Kerby Anderson

As I have mentioned in various commentaries, mass shootings in America are on the increase. There are lots of theories that have been proposed to explain this dreadful phenomenon. Malcolm Gladwell has an explanation for these shootings that makes sense, but is also very discouraging.

He argues that we are in the midst of what could be called a “slow motion riot” of mass shootings. Borrowing from the work of some sociologists, Malcolm Gladwell first argues that we should not look at these shootings in isolation but see them as connected. Second, we should understand that the Columbine shooting set the “cultural script.” Third, we need to understand how each action lowers the next threshold.

We can see this in an actual riot. The first person to throw a rock through a window lowers the threshold for someone else that might not have thrown a rock initially but will do so now that the first rock was thrown. Then another person decides to loot a store. That lowers a threshold for the next person who might not have taken a TV in other circumstances. Each action lowers the threshold so that others who might not have taken action get involved in the riot.

That brings us back to Columbine. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold set the “cultural script.” They had a website. They made movies. They spelled out their motivations. That made it easier for other potential shooters to follow their lead. One study found that a majority of school shooters in the eight years after Columbine made explicit references to Harris and Klebold. And a majority of school shootings outside the US were also versions of Columbine.

The most discouraging part of his theory is that the threshold is being lowered so much “that young men no longer need to be deeply disturbed to contemplate horrific acts.” That seems to be what we are seeing, and unfortunately suggests we will be seeing many more shootings in the future.