I Was Almost A School Shooter | TEDx - General

Typically don't post Ted videos but this one made my eyes sweat a little. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azRl1dI-Cts

Cannot honestly tell how many people I have been on videogames with who have broken down in similar ways when talking to them about shit going on in their world. You can only fix a human by being human. You cannot just push them into some artificial process, it's gotta be natural.

This is the real issue that America has right now. People are being driven into a corner by society, and they become so desperate for attention to the causes of their depression that they go as far as committing acts of mass violence because nobody gives a shit. As we see in this video, all it takes to prevent such atrocities is to help them, to care about them. But nooo, according to politicians and mass media it is not that, it is a mental health issue, or it is a gun control issue, or they need more guns to fight against gun violence... America is fucked and needs to fix itself, and it might as well be called a third world country right now.

Are you saying you had thoughts of shooting up your school or...?

Uhhhh are you ok

Cmon man let's play some games it's Tuesday.

Not to the point where I'd buy a gun? Cmon dude this man had it far worse than us.

Most of the YouTube comments on this are fine but there a few here and there that either miss the point or understand the point entirely and don't care and it makes my blood boil. Some say that it doesn't matter if he changed and can change and that he should be locked up. What the fuck is wrong with people? I KEEP TREATING PEOPLE LIKE SHIT AND LIKE THEY'RE NOT HUMAN, WHY DO THEY KEEP SHOOTING UP SCHOOLS? They treat them like they're the plague and "just a part of life" and there are evil people and will always be evil people. As if people can't be changed/can't change..

As much as we can all laugh and shout "Youtube Comments!" it's unfortunately a useful tool for finding out how many fucking idiots actually exist in the world. Youtube isn't a niche community, it's practically humanities (or at least a western) superforum.

I understand what he is trying to say but I don't really agree with not calling law enforcement on them because it will just make their life worse. Seems like a bad idea to let it go unreported.

I feel like you missed the point. It was more about current situation getting worse and even more alienating to the people who are going through rough times in their life by considering them as a threat and like a enemy of the society.

Mhmm. Plus the issue wasn't so much the police getting involved it was the fact that social services forced him back into his mothers care. Reporting was the right thing to do, the care afterwards was executed horribly.

But if the police had gotten involved it would of made it far worse, he'd of been treated like a criminal. And if someone who has nothing gets treated like a criminal when they haven't even done anything then they're going to become a criminal. The justice system is terrible it literally causes more harm than good almost all of the time.

Yes but we have to find the middle ground here, there was a very real chance that he was going to shoot up this school. So while the US seriously needs to look at their Justice and Social Care systems we also have to weigh out the possibility that this guy COULD HAVE gunned down a bunch of innocents, and we don't want to live in a world where we don't report potential mass murderers because we don't want to hurt their feelings. It's a complex issue and there is no one fix. America needs a change of perspective right down to an individual level, I have a hunch this is where it all stems from, including the poor justice and social systems. The US was founded on the principles of power to the individual, and has followed this practice (at least the public and marketing people) to this day. When people in general start thinking they matter more than others these kind of things are going to start naturally occurring, especially with such easy access to finger operated killing machines.

He's saying to talk to them and tell them that they do matter. They are human and are capable of love. I'd rather this than send them into a system that doesn't care about them. Statistics show 68-77 percent of former prisoners get arrested again within five years. There is an empathy problem most people fear connection. The best times I've spent were with people. Sharing our beliefs with each other and bringing viewpoints into perspective is important. I have been in a dark place, I have wanted to hurt people, but I want to change. I'm guilty of this, being there for everyone is difficult. Being honest, and voicing my beliefs has been something I've kept behind closed doors. Little by little I am changing that. Doing the right thing usually hard. Pointing people down a path where they can use their skills positively is the goal. We all carry a shadow. The piece of us that wants to do hurtful things. Most people reject this-this is what allows them to be cruel. They don't acknowledge it, out of sight out of mind. They push their disgust for themselves on others. All they need to do is embrace it. We must understand and control our shadows, reel them in when they run amok. Knowing ourselves gives us clarity to grow. It allows us to view others in their entirety, to see that other people are human and a little patience goes a long way. Change is a gradual process. It doesn't happen overnight. Pushing people away is no way to live. Connecting with people is more important than punishing them.

