Spread of senseless violence

[boomerang]

I hope this doesn't come across as an old fart "what's wrong with kids today?" kind of post. Because I think there really is something very wrong with a substantial percentage of our young people that is only recently extant in the history of society. It has not always been this way !

BBC News - Wisconsin girls charged with 'Slenderman' stabbing

So I'm sincerely asking for opinions. What's causing young people to murder for no apparent reason and apparently little remorse? Columbine, Sandy Hook, the Santa Barbara killings ? I see it as a grim post modern mystery.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Not all are young.

 

[Bob Watson]

This sickens and saddens me. This happened near us. The reason they gave was they wanted to be with "slender man" so much violence and insanity.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

[boomerang]

Not all are young.

Good observation.

 

[Wade]

At the risk of sounding trite and appearing heartless, my first thought is this, I do wonder how a couple of twelve year olds can understand the concept of acting as someone's proxy. That is the term the story used and it was in quotes so I wonder if this was their own words or it was being paraphrased.

If it was their own words it almost sounds like that word was introduced to them by someone else who may have preyed on their young minds. Mind You I am not overlooking the brutality of the crime but as boomer pointed out its not exactly ground breaking news in this country, and so I am focusing less on the crime and more on the motive

 

[boomerang]

I am focusing less on the crime and more on the motive

What's most puzzling about about motive in mass stranger killings is that there seems to be none except intense, free floating anger. Or is it a pathological lack of inhibition? Something screwy is going on here. Seriously, this is behavior often correlated with abnormal fMRI's of the brain.

 

[SonofaSkunk]

It seems as though a lot of things are circling the drain lately. Random inexplicable violence perpetrated by all ages, races and both sexes defies logic. But, it seems to be only one of the many cogs in the machine that is slowly tearing itself apart. There's plenty of blame to go around. TV, social media, education, (or lack thereof,) parenting, and the list goes on and on. Try as we might, there's no way to predict how this story will end. Stay tuned.

 

[Sue]

I'm also interested in what boomerang noted as an apparent surfeit of intense, free floating anger that people don't seem to have any coping skills to manage (or role models for gaining such skills). Reading about this kind of thing in the news is frustrating because I always assume there is a great deal of backstory that would flesh out the motives and relationships of those involved that we will never hear about. Without that kind of information, it's anyone's guess as to whether the problem is primarily biological, psychological, or sociocultural. Or demonlogical. I encountered the creepypasta website once or twice myself, and the writing there was such that I always wanted to fling my laptop against the nearest wall. Who knows what might have happened if I had read more.

 

[Jimi H.]

.. Or demonlogical.

Nah, let's take the demonology stuff out of the equation, so it doesn't become a scapegoat, become used in a witch hunt, or as a tool to keep people scared.

I'd include demonology under sociology (religion) and psychology.

edited, to explain my point better.

 

[Charlie Prime]

I see it as a grim post modern mystery.

What does this term mean, "post modern society" ?

 

[Goggs Mackay]

Not an original thought but you do have to wonder at the role of parents? I mean, I know my mother taught me that it would be wrong to hurt a classmate or whomever in such a way and that there would never be a good reason short of actual self-defense.

The Slenderman part is worrying, not the paranormal aspect, but that anything so intangible should be enough for 12 year-old girls to be happy to inflict a murderous attack?
Now, we know that teenage kids (and yes, more so girls) can get hysterically involved with their idols - for example let's say Beatles fans in the early 60's. Such fans have been known to basically attack their idols in a frenzy - quite a dangerous one for both sides. Pulling hair, making a grab for any body part, pulling them to the ground etc. It has happened and I imagine if one were to soberly ask such girls later if they were intending to harm their idols, they would be shocked at the suggestion, yet their out-of-control frenzied behaviour doesn't really have much control while it is ongoing.

Back to the story though. I can understand the frenzy of teenage fandom - for real people. But to go out and commit such an act for a paranormal character from the internet? It's hard to argue these girls have any real concept of reality and fiction as being separate entities.

I would be shocked to find out these girls have normal, loving homes. I'd put money on there being some serious dysfunctionality. But perhaps the scariest revelation would be that they indeed did come from very good families....

 

[Sue]

Demonology and ". . . if I had read more . . ." were dry humor. Sorry, it doesn't come out well over the interwebs.

