School Shootings The Result Of Crisis Of Masculinity, Gun Culture, Professor Argues

[Ichingcarpenter]

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2008) — The recent fatal shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University, and similar attacks at a Missouri city hall and in a Los Angeles suburb, again raise questions about the eruption of mass violence in America in recent years. What is behind these acts and, more importantly, can anything be done to stop them?


In "Guys and Guns Amok: Domestic Terrorism and School Shootings from the Oklahoma City Bombing to the Virginia Tech Massacre" (Paradigm, 2008), UCLA professor of education and cultural critic Douglas Kellner argues that school shootings and other acts of mass violence embody a crisis of out-of-control gun culture and male rage, heightened by a glorification of hypermasculinity and violence in the media.

"The school shooters and domestic terrorists examined in this book all exhibit male rage, attempt to resolve a crisis of masculinity through violent behavior, demonstrate a fetish for guns or weapons, and represent, in general, a situation of guys and guns amok," Kellner says.

Focusing on last April's Virginia Tech shootings, the 1999 Columbine massacre, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and similar events, Kellner places these apparently isolated killing sprees in the broader context of American culture and society and finds that in each case, the male perpetrators suffered from problems of socialization, alienation and the search for identity in a culture that holds up guns and militarism as potent symbols of masculinity.

>>>>>snip .........http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217133643.htm

[villager]

1. absolutely. Even here, there can be a "guns" forum, but never, ever a "sex" forum

Even "progressive" boards are more comfortable with one over the other, it seems...

What does that tell you about the dichotomy in the American psyche?

[niyad]

4. when the first "godfather" movie came out, we were, alas, playing it

at a theatre I managed. it was, of course, rated "r". I had a man call, wanting to know if there was any nudity in it, because he wanted to bring his ELEVEN-year old daughter to see it. I explained that, although there was no nudity, the movie was quite graphically violent. the man did not care about that. shot-uip, dead bodies (and severed horses'heads) were okay, so long as there was no nudity. I saw him and his daughter when they came out of the show--the girl was terrified. I wished I could have called CPS on him for child abuse.

[villager]

5. yes -- better kids watch sliced up breasts than caressed breasts, eh?

n/t

[fascisthunter]

2. Both Boys and Girls in Boston Talk about Shootings Everyday

EVERYDAY!!! This is how children of the inner city live talking and thinking about guns.

[HereSince1628]

3. amok - in a murderous frenzy;

A variant of 'amuck' Everyday there is a little lesson to be learned

[niyad]

6. actually, both spellings are acceptable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
a·mok /əˈmʌk, əˈmɒk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
1. (among members of certain Southeast Asian cultures) a psychic disturbance characterized by depression followed by a manic urge to murder.
–adjective
2. amuck.
—Idiom
3. run or go amok. amuck (def. 3).
Also, amuck.


Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
a·mok (ə-mŭk', ə-mŏk') Pronunciation Key
adv. & adj.
Variant of amuck.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
a·muck (ə-mŭk') Pronunciation Key
adv.

1. In a frenzy to do violence or kill: rioters running amuck in the streets.
2. In or into a jumbled or confused state: The plans went amuck.
3. In or into an uncontrolled state or a state of extreme activity: "This jam-packed area of Honolulu has come to stand for tourist development run amok" (Ila Stanger).

[HereSince1628]

8. I didn't mean to say otherwise. I was surprised by the spelling 'amok.'

[niyad]

9. and I was surprised by the other spelling. had never seen it before.

[HereSince1628]

10. Ain't that interesting? Regional or national differences?

America. One nation trying to be divided by a common language.

[niyad]

11. I have no idea, as I have lived all over the country.

but I tend to the english spellings and pronounciations of things. will have to look more closely at the etymology of those words.

mark twain once observed that england and america were "two countries separated by a common language"

[bluerum]

7. Not to minimize the issue at hand, but is this not self-evident?

On edit: ... there is also a lot of fear mongering going on. Gun owners adamant that they carry a weapon only for self defense. As if criminals and mountain lions were hiding behind every corner and tree. And they vocally try to convert other people to join them by fear mongering.

I am convinced that this is an industry tactic. Scare people into gun ownership, funnel them through safety classes, training, target ranges and registration programs. Rake in some dough and get a few more guns out there on the streets.

Now, fundamentally, there is nothing wrong with all of that if you look at it as a marketing strategy, which I do. However, I am also convinced of the need for better regulation and gun controls.

[Nihil]

12. But I'm sure it isn't just an American problem ...

> in each case, the male perpetrators suffered from problems of socialization,
> alienation and the search for identity in a culture that holds up guns and
> militarism as potent symbols of masculinity.

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