Virginia Shooting: Linda Hartling Shares with Us Her Reflections
Virginia Shooting: Linda Hartling shares with us her reflections:
I have been fascinated by the generalized efforts in the US to focus on all other factors besides humiliation. I suspect that we would like to believe that this tragedy was the result of an aberrant, “evil, and/or completely deranged, other-than-human individual. Perhaps distancing ourselves is a natural reaction, but it keeps us from appreciating our shared, community responsibility for interrupting this
developing threat.
Two points stand out to me:
1. The “shooter” felt relentlessly humiliated by rejection and ridicule for many, many, many years.
2. There was a “massive failure of connection” on all sides:
–The shooter couldn’t find a way to connect after moving to the US. He became a of victim of ridicule in the schools, leading him to become more and more disconnected, outraged, and isolated by his feelings of rejection.
–When the shooter exhibited signs that he was in trouble, the hyper-individualistic policies and practices of US social and law enforcement institutions made it possible for the shooter to continue his deadly downward spiral toward greater disconnection, rage, isolation and ultimately violence.