 

[Sue]

Recent news stories I've seen stated that the attacking girls dared each other, refused and then passed the knife back and forth before finally attacking. To me this oddly echoes David Matza's ancient (1968) work on the culture of deviance which in part suggests that juvenile crime is prompted by a series of misunderstandings and miscalculations about the intent of the other. My theory: there's some kind of to-adults-trivial narrative of teenager challenge, betrayal and deceit behind this attack. I am going to shut up now because I don't know anything and have other stuff to do.

 

[Wade]

So because i was obsessing over the use of the word proxy in a statement given by one of the ALLEGED would-be murderers i googled slender man and proxy and it would seem there may be a whole subculture of young minds wanting to become a slenderman "proxy". who knew? i was thinking perhaps an older influental youth was trying to indoctrinate them but now, given these sites, i can see where an impressionable 12 year old would be able to forment such a thought as being a proxy of the slenderman.

http://www.quotev.com/quiz/3014342/Are-you-one-of-Slender-Mans-Proxies/

Steps to becoming one of Slenderman's proxies (for those who are curious) | Story on Quibblo

Slenderman's Proxy Test: Second Edition - Quiz | Get More Quizzes at Quizilla

 

[Constance]

I just heard about this tonight and am stunned by it. What could possibly motivate two twelve-year-old girls to plan and then carry out an attempt to violently murder another young girl? It must be the case that at least one of them is seriously mentally unbalanced and perhaps both are. How could they develop such deep psychological sickness without their parents or siblings or friends picking up some clues to their disintegrating states of mind? No one was tuned in to what was going on with either of them. How can that happen? The popular culture they were trying to grow up in is sick, without a doubt. But can the adults responsible for these children really not have understood that fact and understood further that their chief obligation was to keep in touch with what was going on inside their children's minds and hearts and souls?

 

[boomerang]

What does this term mean, "post modern society" ?

Postmodernism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The term has much broader and more complex sociological implications than my usage in this instance, which was to suggest that the term "modern" is a distinct and past era as opposed to its more popular usage as whatever the current zeitgeist happens to be. I see mass stranger killings as perhaps one indicator that we have moved beyond the confident modern era of shiny home appliances and universal upward mobility and into a more uncertain future.

 

[Charlie Prime]

I see mass stranger killings as perhaps one indicator that we have moved beyond the confident modern era of shiny home appliances and universal upward mobility and into a more uncertain future.

Ok. I get ya. Thanks. I never understood what that term meant.

I agree with your characterization. "Post-modern" means to me like nihilism and non-sense.

 

[stonehart]

Nah, let's take the demonology stuff out of the equation, so it doesn't become a scapegoat, become used in a witch hunt, or as a tool to keep people scared.

I'd include demonology under sociology (religion) and psychology.

edited, to explain my point better.

Nice point.. and anyway slenderman is not a demon it was a pure fiction created years ago.. hell I was there on the forum when the idea was dreamed up.

Not really sure what to make of this case but frankly it is very disturbing.

 

[Decker]

I'm also interested in what boomerang noted as an apparent surfeit of intense, free floating anger that people don't seem to have any coping skills to manage (or role models for gaining such skills). Reading about this kind of thing in the news is frustrating because I always assume there is a great deal of backstory that would flesh out the motives and relationships of those involved that we will never hear about. Without that kind of information, it's anyone's guess as to whether the problem is primarily biological, psychological, or sociocultural. Or demonlogical. I encountered the creepypasta website once or twice myself, and the writing there was such that I always wanted to fling my laptop against the nearest wall. Who knows what might have happened if I had read more.

In the current climate and world, a place where there are no longer "losers" because everyone is a winner, where things like ethics and civic duty are not taught, where honor has no meaning, in a world where it is all "Me, Me, and Me", where the media is caught up in the current goings on of worthless dregs like the Kardashians, and the big news stories are the Sterlings, are you surprised? This big machine called society is tearing itself apart and at this point the only thing most of us can do is to duck when the pieces and parts fly past our heads. Nope, not surprised at all ...

Decker

 

[stonehart]

In the current climate and world, a place where there are no longer "losers" because everyone is a winner, where things like ethics and civic duty are not taught, where honor has no meaning, in a world where it is all "Me, Me, and Me", where the media is caught up in the current goings on of worthless dregs like the Kardashians, and the big news stories are the Sterlings, are you surprised? This big machine called society is tearing itself apart and at this point the only thing most of us can do is to duck when the pieces and parts fly past our heads. Nope, not surprised at all ...

Decker

That has to be one of the wisest post I have read in a while here.