James Holmes may have Aspergers?

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Why does Loner + Murder = AS?

I'm waiting to see the details of his personal life.

I don't think this guy was pushed to an extreme and snapped......I think people can be pushed to an extreme and snap, but I doubt it would resemble this incident with the whole planning it out for months thing. Also I don't see why a psychopath or sociopath would have to 'snap' to do something like that...however I think most people mentally ill or not could certainly be pushed to snap and act violently but I doubt it would be in such an organized planned out manner.

To me that experiment does show normal people are capable of terrible things...I mean authority figure or not why would you continue inflicting extreme pain on someone like they were made to think they were doing for the experiment. That would be the whole thing with it being 'socially acceptable' and thus ok even if their conscience said no.

Maybe, but what about those who go along with it?.......for instance when I was the outcast in school who got bullied, I don't think the kids who joined in with the bullying out of wanting to remain popular were to upset by their bullying of me. Also maybe most people do not necessarily enjoy inflicting pain on others directly but humans even the normal ones can be cruel, to always pin it on the mentally ill is BS in my opinion.

Neither would most 'mentally ill/disordered' people.

I know that, I was just using it as an example that normal people can be capable of terrible things like mass shootings, discrimination against specific groups and even burning fellow humans to death at the stake. I don't see how I am confusing several issues into a single thing I am well aware these are separate issues its not like I think all this is directly connected I was using examples of people doing terrible things throughout history.

Most people just flip out a bit and it's over. Very few flip out and kill someone. Practically no one snaps and sets out to go on a killing spree.

As far as psychopaths and sociopaths, there are numerous instances of them killing people after getting fired, splitting up, getting a restraining order, etc. Most psychopaths and sociopaths never kill or even physically injure anyone, however.

True.



As it turns out, the authority figure (in Milgram's experiment, a man in a white lab coat) is pretty crucial to this. Without a clear authority figure, people are significantly less likely to comply. Also, adding another person who objects tends to break whatever it is that keeps people going at it, and they'll object right along with that person.

If you think the experiments demonstrated that anyone could just decide to go do horrible things, you badly misunderstood them.

That is not quite what I meant, just that it proves normal people can be capable of hurting others or even killing them(if I remember the experiment right, though I know no one in the experiment was actually killed). I am not saying most people could just up and decide to go on a killing spree they would either have to be pushed to that point, following an authority figure who says it's ok, or already have sadistic tendencies at least in my opinion...though even then one could develop such tendencies depending on their environment even if that is not how they were to begin with.



I am not pinning it on the mentally ill. I said I do not think James Holmes is mentally ill. I do not know what you are responding to, but I said the exact opposite of what you're complaining about. And for the record, I am mentally ill.



I actually made this exact point earlier.



Because while most people are capable of doing certain kinds of horrible things under certain conditions, it does not reflect a general tendency to just go off and do any kind of horrible things at will. And when I say "most people" I am also referring to people with mental illnesses who as I swear I have said more than once, are more likely to be targeted for violence than the cause of it.

James Holmes is about as likely to be autistic as he is to be a Martian. I also doubt he's bipolar or schizophrenic.

However, "normal" people don't go on shooting sprees. Someone does something like this, they are almost certainly diagnosable with something.

Its easy for us to appreciate how 'bullycide' works

This is similar. Yet we struggle to accept our own can become heinous murderers

In new zealand we have recently been promoting anti bullying measures [esp, regarding facebook, texting and social media]

due the the high incidence of young people committing suicide after being bullied publicly via websites

recently groups of young people [who know each other, from small towns] have been killing themselves

one by one over the space of a few months....

I sincerely hope progressive measures are implemented.

Otherwise bullycide and mass murders will become more frequent in our societies.... 'normal' 'aspie' or 'whatever'

Anyways this is what gave me the impression you were implying mentally ill people are more likely than 'normal' people to do something like that.

The something I was referring to was psychopathy or sociopathy, which are not technically mental illnesses, but more a matter of personality, or at least in the case of psychopathy, a neurological issue.

Those aren't nessisarily diagnosible and I have never heard either referred to as neurological issues...but maybe. But that makes more sense.

I'll admit that I've never been to the USA, but the context of apparent easy access to weapons and ammo, and the prevailing violence of mass culture (endless superhero films, shooter video games), surely contributed to this tragedy enormously.

Anyways this is what gave me the impression you were implying mentally ill people are more likely than 'normal' people to do something like that.

A team of New York Times reporters and researchers, in examining the nature of these attacks and the individuals involved, compiled a detailed database on 100 such cases over the past 50 years. The series of articles published in The Times this week based on that research offered several new insights. Although such killings account for only one-tenth of 1 percent of all homicides, the series confirmed the public perception that they appear to be increasing. It also found that rampage killers share several traits. Most are better educated than typical murderers, are more likely to have military experience, and are far more likely to kill themselves.

Cultural influences on this group, such as violent entertainment, seemed to have little impact. Instead, the most common factor was serious mental health problems. About half had received formal diagnosis of mental illness, often schizophrenia. More than half made threats, and a third had histories of violent behavior. Many never received treatment for mental disorders or were not monitored to keep them on their medication. Most of their rampage attacks were not sudden, impulsive acts but the culmination of years of rage, depression and mental illness. Often the failure of families, co-workers and even therapists to deal with warning signs led to catastrophic consequences.

Even with greater care in spotting mental disturbance, there can never be a perfect system. But the other crucial factor in rampage killings, access to guns, can be affected through legislation and regulation. More than half the killers, including those with histories of hospitalization for mental illness, were able to buy guns easily. While federal law prohibits the sale of guns to those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution, most states do not conduct background checks on a purchaser's psychiatric history.