Who Is Responsible When Young People Turn Into Serial Killers?

"It's almost become a normal thing for us to accept. It's not normal. Life doesn't have to be like this." Who spoke these words, and why? You might have read them on the news, only to have forgotten — because the person who said this, Richard Martinez, is right.  Richard Martinez is the grieving and angry father of Chris Martinez, a 20-year old whose life was tragically cut short by yet another crazy young person with a gun (and a knife, exceptionally) last month. 

"Oh, another one?" I thought when I heard the news about the Santa Barbara mass killing, during which Elliot Rodger killed six people and himself. This is a sentiment many people share. The killing spree took place on May 23 2014. That seems like such a long time ago now, and before we know it we'll be talking about the next mass shooting. Only briefly though, because we have become desensitized to this violence. Let's remember, though, that the victims' families will hurt forever. And let's remember, too, that our loved ones could be next. 

"Too many people have died, and there should be not one more," Martinez cried out at the memorial service for the victims. "How many more people are going to have to die in this situation before the problem gets solved? [Politicians] have done nothing and that's why Chris died."

Blame The Hunger Games?

Elliot Rodger's father is the assistant director of The Hunger Games movies, and some have blamed the fictional trilogy for the crime he committed on that day. Can we really blame Suzanne Collins, the author of The Hunger Games trilogy, or the fact that the shooter's dad worked on the films? No. We, as a society, are to blame when we misunderstand books like those to the point that we think they could provoke violence in someone. The Hunger Games are supposed to make us feel horrified by totalitarian regimes and people killing each other. Unless we read them through a terribly warped lens, that is exactly what the books do. 

Blame Autism?

Though Rodger had an autism spectrum disorder previously officially known as Asperger Syndrome, that was not to blame for the shooting either. While some Aspies are violent, aggression and the urge to kill people are not part of the symptomatic picture of this form of autism. We, as a society, are to blame when we point to neurological differences as easy answers, instead of looking deeper. By discussing Rodger's autism at length, we risk stigmatizing autistic people instead of trying to find a solution to mass killings. 

Blame The Parents?

Shall we blame Rodger's parents, then? Though previous statistics suggest that a full 100 percent of serial killers were abused as children, we cannot get out of this situation by mindlessly pointing the finger at Elliot Rodger's parents, or the fact that they were divorced. At the moment, all we know is that his parents did take action when their son posted very disturbing things on the internet. They called the police and were driving to Santa Barbara when they heard about the shootings.

See Also: Study: 20 American Kids Injured By Guns Daily

We don't know whether Elliot Rodger's parents played an important role in shaping their son into a violent killer and before that, a twisted misogynist who was angry he couldn't get a girlfriend. Perhaps they did. Explaining what happened by saying Rodger must have been abused or his parents must have been terrible parents is passing the buck, however.

If Elliot Rodger's parents abused him, or gave him the idea that it was perfectly acceptable to treat women as objects, they share in the blame. Can we blame them if they sought help for their troubled son time and time again, only to be met with inadequate reactions, though? I don't think we can, and that is exactly what appears to have happened at this point. 

Who Is To Blame For The Santa Barbara Killings?

Blame Rodger?

Though Elliot Rodger was a troubled young man with many problems — not least of which was his deeply routed misogyny — we can't entirely blame him, either. Yes, he wrote some deeply disturbing things on the internet. He was in similar company on the "PuaHate" website, a place where twisted sexists came together. Many called themselves "incels"; short for "involuntary celibate". Those words are worth repeating. 

In November, Rodger wrote that he wanted to “overthrow this oppressive feminist system” and create a “world where WOMEN FEAR YOU.” He frequently talked about an "incel revolution" against women and feminism. Just hours before he killed six people, Rodgers posted a video on YouTube. He said" "If I can’t have you, girls, I will destroy you". 

We Are All To Blame

Who should we blame, then, if we can't blame The Hunger Games, the killer's autism, his parents, or even him? We, as a society, are to blame for what happened. A culture that still values women less than it values men is to blame; a culture in which victims of rape and sexual abuse are still afraid to report what happened, because they might not be believed and could be blamed even when they are believed. Films can be blamed, but not The Hunger Games. Films that give young men they idea that "no" means "be more persistent" can be blamed. 

There are more guns than people in the US today. Gun laws can be blamed, but changing them now will not completely solve the problem. Society's attitude towards mental health problems is another important part of the puzzle. When someone writes what Rodger did, isn't it painfully obvious that professional follow-up is required? When the loved-ones of someone struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts, or murderous thoughts report the problem to the police or medical professionals, shouldn't we make sure a mechanism to help people is in place — one that actually makes a difference?

You, too, share part of the blame if you felt the same way. Until we take mental health problems seriously and truly start to think about ways to end the phenomenon of mass shootings, we all remain guilty. Richard Martinez was right: this isn't normal and we don't have to live like this. Perhaps we're all becoming slightly mentally ill when we allow ourselves to accept this violence instead of remembering that killing other humans is utterly shocking. 

More than dealing adequately with the mental health problems that troubled youngsters like Rodgers are already facing, we need to take a step back and ask what kind of society creates people like this. Are mass killings committed by young people a political problem, or a health problem? If you agree that we're at least partially dealing with a health problem, you'll agree that we need to think of ways in which we can address this situation. 

See Also: Suicide Among Teenagers: Prevention Is Contagious

People who might have been different if they had lived in a world where people connect with each other, where they receive help for their mental health problems instead of being isolated. We can all contribute to that world. Next time, instead of ignoring someone displaying signs of depression or aggression, we can report it. Next time, instead of being too busy dealing with our own problems, we can ask ourselves how we can help others.