What do recent mass murderers have in common?

I started thinking (dangerous, I know) about the recent Oregon shooting, and then other recent mass-murder incidents in the US. I wondered what, if any, common denominator they may have. It didn't take long to find one, and a pretty notable one at that. Nearly every single one of the recent mass murderers comes from a single parent household, or some type of a disfunctional/unusual family situation. Now, at first glance this may seem like a "Thank you, Captain Obvious" moment, but I wonder if there's more to it...

To the below list we can add the Oregon shooter's name as well as the Tsarnaev bothers in the Boston incient.

Commonality

I started thinking back over all the people I've known in my life who came from single parent households. Was there anything unique about their homelife which would make them different? I am happy to say I've never known any mass murderers (that I'm aware of), so let's get that out of the way. However, there actually was something I had always noticed, but never really thought about that much previously.

In better than half of the instances the parent of the person I knew (whether 'Mom' or 'Dad') had a very prominent "I'm a victim" mentality or mindset. Correspondingly, better than half of the friends I had who came from a single parent home had a decidedly negative general outlook on things. The more prominent the 'victim' mentality of the parent, the more negative the outlook of the child.

In the most recent mass murder incidents the parent of the perpetrator have almost always had some very unusual personality quirks (bordering on paranoid and delusional). The most prominent of these traits has been...the 'victim' mentality.

When we talk about mental health and trying to sleuth out who might be the next mass murder the focus is often on attempting to ferret out the individual himself. I wonder if the focus shouldn't be on the parents who might be conditioning the next mass murder, and then seeing to it they don't have the tools to act out.

PLEASE NOTE - This is by NO means an indictment of single parents. There are millions of single parents who do a fine job raising children. It is merely an effort to leave no stone unturned attempting to find a solution to a growing problem.

Here is another piece from 2012 with similar findings.

More

Are we maybe looking in the worng place??

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of shooters or their parents have a government or military connection.

They where angry young men, most had some sort of mental disorder, and probably a need to be acknowledged by there peers.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

Are we maybe looking in the worng place??

I would say yes.

Stop looking at possible symptoms retroactively, and try to find things that we can address proactively so we can stop these shootings before they happen.

Hmmm

Oregon: Another Mass Shooting, Another Psychiatric Drug? 35 School Shootings/Mass Stabbings Tied to Psychiatric Drugs

I couldn't help noticing that guns were involved, just sayin'.

a reply to: InTheShadows

Well, in order to predict the future with any level of reliability one must study the past. It's the only place data exists.

I don't disagree entirely though.

a reply to: xuenchen

I totally agree this (psychological, SSRI, etc drugs) is one of the root causes, and we should be collectively looking at this matter very, very, carefully. It is quite evident we do not fully understand the long-term effects of these and other drugs.

a reply to: InTheShadows

Isn't looking for social links, presumably so that society can fix them, an example of “try to find things that we can address proactively so we can stop these shootings before they happen”?

I think the thing that these people have in common is plain and simple narcissism.
Being raised in a single parent family adds fuel to the fire by allowing these guys the luxury of being made the center of that parents universe. They never properly learn that the world does not revolve around them and grow up thinking that all that matters is "them". Mass murder is simply a by product of the "look at me" syndrome.
Just my two cents.

They were all American's.

People seem to think Americans invented mass killing.....Hardly,

When I was a kid. There was a shooting at my Jr.High School.

The difference was there was no media blasting every detail with theme music.

I blame the media. They want blood. They need blood.

They encourage weak minded people to act.

originally posted by: Mianeye
They were all American's.

Yeah, the guy in Norway was an American...

Just like the two Boston bombers, there were American too, right?

The commonality you're looking for is psychotropic drugs. ALL these shooters have been on serious meds to "help" them with their mental issues.

originally posted by: schuyler
The commonality you're looking for is psychotropic drugs. ALL these shooters have been on serious meds to "help" them with their mental issues.

That does seem to be the common link.

Or, is it all we have to give these people who are completely nuts?

It needs to be investigated either way.

a reply to: whyamIhere

%..is the head dead yet%
%...get the widow on the set%
%...we need Dirty Laundry%

Yep!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I started thinking (dangerous, I know) about the recent Oregon shooting, and then other recent mass-murder incidents in the US. I wondered what, if any, common denominator they may have.

You said in the US, so why do you mention Norway, the Boston bombing was a terrorist attack, a little different from the deranged school/ movie shooters, even though they all create terror.

originally posted by: Jonjonj
I couldn't help noticing that guns were involved, just sayin'.

what a terrible answer, just my opinion, (of course, blame the gun!!) on topic, I would point a finger towards psychotropic medications....

Or! IF as many people believe, these are staged events, then only having one parent halves the problem of concealment!

originally posted by: Mianeye
They were all American's.

there is another terrible answer, (of course, just my opinion again) do some research, can't blame Americans for all of them.