u235

It's human nature I suppose to want to understand why events happen. This is certainly true when the event is the result of human actions. I wandered down this particular path of thought yesterday while I was reading about the guy who went into a rave loaded with ammo and started shooting people at random. Why?

He shot and killed a lot of kids and when confronted by police - he shot himself. And no one seems to have any clue as to what motivation he had for this behavior. The neighbors all said he was a nice kid. He has an identical twin brother, who again, has no insight to offer. On the surface this is just a young man who went and bought a load of ammo and some guns and decided to make a statement. Only no one really knows what that statement is, since he's dead and didn't bother to leave any messages.

There have been several prominent cases in the media lately - serial murderers who commit as a final act of crime a complete lack of explanation. Victims families want to know for what reason was my relative targeted? Why did you kill my friend? Why? It's a last bit of power to excercise over someone not to provide a reason. It's not related to remorse, it's just a final act of defiance - "I know why I did this, but I'll never tell you". Of course if the culprit is dead, then there's no opportunity for explanation.

I'm sure in the next few days there will be a lot of speculation. Media will interview everyone from his family to people who might have known him. There's no case to build, so there will be no reason to withhold information. Our society has a morbid fascination with the concept of 'why' horrendous crimes are committed. We gobble it up in the news, we watch made-for-tv movies that re-create the horror. Wow that was bad, man it must have been awful to have been there, but here I am safe in my living room eating my snacks and drinking my beer... I sure feel bad for the families if they had to watch this.

It's difficult as a human to accept that there actually might not 'be' a reason. For the kid who killed the ravers, he just did it. Because. Because they were there. Because he had the means. No motive, just means. It may not be enough, but sometimes that's all there is.