The United States has experienced hundreds of school shootings throughout its history, but the motives of these acts of violence have always been difficult to understand. With the increase in school shootings, it is important to grasp the mentality of school shooters. The mental state of school shooters is the cause of the violence rather than bullying, because of the overwhelming hate for the world, lack of care for the future and personal relationships, and the shooters belief that they are superior to others. These frequent school shootings can be the effects of a distraught individual that transforms his or her hate for the world from a nightmare into reality. The perpetrators of these shootings are often disgusted by those around them. The lack of compassion and empathy, as a result of mental disorders, leads these killers down their path of destruction. In the article about Columbine, “Deadly Dreams”, Robertz explains, “In their diaries, published in July 2006, they painted themselves as gods who wished to be feared not loved.” The pent up aggression and hate towards people, even family and friends, shows the mental instability that these school shooters experience. Shootings, like at Columbine, are the direct result of this overwhelming hate. Some mental disorders seen in these perpetrators are psychopathy and depression, …show more content…
Cullen explains in the article, “The Depressive and the Psychopath”, “These are not the rantings of an angry young man, picked on by jocks until he's not going to take it anymore. These are the rantings of someone with a messianic-grade superiority complex, out to punish the entire human race for its appalling inferiority.” This belief of being better than everyone else sometimes reaches a new height, considering oneself God. This type of mentality defines most school shooters and can be explained in several