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> By 2018, there were only 12 known serial killers and 44 victims, according to the report Ok, I’m calling bullshit. There were 27 mass shooting events with >

by hedora 3y ago

> By 2018, there were only 12 known serial killers and 44 victims, according to the report Ok, I’m calling bullshit. There were 27 mass shooting events with >= 4 dead in the US in 2018: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2018 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_th... (I used 4 dead as the cutoff, since it is close to the mean in the article’s data set.) If you count people that managed to shoot at least 4 others, then there were 323 attempted serial murders, “resulting in 387 deaths and 1,283 injuries, for a total of 1,670 victims.” The article may as well be titled “Serial murders can mow be performed in under an hour, thanks to improved technology”

ksaj 3y ago
Serial killing and mass killing aren't the same thing. I like to think of mass killing as "parallel killing." The "serial" refers to one killing event after another, whereas mass killing is lots of killing in single events. Having said that, you are right - technology might be better at finding and stopping serial killers, but doesn't really do much at all for finding and stopping parallel killers. Mass killing is way up, so the article's conclusion is not really all that reassuring.
pivic 3y ago
Mass murder≠serial murder. Serial murder requires three or more murders committed by the same perpetrators with more than a month of time between each murder.
agency 3y ago
I'm as horrified as you are by the rate of mass shootings in the US but this is a basic misunderstanding of terminology on your part. Criminology distinguishes between mass killings (single event), spree killings (multiple separate killings rapidly with no "cooling off" period between them), and serial killings
p3rls 3y ago
I personally suspect inequality in social status among such victims to be rising as well. Before times, you had propaganda of the deed, serial killers, political violence etc. keeping elites on their toes. Now the Columbine meta has solidified and that has turned Wal*Marts and public schools into shooting galleries for these rage-filled losers to maximize their KDR by shooting in high-density and low-defense areas.
- dredmorbius 3y ago
  KDR, for the uninitiated, is "kill-to-death ratio": <https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/KDR.html https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/KDR.html> Kills are by the shooter, death is of the shooter.
  - p3rls 3y ago
    The language is pretty descriptive of the phenomenon going on I thought but looks as though others disagree.
    - dredmorbius 3y ago
      It might help to note that it comes from gaming. First-person-shooters I presume. (I'd meant to include that in my own prior comment.)

by hedora 3y ago

ksaj 3y ago

Serial killing and mass killing aren't the same thing. I like to think of mass killing as "parallel killing." The "serial" refers to one killing event after another, whereas mass killing is lots of killing in single events. Having said that, you are right - technology might be better at finding and stopping serial killers, but doesn't really do much at all for finding and stopping parallel killers. Mass killing is way up, so the article's conclusion is not really all that reassuring.

pivic 3y ago

Mass murder≠serial murder. Serial murder requires three or more murders committed by the same perpetrators with more than a month of time between each murder.

agency 3y ago

I'm as horrified as you are by the rate of mass shootings in the US but this is a basic misunderstanding of terminology on your part. Criminology distinguishes between mass killings (single event), spree killings (multiple separate killings rapidly with no "cooling off" period between them), and serial killings

p3rls 3y ago

I personally suspect inequality in social status among such victims to be rising as well. Before times, you had propaganda of the deed, serial killers, political violence etc. keeping elites on their toes. Now the Columbine meta has solidified and that has turned Wal*Marts and public schools into shooting galleries for these rage-filled losers to maximize their KDR by shooting in high-density and low-defense areas.

dredmorbius 3y ago
KDR, for the uninitiated, is "kill-to-death ratio": <https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/KDR.html https://www.cyberdefinitions.com/definitions/KDR.html> Kills are by the shooter, death is of the shooter.
- p3rls 3y ago
  The language is pretty descriptive of the phenomenon going on I thought but looks as though others disagree.
  - dredmorbius 3y ago
    It might help to note that it comes from gaming. First-person-shooters I presume. (I'd meant to include that in my own prior comment.)