Here we go again (Journalism)

     When I was reading about the shooting in Arizona, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I had heard this story somewhere before. I've had that same nagging feeling that I should know what seemed so familiar about this story all day, and it hit me as I got home and took another look at the news on what happened.

     This is Columbine all over again. The same media panic over answering why first, the same general motivation of the killer(s) ("hate the world"),  the same kind of personality.

     Both of these people, Loughner and Harris, made very clear anti-political views long before their respective shootings. Harris was insane. It's worth noting, however, that Harris could function.

    Then again, maybe not. Loughner's MySpace and Youtube accounts don't exactly show a sane mind. He presents himself as a cultist, almost. Almost no sound, just text. It's a disturbing effect. There's no transition. Nothing he mentions makes him seem like he has a clue what the hell he's actually saying. He's repeating half-heard phrases, and trying to link them together with some half-assed mental glue. It doesn't work, given what assumptions he's making.

     Eric Harris, though, was able to function fairly easily. As wonderful as it would be to assume he was just a nutjob, Harris, the mastermind behind the Columbine Massacre, was able to function quite well, and his plan almost worked exactly as he wanted it to.

     There is one very major difference between the two though. Harris shot himself in the head. Loughner will stand trial. This could very well end up a landmark case.

    There is a book published about Columbine, written by Dave Cullen. He's made a public blog post himself on the same subject here.