They guy said "how one month of pain turns into a lifetime of legal trouble" meaning that don't look at them as a threat and turn them into the FBI, but rather offer support. The problem is that it is very negligent to know about someone who wants to execute a school shooting and not report them to law enforcement. If someone I knew was in that situation I would want to offer help but I would feel guilty for the rest of my life if something happened and I could have stopped it by reporting it.

Which is why instead of instantly demonizing a kid who might be a school shooter and causing even disturbance in their lives, why not offer emotional and professional support to get to the root of the problem instead. Same with apparently solving the issue is issuing guns to teachers apparently, not actually helping kids who just want help.

Because there is a real threat to multiple human lives, and also some people are just kinda fucked, not everyone is this guy too. There are kids that grow up torturing animals that had pretty good home lives, peoples brains can just be wired to kill sometimes.

At what point would you contact law enforcement? I wouldn't want someone gambling many peoples lives over "well they only might shoot up the school". I believe that the person should receive help but what is your excuse when you do offer help but it wasn't enough? In this instance, if I knew he was in the process of buying a gun, I would definitely contact law enforcement. Even though they have had shit happen in their life, it's not an excuse to kill people and you can't be for certain that offering help will stop the problem. The truth is that they are a threat, and it should be dealt with appropriately. I don't think they should be locked up in prison for many years but rather receive professional physiological counseling.

Which 99% of the time its not a fucking child "wired to kill" its a kid who was bullied or ostracized by their peers. Calling the police is masking the issue, or worse, driving more kids to actually commit the atrocity by basically labeling them as a school shooter. There's a massive leap from a kid fucking with animals or bugs, and a kid who brings a gun to school to shoot everyone on site.

No I wouldn't say many at all are wired to kill but my point still stands. Could you stand up in front of a crowd of grieving parents and tell them you tried the soft approach first but unfortunately the gunman just wasn't interested in the help? Contacting the police should not mean that this kid is demonized, in fact it should technically never even reach the public if they are a minor. I get where you are coming from, as I posted this bloody video but saying that the authorities should not be contacted is leaving the situation up to the person providing care, they are not qualified for such a liability.

So call on your neighbor for fear they might be planning something evil, gotcha. My point and the dude's point was instead of turning kids who might be a danger into the police and fucking them up more, first turn to compassion or guidance (aka what schools should be fucking doing in the first place). If that fails then call the cops, demonizing kids is not going to fix the issue when the kids are already demonized. Like nice bullshit you pulled from your ass with "Even though they have had shit happen in their life, it's not an excuse to kill people" I literally never said that.

If calling the police on a children in deep emotional pain in any situation then your policing system is aweful, and that should be treated first. If this were the UK, a social worker would show up IN SCHOOL and speak to the child as they would be initially worried about problems at home when you call the police. If your system is shit then that is that. Calling the police on someone shouldn't immediately fuck someones life regardless of context. Although intent to kill is a crime so grey areas all round, had they not bought the gun or had one one them, then it should be treated as a fantasy and treated as a mental health and social issue.

You act like rumors never spread around schools. Have you even went to a public school? Also what point? Any kid could be a violent killer? All you've said is good kids can turn when facts show that's horseshit. And said that cops should be called regardless if the kid is actually a danger or not. Lets paint a picture. You get bullied every single day, teachers refuse to help you, parents don't give a shit about you, you've just about done with the world. Then the police show up at your door and start questioning you for wanting to shoot up a school. What does that say to a kid who already feels like a outcast. They are already labeled as an unwanted freak, now people accuse you of wanting to murder others. Like the guy in your video pointed out, they want to make a message and cause as much destruction as possible. Labeling kids who are at risk amplifies that thought. Instead of turning right to the police with suspicions, have the school remedy why the kid is like that in the first place. Because right now the school system rather ignore things like bullying/homelife because its easier and causes less friction with parents.

