he was diagnosed with Anorexia and brain damage due to malnutrition, which also may have contributed to the shooting as well as his development (Shooting at Sandy, 2014). Another shooter, David Carneal, the perpetrator of the Health High School shooting also had developmental shortcomings. Carneal suffered from alleged paranoia that caused him to cover windows and vents believing he was being watched (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003). This caused him to be a social pariah at school, unable to be social around his peers (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003). Following his trial, Carneal was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, and required him to be hospitalized during his sentence (Kimmel & Mahler 2003). Developmentally, Carneal had a difficult time engaging with
…show more content…
School shooters also brought about a new definition of suicide: suicide by mass murder, as males prefer an immediate means to end their life such as a firearm (Verlinden et al., 2000). School shooters such as Harris and Klebold, Cho, and Kazmierczak all engaged in aggrieved entitlement, believing because their peers had emasculated them, they were entitled to have their revenge. Each of these shooters were mercilessly bullied for being “less than a man”, were rebuffed in their attempts to date women, could not live up to societal and peer expectations of being “cool”, and were not confident in their masculine identity (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Prior to the shooting, students at Columbine teased the shooters for being gay and girly, would throw rocks at them, and some students went so far as to publish an article in the paper stating the pair were a gay couple (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Both of these individuals were part of a “warrior” culture, as Harris’ father was in the army (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Cho was marginalized, as he was not interested in “male” activities such as athletics and parties (Kalish &Kimmel, 2010). Kazmierczak was bullied in high school and was discharged from the army due to his mental health status, which may have attributed to his fractured sense of self and identity as a male (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Forced masculinity played a role in all school shootings, with each shooter trying to align them with a masculine identity because they felt others did view them as a strong male. Furthermore, they did not possess the coping skills or resilience to overcome the pressures of having to live up to the standard of
School shooters also brought about a new definition of suicide: suicide by mass murder, as males prefer an immediate means to end their life such as a firearm (Verlinden et al., 2000). School shooters such as Harris and Klebold, Cho, and Kazmierczak all engaged in aggrieved entitlement, believing because their peers had emasculated them, they were entitled to have their revenge. Each of these shooters were mercilessly bullied for being “less than a man”, were rebuffed in their attempts to date women, could not live up to societal and peer expectations of being “cool”, and were not confident in their masculine identity (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Prior to the shooting, students at Columbine teased the shooters for being gay and girly, would throw rocks at them, and some students went so far as to publish an article in the paper stating the pair were a gay couple (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Both of these individuals were part of a “warrior” culture, as Harris’ father was in the army (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Cho was marginalized, as he was not interested in “male” activities such as athletics and parties (Kalish &Kimmel, 2010). Kazmierczak was bullied in high school and was discharged from the army due to his mental health status, which may have attributed to his fractured sense of self and identity as a male (Kalish & Kimmel, 2010). Forced masculinity played a role in all school shootings, with each shooter trying to align them with a masculine identity because they felt others did view them as a strong male. Furthermore, they did not possess the coping skills or resilience to overcome the pressures of having to live up to the standard of