Shattering some illusions

A new book looks at teen mass killers:

Columbine shooters mentally ill, not bullied


The most prevalent misconception about school shootings, Langman contends, is that they are perpetrated by loners or outcasts striking out against classmates who bullied them. In reality, most shooters were teased no more or no less than their peers, most had friends, and most of the victims were targeted at random.

Anti-bullying efforts really took off after Columbine. I remember hearing Rush Limbaugh zero in on an unintended consequence of linking such programs to school shootings. To wit, outcasts and misfits are already persecuted by their peers. After Columbine, law enforcement and school administrators added to their misery by treating them as potential mass murderers.