I think the idea is to be kinder to people who look like they are having a rough time or have been ostracised before they get to the point that they feel the need to buy a gun and shoot up a school, not just look for kids who are already on the brink and try to be friends with them.

Schools in the US dont have social workers or report things that predate school shooters. US schools are completely different than UK schools.

I don't think you understand. I'm not saying call the cops on that weird kid because" he's probably a school shooter lmao". I'm saying if I knew someone had a plan of shooting up the school, I would call law enforcement to meditate. I am not going to risk peoples lives on my ability to talk them down. This is the whole basis of "see something, say something". There's no need to call the cops on a kid because he's weird, but now he is going though the process of buying a gun, then it's a different story.

I feel like you're speaking about a very specific situation here. Firstly, I went to a public school. I had a very bad stutter up until the age of around 16 when I managed to fix it through hypnotherapy. My parents were and still are alcoholics and I was bullied throughout this however my mentality was to fight back with words or if it called for it, fists. The bullies got the idea that I wasn't worth fucking with eventually and my last year went smooth as fuck. I did not ponder the idea of mass murder, or even murder at any point, but I was a strong minded European kid with no access to guns. I understand not all are the same. So let us say that like the man in the video, he actually WAS planning on shooting up a school, and the police showed up at his house. Why would this be a surprise to him, he had told someone of his intent, the police were notified, and now he is in the hands of the law, as it should be. If your reaction to getting bullied is to shoot up your school, I honestly don't have any sympathy for you, it's an act of cowardice in the extreme. HOWEVER The US does not have a history of using de-escalation tactics, like most 1st world countries, a SWAT team would likely be kicking his door down. The issue is not calling the authorities on a potential shooter, the issue is the authorities.

As someone who has had the misfortune of looking for help in the U.S. at a young age, children are largely left to fend for themselves within the US school system; social workers, teachers, and police are all often very risky options that can end up making your life worse instead of better and will often ostracize you for not being normal, and the instant any kids pick up on you having been visited by these people the rumors will spread on social media faster than a wildfire. Simply put, if a kid in the U.S. doesn't have parents who can afford often expensive psychiatric care, or even worse has parents that simply don't care and prescribe to the very standard American way of thinking (AKA its just a phase/they're just looking for attention/they'll grow out of it) then a child is essentially left to his/her own devices. Combine with this the incredibly backwards thinking of the 'zero tolerance' rules in schools that punish victims as bad if not worse than bullies, the increasingly pervasive nature of social media preventing children from ever escaping potential abusers, and the fearful stigma of even being diagnosed with a mental illness, and you can start to puzzle together how children get pushed to the breaking point.

Seriously implying all kids should just beat the shit out of each other. What if the kid cannot defend themselves or scare off bullies. Congrats, you are one of the majority, like most kids who do go to school. I was also bullied my entire school career, but I had supportive parents who backed me up. Your survivor bias literally proves nothing. Again, comparing UK schools to US schools is night and day, and considering the issue is US based, your anecdote means nothing. He was planning and got caught, congrats? I was pointing out calling willy-nilly amplifies the issue. Its still an extremely rare occurrence for a kid to commit a school shooting, jumping the gun and attacking them wont solve the issue, but having more social support in the school would help. And that's what is wrong with the US. Instead of finding WHY kids commit these atrocities, its easier to just label kids a freak, thoughts and prayers, and move onto the next day. Its an act of a child forgotten and lashed out among peers. So the issue isn't the fucked social situations, lack of action from the school, and refusal to counter negative feedback, its the cops. You figured it out my man, if we just send 2 cops instead of a swat team, that will prevent a kid from shooting a school shooting. Like do you really not see how stupid it is to say cops are the issue in child negligence, and not the surroundings of said children.