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I don't know how thoroughly you read the article, but it did get pretty in depth about what was going on in this particular case, the motivations you are outlin

I don't know how thoroughly you read the article, but it did get pretty in depth about what was going on in this particular case, the motivations you are outlining aren't the same as the ones LaDue had. He wasn't interested in the glory. He has a mild case of autism, displaying what is called a "restricted range of interests" causing him to obsess deeply over various aspects of his chosen field, individual acts of terrorism. On some level, he understood that what he was planning was wrong, and self-sabotaged his efforts at a subconscious level. I get the impression that if left alone, he may have talked himself out of doing it "this year," setting subsequent dates that will then get put off in the same manner. What seemed to drive him was his very obsession, carrying it out would have robbed him of the ability to keep obsessing. Redirected, his obsession would make for a great career in law enforcement, once he gets his condition under control.

agarden 11y ago
This case of LaDue is certainly on odd one. I agree that it isn't clear he actually had the nerve to follow through. But it is clear he is following a script. He calls Eric Harris his hero. He cites all the precedents. Maybe humiliating such perpetrators would not have prevented LaDue, but if it prevented people like Eric Harris, then it would reduce the precedent, and hence probably also the attraction, for people like LaDue. It's the riot theory the article starts with. If you can deter the people who get the riot started, you can possibly deter the people like LaDue who follow along just because it is now a thing that people do.
- r-w 11y ago
  I think the way to go is to teach people to think rationally about what others do and why, since if they can marginalize the initial perpetrators, they themselves can neutralize the threat of a violent phenomenon snowballing.

agarden 11y ago

This case of LaDue is certainly on odd one. I agree that it isn't clear he actually had the nerve to follow through. But it is clear he is following a script. He calls Eric Harris his hero. He cites all the precedents. Maybe humiliating such perpetrators would not have prevented LaDue, but if it prevented people like Eric Harris, then it would reduce the precedent, and hence probably also the attraction, for people like LaDue. It's the riot theory the article starts with. If you can deter the people who get the riot started, you can possibly deter the people like LaDue who follow along just because it is now a thing that people do.

r-w 11y ago
I think the way to go is to teach people to think rationally about what others do and why, since if they can marginalize the initial perpetrators, they themselves can neutralize the threat of a violent phenomenon snowballing.