Media more than anything I think. :hmmm:

:sign_yeah: Nowadays with everyone connected to the internet, via cellphones, computers and so on things like this get reported far more quickly then they would of before. Plus considering that this is called a "mass" stabbing it got more coverage then say if one or two people had been stabbed. If it was one or two people then it would of been just local news.

To a large degree I agree.
One must also consider most other factors that effect kids. although one cannot completely insulate kids, parents are generally the first stop, and can do a lot of preventative work, via 'life-educating' their kids.

You most probably find this kid's parent might not have been too involved with his life.
As parents what we've generally worked out, although this is 'not set in stone'.

1) Kids need both a mother and father in their lives.
2) The 'majority stake' care giver is Mom up to the age of approximately 6 years.
3) From 6 years onwards kids tend to look toward Dad for guidance.
4) Male kids will soon be challenging their father for 'alpha male status'.
Maybe testosterone driven - but it does happen.
5) If you discipline your kids, fairly and diligently, they are for the most part, settled and happy.

I've tried various forms of discipline to see what works best, and I can say without a doubt - Little or no discipline creates an unhappy and disturbed child... period (discipline here being used in a broad context)

:up:

Agree with you on a poorly disciplined child being difficult to deal with. I'd posit that a fair proportion of ADHD diagnosis is not really anything more than lazy parenting.

I might be wrong about that but I sometimes have a feeling that violence is more accepted in American society. It's enough to watch an American documentary about some military engagement to get the feeling that violently crushing your opponent is the way to go. I'm aware that it's the goal of war to crush your enemy but the way it is mostly displayed in those documentaries also point to a affinity for violence among the audience. Same is true for action movies. So when kids see that the strong guy always smashes his opponent and gets applause for that in the end then it's no surprise that John Doe student is also more willing to take that route to settle arguments.

Again I might be wrong but that's the impression I have and in the 7 years I went to a German Gymnasium (High school) I didn't see a single fight on the campus.:hmm2:

I have to agree with Schroeder. Violence appears to be more "acceptable" over in the US than sex for example. Shows like "Bones", which I would say is somewhat "light" crime show, does have some pretty gruesome stuff in almost every episode.

But at the end of the day I would say it is probably a mix of multiple things that causes these sad events.

ETA: Oh and I am not saying it's just US shows that have gruesome scenes, my "Bones" example was because it is one of those shows that mixes light hearted humour and gruesome scenes. The two kind of "level it out", sort of soften the bad parts making it more bland.. I guess. I don't know, it's hard to explain what I mean exactly. Sorry...

Let's not try this kid in the court of public opinion just yet and try not to rush to the conclusion that America has a culture of accepting violence. Most of us get along just fine without cracking skulls. In reality we frown on that kind of behavior. It's also unfair to summarily judge the parents of this kid as being the sole source of his problem. The fact remains that sometimes people just go off the rails for a multitude of reasons. Not much can be done if a child's brain suddenly develops a chemical imbalance that makes him crazy as a loon. It can happen to anyone, anywhere. No matter what is done to prevent it. None of us is perfect and if you think you can sit back and judge a nation of three hundred million people by a few isolated incidents of violence, then you may want to take a closer look at your own neck of the woods. The whole planet has been susceptible to it for thousands of years.
Be careful that you don't injure yourself getting off that high horse.:hmmm: In the information age...

America has a culture of reporting bad news loud and proud. It sells advertising. :roll:

Oh, I'm not on a high horse and I don't think any foreigner who has aired their opinion is. It's just that there are alot of these incidents over there. It's a big country, that is true, but that still doesnt really explain it. Over here in Europe, with multiple countries and multiple cultures, we dont have many of those kinds of incidents.

There's no point in pointing the finger at anyone, only to understand why and how this stuff happens. I don't have any answers, I can only speculate which is pretty useless in the long run, especially as I have never visited US.

When it comes to bad news, they are reported in Europe too, so it's not just the media blowing things over the proportions.

I wasn't pointing any fingers at anyone but, I think you've hit the nail on the head with the media's tendency to blow things out of proportion. Look at the coverage CNN devoted to that Malaysian aircraft disappearance as an example. It was ludicrous speed ahead for those jokers :roll:
The quote in your sig may be the closest we could ever get to the why of these kinds of events. Chimpanzees can be quite violent and murderous with each other in the wild. Humans having a larger more advanced brain doesn't exclude us from our baser instincts. We've not evolved the CroMagnon genes completely out of the sequence yet.

MH370's disappearance was reported worldwide, daily.

The key to getting the "Full Story" is to check media from different countries.

My sig? You are right, I think we are all still monkeys, we just know how to make coffee, make business trades and so on. We are more sophisticated, sure, but looking at the world, is it any different from one monkey tribe's alpha male battle? I don't see much of a difference, deadlier weapons that's all.

True, but CNN took it to a whole level beyond what anyone else was doing. Even to the point of airing a special report on the special reporter assigned to the story . Hoo boy!:haha: Talk about a bunch of folks who are totally enamored with themselves! :roll:

BINGO !!
There are a few of those in our neighbourhood.. and we know that the parents do not (repeat) do not feed them properly, so they give them bloody pills instead.... Freaks Mom and I out big time.

But what can you do... You can't tell parents they're not looking after their kids properly.:o
We just make sure our own kids get the best we can offer.

I looked at USA today last night and check out everything they had to say. (I can't watch videos on CNN). The kid might be 16, but he is short and skinny and looks like a 12 year old. Some people in the school say he was being teased about his size. That could be his reason.

Err.. Australian news were reporting about it almost minute by minute.

Like I said, check number of news, MH370 was all over.

Some got balls and some got feet. The ones with balls, fight. The ones with feet........run.