Is the GOP becoming like a spree killer?

[Alcibiades]

Every now and again, more often now that we are in a recession, somebody will go off the deep end and start killing folks. We've seen this so often that there are now profiles for folks likely to engage in this sort of behavior:

(Ripped off from somewhere else)

"Profile of Potentially Violent Persons

* Previous history of violence toward the vulnerable (women, children, animals)
* Loner, withdrawn; feels nobody listens to him, views change with fear
* Emotional problems (substance abuse, depression, low self-esteem)
* Career frustration & either significant tenure on the same job OR migratory job history
* Antagonistic relationships with others
* Some type of obsession; i.e., weapons, other acts of violence, romantic/sexual, zealot (political, religious, racial), the job itself, neatness and order

Observable Warning Signs

* Violent or threatening behavior, hostility, approval of the use of violence
* Strange behavior (becoming reclusive, deteriorating appearance/hygiene, erratic behavior)
* Emotional problems (drug/alcohol abuse, unusual stress, depression, inappropriate emotional display)
* Performance problems, including problems with attendance or tardiness
* Interpersonal problems (numerous conflicts, hyper-sensitivity, resentment)
* "At the end of his/her rope" (indicators of impending suicide, unspecified plan to "solve all problems")
* Access to and familiarity with weapons

Triggering Event

* Being fired, laid off or suspended, passed over for promotion
* Disciplinary action, poor performance review, criticism from boss or coworkers
* Bank or court action (foreclosure, restraining order, custody hearing)
* Benchmark date (company anniversary, chronological age, Hitler's birthday, as was the case for Columbine)
* Failed or spurned romance, personal crisis (divorce, death in family)"


QUESTION: Are there any other checklists like this out there? To what extent does the GOP/Teabagger/birther crowd match this description? Discuss.

[timeforpeace]

1. They are the minority, vastly outnumbered, and given too much credit for thwarting the majority.

[stuball111]

2. Sounds about right...

I just hope they don't all snap at once, but it's commin!

[T Wolf]

3. What do you mean "becoming?" The pukes have always represented the forces of death and

destruction (environmental polluters, economic terrorists, health insurance murderers, bigoted criminals, etc.).

Individually, they go off and kill because they do not have the mental capacity to think beyond their own greed and selfishness and hatred.

[Alcibiades]

5. Absolutely: they have always been assholes

But lately, they have been acting erratically. They have started bringing guns to political rallies. They have been making veiled threats of violence toward the government, liberals, and anyone else they are told to consider as a parasite by their enablers. They are fearful, and feel that their voice doesn't count. "Antagonistic relationships with others" actually understates the extent of their incivility of late. They have manifested any number of obsessions, becoming fixated on things such as the President's birth certificate. "Access to and familiarity with weapons," check. And, of course, their whole party has been given the boot by the American electorate and, as they grow increasingly marginalized, their feelings of isolation and resentment have grown.

There is a strong drive to psychopathologize folks with whom we disagree: we think that rational people would agree with us, so our opponents must therefore be crazy. But the commonalities between these folks and the sorts of folks who commit mass murders seem to be much more compelling than they have been in the past, now that the lunatic fringe has become the mainstream of the GOP. They remind me of a von Brunn: crazy political obsessions, gun loving, angry, and with a feeling of being disrespected, coupled with an ego and insecurities that make such disrespect dangerous for anyone who gets in the way.

[Taverner]

4. Agreed, however "inappropriate emotional display" is subjective