hmmm. just some early morning thoughts…
1.) My first assumption is that the lone wolf terrorist is not born, but created, intentionally or accidentally, by American culture. I do not believe people are born criminal or born killers. Lone wolf attacks on American society are perpetuated by discontented individuald snf er don't find this symptom of discontent prevalent cross-culturally, which begs the question, what part of American culture is fueling vigilante violence?
2.) The second assumption is large-scale acts of violence are an effort to be heard. There are times when the ideology itself requires an act of martyrdom, but we don't find that in many of these attacks. In general, it seems these attacks are fueled by the desire to share a message. I would suggest many attacks, such as young people shooting up schools, is a result of being “unable to share” themselves in a healthy way.
3.) Finally, I believe massive acts of violence are preventable. I believe it is being fueled by a narcissism and megalomania. A culture where we forgot to listen. A culture where we place blame in the all the wrong places. Why? It feels good. It feels good to blame anyone but ourselves for the violence of another. Are these beings part of humanity, or some anomaly that we will collectively write off as inhuman? Did we, did anyone, did someone, try to listen, that is what we must be asking ourselves.