Another Hogg tweet:

[applegrove]

Link to tweet

[Wounded Bear]

1. Yeah, shooters should remain anonymous...

Let future shooters know they won't get the notoriety they want.

[BootinUp]

2. Hogg doesn't miss a beat.

[applegrove]

3. The activist kids across the country for safer gun laws give me great hope for

the future.

[musicblind]

4. Shooters should remain as anonymous as possible but we should not go so far

as to cover up motives by concealing things like manifestos -- something the article hints at.

There are ways to promulgate that kind of information without identifying or glorifying the shooters.

I wrote a book on this topic. As a result, I read through tons of disturbing manifestos and nonsensical transcripts.

Fame did not seem to be the driving force behind most mass shooters. School shooters become school shooters for a variety of reasons. The only thing those reasons have in common is they are all invalid.

Yes, some do it for fame, but some do it because they feel rejected, some do it because they are sociopaths, some do it because they are schizotypal, and some do it for no reason at all.

I've read a litany of excuses... everything from "I am the hand of God," to "I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things," to "I don't like Mondays." (That last one chills me because no reason is the scariest reason.)

That's why I believe we need a two-pronged approach to this epidemic. First and foremost - get rid of the guns. Second - get rid of the ignorance surrounding mental health in America.

For example, using the Columbine case, there were two shooters (I won't use names because doing so serves no educational purpose.) with two very different motivations. One Columbine shooter clearly suffered from NPD with strong sociopathic overtones while the other suffered from severe depression and suicidal tendencies caused by schizotypal personality disorder. For the one with NPD, posthumous fame mattered. For the other one, it did not.

While news outlets shouldn't have glorified the Columbine diaries, those diaries conveyed valuable information to mental health professionals.

Knowing how these people tick helps identify early warning signs so professionals can intervene.

One solution could be to keep manifestoes, transcripts, and interviews off television, but still accessible to those who seek them. Doctors, citizen journalists, independent researchers, concerned laymen, the victim's families, etc.

[applegrove]

5. Thanks for your input. I don't know what the answer is. Information

not available or available if it is dangerous is a tricky thing. My instinct would be to make sure the authorities have all the information. Beyond that I just don't know. As for names of the shooters I think not naming them is good. But have their names online or something. A few steps away. So local people can look it up but there would be no national profile for the shooter or his grievances. The criminal justice system works with trials public. That is important too. Very upsetting. The kids who have taken this on from various communities are such an inspiration. Look at how they have us talking.

[musicblind]

6. I think you make some good points.

I think not naming them in the news, but having the names available online, a few steps away, like you suggested, could work. I would say that the information should be available internationally, but not without someone having to actively seek it out. Most people don't care enough to go digging for that kind of information unless they are researching something, working on a case, etc. That would prevent fame.

I also think we'd both agree there is not a single good reason for anyone outside the criminal justice system to see a shooter's photograph.

Showing the shooter's face is done for ratings and morbid curiosity. It serves no educational or preventative purpose because mental illness does not have a face. Gun violence does not have a face. If anything... The NRA is the face. Obstinance is the face. America is the face.

I agree. David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky (though he's going about it on his own now), and many others are more than an inspiration. They are the gun lobby's worst nightmare. I applaud them for it. If you get a chance to say something you should say all you can because you might not ever get that chance again. They have taken that to heart and they have not wasted their chance to make a difference.

[applegrove]

7. Yes those three. And all the other kids stepping up and speaking on a host

of issues, gun control in crime ridden areas for one, across the country too.

[ananda]

8. Excellent discussion.

This is not just a black and white issue.

[ck4829]

9. K&R