We are going to go through the same thing again of doing a post mortem analysis of trying to “figure out” why this person did this. In a related post I mentioned literally in 2019 on our inability to predict mass shootings we won’t always know. Yes, they will find correlates, for example bullying, a loner blah blah blah. These things don’t answer the question.

We as humans want an explanation for other human behavior. I admit it’s an uncomfortable feeling NOT knowing the why of when a human does something we don’t like. The issue is sometimes in life we won’t get satisfying answers/closure for something. We of course default to mental health which is not reasonable as like in this situation. Just because someone does something you do not like does mean they have a mental disturbance. We need to keep in mind philosophical differences.

Think about this world-wide in some cultures they have forms of gender expectations, educational standards, job expectations, etc we think are terrible, ridiculous, “crazy.” Yet the reality is that is their philosophical take on the human condition.

This individual even if we uncover some manifesto, which again may be simply their philosophical take on dealing with issues.  We may not like it yet it is their take on life. It does not mean they had a mental disorder.

It is easy to cherry pick, or as we call it scenically selectively reference information. This means select the information that makes a person look good or bad or have a mental illness or exonerate them of one. Obviously if a person is selectively referencing information they have some bias, or personal agenda. Just because a person says X/Y/Z does not mean it qualifies as a mental illness. I referenced this in my post on transphobia. People when they don’t like something will tend to pathologize the concept when clinically it is a ridiculous position to take.

Think to yourself the times you have not been given an explanation and found no closure in a personal situation. Whether that be a break up, a firing from a job, loss of a loved one, etc. Think of the Las Vegas shooter from the hotel locked in a room on an upper floor. They investigated everyone close to him and found no mental health issues and ultimately, we got no explanations. You probably forgot about that event years ago now.

The point ultimately, I am making beyond this event people need to accept sometimes we don’t get satisfying explanations or closure.

On a related note. I’m certain some of you have read my posts and wondered considering my “out of the box” thinking I have a mental disorder. However, I have been cleared of such things, you simply don’t like my take things in our society. Actually, personally I have been praised for some of my posts by other psychology people privately and confidentially knowing what I’m saying is accurate. It’s just that many times I question the status quo and expose peoples biased thinking. I am willing to bring up things people don’t like to talk about socially. I know since I have been told by people close to me that they have read my posts and felt embarrassed knowing they have made these cognitive errors themselves. So, don’t pathologize this shooter because you don’t like what they may have said.