A Killer At Thurston High

As with any(prenominal) tragedy, the circumstances meet arriviste Kinkels murderous rampage leaves 1 flockonical question to be answered Why? Why would a teen bit choose to kill his parents, whom he claimed to love, in cold blood? And wherefore would he then go to give lessons thirteen hours later and air what appear to be random murders? It is seeming that one can never truly understand what would possess fewone to commit such flagitious crimes. However, through the application of certain psychological principles, it is possible to form a hypothetical business relationship for his actions.If one were to subscribe to a psychoanalytic opine of what caused Kinkels violent display of hate, the case can easily be make that his hatred for himself, as expressed in journal entries found in his room, caused him to subconsciously transfer his feelings for himself onto his parents (Frontline). It is non a far reach to suppose that he whitethorn perk up felt that, in conclu sion, his parents were to hellish for his businesss. Had it not been for them, he would never have been born.This theory is supported by his written confession, which he left at the scene of his parents murder, in which he stated I wish I had been aborted. In this same letter, he states that he love his mom and dad so much (Frontline). This win lends credibility to the supposition that while he felt love for his parents outwardly, he subconsciously harbored blame towards them because they were, essentially, the source of his suffering because they were the responsible for his existence. Unfortunately, his inner turmoil manifested itself in a violent explosion of emotions, and he committed murders for reasons that even he could not apologize.An different common theory that one could consider is that to some extent, Kinkels behavior can be attri provideded to peer influence, which would fall under the category of behavior modeling. harmonise to the chronological time table prov ided on the PBS Frontline website, Kinkel had no limpid behavioral problems during his elementary school courses.Although he struggled neatly in school, several(prenominal) sources stated that he worked actually hard to attempt to keep up with his classmates. It would seem that once he entered middle school, he began to associate with boorlike race who were less than upstanding citizens. It is possible that by acting out, he was gaining acceptance from his peers, as opposed to feeling inferior because of his learning disability. It is primal to line of products that many of his offenses, particularly during his middle school years, involved friends. perspicacity from his behavior, one can easily infer that Kinkel is not a leader, barely a fol starting timeer.It is likely that, at least in the beginning, he very seldom initiated criminal behavior, but rather blindly followed his friends down some(prenominal) path they chose. This may have likely set the stage for further misbehavior. While his friends were not found to have any involvement in the murder of Kinkels parents or classmates, they did attribute to his decrepit attitude and fostered his fascination with taws and other deadly weapons. So, in his attempt to conform to his friends estimations and behavior, he himself adopted their ways.His delinquent behavior evolved from so called victimless crimes, for instance, the ordering of mail order bomb books, shoplifting, etc, to increasingly violent acts. As the chronological timeline found on the Frontline website cl first illustrates, it was not until aft(prenominal) the relatively minor incidents occurred that his crimes became violent. Throwing rocks off of the highway overpass, though it could have potentially caused great injury, was not a blatantly violent crime. However, slightly three months later he was suspended from school for violent assaults against his classmates.One of the biggest controversies surrounding cases of teenage viol ence in America is deciding to whom the blame belongs. some(prenominal) may posit that the childs parents are to blame after all, they are the ones ultimately responsible for their children. Others may blame the advent of violent video games, citing that unseasonedish minds do not possess the discernment to know the difference betwixt reality and fantasy.Still others lead claim that the media is responsible given that most young adults have unlimited access to television, explicit CDs and internet websites, they are likely over stimulated with inappropriate material. From a psychological viewpoint, we would define the said(prenominal) opinions as a tendency toward cognitive heuristics, more specifically, the principle of availability. That is to say, Kinkel may have drawn on scenarios that he had either witnessed or perceive intimately in order to rationalize his behavior.It is also possible that the idea to throw fire on his classmates was in some way influenced by the inf lux of school shootings around the nation. In theory, the fact that his upshot to his problem was to go on a murderous rampage so abruptly after other school shootings, lends credence to the idea that he was influenced by coverage of other shootings.Judging from Kinkels actions, writings, and confessional utterances, he suffered from a very low self-esteem. Although some people naturally have a healthier self-image than others, a humane view of psychology dictates that negative experiences can contribute to a persons low self-worth. As described on the Frontline website, Kinkel struggled with school from the very beginning. Because he started school in Spain, and spoke only English, he was at a great disadvantage.Not only did he miss out on an academic level, but also on a social level. Even after return to the United States, he continued to struggle in many areas of schooling. Having to reverberate the first grade likely affected his self-esteem. Also, by all accounts, he cont inued to struggle with language problems. In an interview, his sister admits to teasing him about his deficiency.It is likely that his classmates may have done the same. Once he was diagnosed with a learning disability, and given the appropriate help, he apparently began to improve academically. However, one can conclude that his feelings of low self-worth did not completely dissipate. This may explain why he chose the friends that he did, which ultimately lead to participating in criminal activi railroad ties.It has become a commonly accepted notion in the United States that puberty is the cause of many abnormal behaviors in young people. To some extent, it is a reasonable claim as a child matures into a teenager, they will likely push for more independence and individuality. changing hormones can attribute to some peculiar behavior, but in itself is not an excuse for even minor criminal behavior, let alone murdering ones parents and classmates. However, as Frontline reports, Dr. Orin Bolstad, a psychologist who specializes in juvenile killers, stated that Kinkels behavior is pursuant(predicate) with an early onset of schizophrenia.This form of schizophrenia manifested itself through several delusional beliefs, as well as the apparent voices that told Kinkel to commit the murders. It is also important to note that the theory that his violent behavior was caused by a biological factor, in this case a chemical imbalance, is substantiated by the fact that the use of fluoxetine seemed to calm some of his erratic behavior. One can even tie the biological aspect of his illness to the humanistic aspect by recognizing that the voices that Kinkel claimed to hear, voices that may have been his subconscious thoughts manifested, were dangerous to his self-image. According to Kinkel, the voices told him he was worthless, which would be consistent with his low self-esteem.Of all the psychological aspects that can be used to discerp Kinkels behavior, perhaps the hardest to address is societys role. Are young people being desensitized to gun use through culturally accepted displays of violence? Are guns in like manner readily available to young people? In Kinkels situation, the answer is obviously that yes, guns were made way too available. Although his father apparently took great fearfulness in trying to teach him that guns are a responsibility, he did abandon the teenager to purchase a firearm.This likely sent a depicted object to the young man that it is ok to own a gun. In fact, it was after his father allowed him to purchase a firearm that he continued to vitiate more from friends. Once he was caught with possession of a firearm on school property, he claims he did not want his parents to have to be ashamed. So, in an attempt to solve this problem, he decided to kill his parents. His solution to the problem is not unlike the plots of many action-adventure movies, thus lending credibility to the culturally inspired aspect of his crime.In conclusion, it is impossible to know exactly what caused Kip Kinkel to murder his parents in cold blood. Nor is there any real explanation as to why he would then drive to school and open fire on an entire cafeteria of students. Although modern psychology can, to some extent, poke out a glimpse into the diseased mind, it can not afford us a clear and scientific answer as to why people do the things they do. One thing is certain in Kinkels case he is a deeply disturbed individual.When the judge handed down the one- hundred-eleven year sentence, he confirmed what many psychologists already knew there is no trust of rehabilitation for a young man who committed such grievous crimes. Even if medication and therapy could alleviate the symptoms of his disease, the knowledge of the pain that he caused will be with him until the day he dies. Such is the tragic ending of a very tragic situation.Works CitedThe Killer At Thurston High. PBS Frontline. (January 2000). 20 November 2006. http//w ww.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/