Breaking Point

Hardly a week goes by without hearing of some sort of supposedly random and unexpected violence. Shootings in the workplace or school are more and more common. Most recently, a soldier in Afghanistan killed 16 civilians in a seemingly unprovoked killing spree.

Generally speaking, the perpetrators of these acts are described as normal, more or less, and have no history of such aberrant behavior. My question is whether the behavior represents an illness or merely a symptom of an underlying problem.

First of all, past practice serves no good purpose in trying to explain a sudden shift in temperament. Every killer, rapist, robber, or what-have-you was fine until they weren’t and that first anti-social act, regardless of age, came as more or less of a surprise to those familiar with the individual.

Have you ever snapped? I venture to say yes because we all have come to that “final straw” and reacted somewhat out of our ordinary character: thrown tools, expletives spewn out in abundance, or any other red-faced, fist clenching response to something gone awry. In extreme cases, perhaps a fist through the wall, but most of us have a firmer grip on ourselves and find a way to release the pent up steam without exacting a toll on our physical surroundings.

Others, unfortunately, have reached a point where more moderate methods seem of little use and a higher level of retribution is called for. Now is that because the individual is wired differently than most or simply a stronger response to a more severe set of circumstances is required? No one knows how much can be taken until that point is reached. And then...SNAP...our once normal neighbor is on a mission to inflict great harm. Sometimes that rage is directed against specific individuals and other times it is random. Regardless, the boiling point has been reached and cool, calm logic is replaced by blind, knee-jerk reaction.

Over the past several years, historically well-adjusted folks have found themselves unemployed and underwater in their homes. The ensuing stress causes breakdowns in marriages which only leads to more despair and more stress. The GI accused of the 16 Afghan deaths was on his fourth tour to the Middle East, the previous three to Iraq. Let that sink in: the FOURTH tour! I cannot picture a more stressful situation than surviving in a war zone for one tour or maybe two, but three? Or, god forbid, four? It has been reported that his marriage was also in trouble. Gee, I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why.

Yes, these folks are sick, but from what affliction? Is it an internal disconnect brought on by some genetic predisposition or could it be from the ever-increasing sense of hopelessness as they watch their aspirations for today and tomorrow crumble around them? From the teen who’s bullied to the battle-hardened veteran: perhaps they found themselves at a tipping point where right was wrong and good was evil. In this topsy-turvy world without structure, all things become equally plausible and I’d suggest that, in these cases, those who create victims are victims themselves.

It doesn’t take a military master-mind to decide that four combat tours are at least two too many. Yet we will now hear of studies exploring that hypothesis (at least until the furor abates). And, in the meantime, soldiers will be rotated through numerous combat deployments. Recognizing unacceptable levels of the crap heaped upon us by society, however, is harder to predict. 

Don’t get me wrong: acts of this nature can be neither excused nor condoned. Let us agree, though, to consider the greater scheme of things as we try to explain their root causes. As the world gets smaller and faster, the demands placed upon us seem to grow by the day making it harder to find that ray of sunshine through the clouds of disappointment and disillusion. And, as a result, the breaking point for many of us may be but a heartbeat away.