go beyond a certain shock level thirty-six of forty subjects joined their disobedient peers and refused as well.” The opposite results happened when the two actors went all the way. Obviously, people are more likely to do something with the support of others than all by themselves. Soon before committing his crimes, Elliot joined a chat room of men who hated women, just like he did. Talking to these people who shared similar sentiments may have amplified Elliot’s hatred, and further justified his violent desires within his mind. They may have even encouraged Elliot to carry out his plan. Milgram’s experiment also shows how people are very unlikely to displease or disobey sources of perceived authority. As a child Elliot describes boys of had girlfriends, and he believed they treated them unfairly. Elliot always hated these boys and was incredibly jealous of them. Yet he never tried to fight them, or steal their girls. This is because he viewed these boys as better than him. They so easily got what he so desperately wanted. …show more content…
As a child Elliot wasn’t very socially skilled, and was unable to make many friends. This later translated into an inability to get a girlfriend or have sex as he grew older. Elliot felt like everyone ignored him. No one would give him a chance, and see what he had to offer in a friendship. This is similar to how the prisoners in the cave are unwilling to listen to what the freed man has to say. They automatically write him off as crazy and don’t even give him a chance. Elliot can also relate to the freed prisoner in his view of the world. The freed prisoner could see the world as it was, which none of his friends were able to do. Elliot also believed that he saw the world in a different way than everyone else. This is evident by the extremely dramatic and overexaggerated language he uses he in his manifesto. He writes phrases like “collapse into utter despair”, and “rot in loneliness”. Most people would see Elliot’s problems as common, unimportant difficulties that lots of people experience. However, Elliot sees them as so important that he is willing to sacrifice his life over them, and feels the way he is treated is entirely unique to
Elliot’s life and crimes are described in the NBC news article “California Shooting Suspect Elliot Rodger’s Life of Rage and Resentment.” Elliot Rodger was a 22-year-old college student who was born to a very privileged family. He was always socially …show more content…
This concept could be used to explain Elliot’s actions. In “The Perils of Obedience” Stanley Milgram writes “The rebellious actions of others severely undermines authority. In one variation, three teachers (two actors and a real subject) administered a test and shocks. When the two actors disobeyed the experimenter, and refused to go beyond a certain shock level thirty-six of forty subjects joined their disobedient peers and refused as well.” The opposite results happened when the two actors went all the way. Obviously, people are more likely to do something with the support of others than all by themselves. Soon before committing his crimes, Elliot joined a chat room of men who hated women, just like he did. Talking to these people who shared similar sentiments may have amplified Elliot’s hatred, and further justified his violent desires within his mind. They may have even encouraged Elliot to carry out his plan. Milgram’s experiment also shows how people are very unlikely to displease or disobey sources of perceived authority. As a child Elliot describes boys of had girlfriends, and he believed they treated them unfairly. Elliot always hated these boys and was incredibly jealous of them. Yet he never tried to fight them, or steal their girls. This is because he viewed these boys as better than him. They so easily got what he so desperately wanted. …show more content…
As a child Elliot wasn’t very socially skilled, and was unable to make many friends. This later translated into an inability to get a girlfriend or have sex as he grew older. Elliot felt like everyone ignored him. No one would give him a chance, and see what he had to offer in a friendship. This is similar to how the prisoners in the cave are unwilling to listen to what the freed man has to say. They automatically write him off as crazy and don’t even give him a chance. Elliot can also relate to the freed prisoner in his view of the world. The freed prisoner could see the world as it was, which none of his friends were able to do. Elliot also believed that he saw the world in a different way than everyone else. This is evident by the extremely dramatic and overexaggerated language he uses he in his manifesto. He writes phrases like “collapse into utter despair”, and “rot in loneliness”. Most people would see Elliot’s problems as common, unimportant difficulties that lots of people experience. However, Elliot sees them as so important that he is willing to sacrifice his life over them, and feels the way he is treated is entirely unique to