Rampage Shootings Prevention Books – The Crisis of School Violence: A New Perspective (Michigan State University Press, 2021) and Rampage Shootings (forthcoming)
Introduction – The Root Causes of Rampage Shootings
School violence continues to be one of the most disturbing and complex issues we are facing. Headlines highlight rampage shootings with shock and outrage, but do not explore the root causes of these mass murders. In her powerful book, The Crisis of School Violence, A New Perspective, Marianna King challenges readers to see school violence not as isolated tragedies, but as symptoms of social and economic injustice. Central to her thesis is the idea that interpersonal violence is often prompted by unexpressed anger — anger born from being treated badly, abused, disrespected, or disempowered by individuals, institutions, and social systems.
This blog explores how misinformation and disinformation have obstructed the public and decision-makers understanding the powerful influence of violent entertainment media, especially violent video games, on rampage shootings. This book is a call to action to address social injustice, such as ineffective bullying prevention efforts, and economic injustice, such as not curtailing the harmful effects of violent entertainment media. The book includes recommendations to begin the process of transformation by addressing social and economic injustice.
Understanding Unexpressed Anger as a Root Cause of Violence
Unexpressed anger is a volatile force that, when suppressed or ignored, can fester into destructive behavior. Anger, at its core, is a natural response to our human nature being violated.
A Call to Action: Transforming Injustice Into Empowerment
Schools are crucibles of the future. The crisis of school violence is also an opportunity to transform schools into spaces of humanization and empowerment. Instead of focusing on punitive measures or increased surveillance, we must address a powerful overlooked contributing factor – violent video games. Restorative justice programs and social-emotional learning can help to mitigate school violence, however these efforts are not sufficient because they do not address violent video games. Marianna King’s perspective invites educators and policymakers to look at violence as a reaction to injustice that is fueled by exposure to violent entertainment media.
Understanding the Root of Violence – Social and Economic Injustice
Marianna King points out the United States is called “the culture of violence,” and that this culture has a symbiotic relationship with the violence industries, those industries that directly and indirectly facilitate aggression and violence. These industries include the war industry, the weapons industry, the war toy industry, and the violent entertainment industry, especially violent video games. The books’ research into human nature reveals that compassion, equality, respect, and a need for justice are part of our ancient social and emotional heritage.
Marianna King’s powerful work, The Crisis of School Violence, A New Perspective, serves as both a lens and a mirror. It offers readers the opportunity to examine how violence often emerges not just from individual bad actors but from broken social processes and institutions. Her message is a call to action: to transform our schools—and by extension, our society—into crucibles of humanization and peace.
Her upcoming book, Rampage Shootings, is under review by publishers. This book expands the exploration of the causes of rampage shootings by looking at adult shooters as well as juvenile shooters. The book discusses why most adult rampage shooters are economically disenfranchised working-class men who are not economically successful in a society that equates wealth with power.
King argues that when institutions such as schools, families, workplaces, and justice systems allow inequality and injustice, they are breeding grounds for frustration and unspoken rage. Aggression and violence result when our human nature and need for justice are violated by systems that disempower us and deny our humanity.
What Can We Do? A Call for Social, and Economic Justice
People don’t simply want peace. They want just peace. As Martin Luther Kind pointed out, there can be no peace without justice.
The extent to which we act determines the extent to which rampage shootings can be prevented.
Conclusion
The anger that motivates violence is a signal that something in our social and economic system is deeply broken. But it is also an opportunity. By addressing the root causes of this anger and working toward interpersonal, social, and economic justice, we can build schools that are not battlegrounds, but beacons of peace, empowerment, and humanization.
Marianna King’s book is more than a reflection; it is a call to act. And the extent to which we respond may well determine the future of our schools — and the lives of the students within them.