School shooting in Jokela
 

18 year old went and shot a few schoolmates yesterday in Jokela, just north of Helsinki.

Jokela is part of Tuusula. It's a rich commuter town full of happy, functioning families who are living the dream, as you can see from the town's website.

http://www.tuusula.fi/english/

About a time! Last time here in Finland was a school shooting in 1989.

Finland now has a Columbine incident.

I think its horrible.

What's the profile of the shooter? What happened to him? Is he alive or dead? Hopefully he's dead.

The Columbine shooters (Dylan Klebold and I forget the other kid's name) were misfits, outcasts, wearing black trench coats and very anti-social. They wanted revenge on those that discluded them, plus they were gun freaks and into shooter games really heavily and what not.

This is why I think prostitution should be legal. Seriously. If prostitution was legal, then even misfits, weirdos, and those unfortunate to be disfigured or deformed would have a means to be sexually gratified and lead ultimately happier lives. You can't tell me these kids would have done this if they were getting laid. Why kill yourself or get arrested and screw all that up?

May the souls of the victims rest in peace...

Here's an article from the Helsingin Sanomat, Finland's largest daily:

http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Sch.../1135231685357

Lots of links to the right of the main article.

Not sure about prostitution being the answer mate! I'd imagine that gets pretty depressing too. What kids have got money to go out hoaring anyway? But knowing Finland, you'd probably get it paid by the social services.

Yeah, but people go out whoring anyway so it may as well be legal. It is in New Zealand and despite claims by the conservative fucknuts the end of the world hasn't come about. What a shocker.

I've never been to a prostitute. Am I missing out on anything there? I just don't see the point if you can't cuddle afterwards...

Ahh. Kittens is cool. Unless you're a field mouse.

Or you are generally afraid of kittens.

Here's a little different take on shootings: Be nice to everyone or they might get angry enough to shoot you. I'm serious. If you f*ck someone off so much that they are angry enough to kill, then you deserve to die.

You're all missing the message. Isolated nutters don't cause shootings, people cause shootings. You, me, everyone. We all deserve it.

Cheers,
B

I think I get your drift, but I can't completely agree with the statement above. What if the person you are dealing with is significantly irrational and disturbed? Then you, me, or anyone else might do something considered normal, or maybe just a little bit harsh, but the other party considers the act enough ot kill. So should we all act in such a way that we are not prone to upset everyone in the whole world? I guess the thing to do is be observant of those you associate with, and not naive, and to be careful if you get a bad vibe for any reason. Just my .02.

:)

I think that society creates its killers. If we were supportive and connected, this wouldn't happen. Utopian dream maybe, but my view.

A common theme in similar situations is that others notice suspicious behaviour but do nothing. Sort of like "well yes, he was very quiet and kept to himself and had a lot of guns in his bedroom". I think society fails when someone goes on a rampage. Ignoring this aspect and marginalising the killer doesn't stop it happenning again - to makes it even more likely.

Cheers,
B

It's a good point psy, and as Marilyn Manson said in reply to the question:

What would you have said to Harris and Klebold?

He said:

I wouldn't have said anything. I would have listened.

But the fact remains that there are millions of disaffected teenagers - surprise, surprise - around and unfortunately the internet has given these people the perfect environment to grow totally obsessive. When I was that age we got electric guitars and played rock and roll and that's how we dealt with not having a girlfriend or any money.

I'm sure there were times when my parents despaired, wondering what to do about this dysfunctional arsehole who wanted to do nothing else but play guitar and ride a skateboard. They didn't have a fucking clue.

Now I'm a parent myself of two kids not far away from their teens, I just hope that they'll always know I'll support them through whatever they want to do and I'll fucking do my best to ensure that they actually do what they want to do.

I blame this lad's parents for their singular lack of interest and allowing him to get a gun.

Hi OVM. Because you admit to being a parent, I'm surprised you consider that parents can be at fault. Good for you :)

But really, no 1 or 2 people are responsible. Peers, technology companies and marketeers now have more influence on teenagers than their parents. There's lifestyles that are cool to buy into, although as a 50 year old I would call it gullible and conformist (even though this is paraded as individuality). Teenagers are so easy to target in marketing because they demand to be identified and branded. The hippies were supposed to be about freedom and a better world, but their children are creating a self imposed authoritarian state. This authoritarian state is abhorrent to me and many young people quite rightly seek to rebel against it.

I was always an individual and got loads of crap over it, so I never felt connected to peers. Grew up with a self identity and I feel it made me a better person than I might have been. I think that the odd madman with a gun is me, but expressing rage against the system in the wrong way.

Thanks for listening,
B

I'd hardly blame the children of hippies for today's marketing strategies.

When TV came along in the 50's we had the first instance of mass teen hysteria with Elvis. Frank Sinatra was also a teen star, but was never as shocking as those evil rock and rollers, nor could he be sold on such a scale. It didn't take long for marketeers to realise that tapping into teen angst using this all pervading new technology was a great opportunity. Ripping off kids with the promise of a lifestyle is nothing new.

The 60's had to be the biggest buy in ever. How many kids got sucked into all that? Sure there was Vietnam and a draft which did focus a rebellious cause, but the marketing machine was unstoppable by now. Whilst thousands rolled in the mud of Woodstock, the superstar bands were flown in by helicopter.

Despite the Great Rock and Roll Swindle, most kids of the 60's survived and did not become mass murderers. The notable exception was Charlie Manson. His childhood sucked big time:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson

True, Rock and Roll was a scam before the "young people" figured it out. But today school leavers have credit card debt because of the mobile phone plan. This is far worse consumerism-gone-mad than in my day. Also, the new young people think they are too clever to be sucked in with marketing, but my post was trying to say that it is the young people themselves who impose a uniformity. Must-have gadgets and clothing so you can be included in the cool group. This is not the same as my youth, or maybe that is just my skewed experience. Perhaps I was supposed to conform but was too stupid to think it was important :)

You would not blame the children of hippies for today's marketing strategies, but I do :)

Cheers,
B

Every new generation tries to differ from the previous one. "So my folks eat food. We'll show them! We'll eat... We'll eat... SAND!"

The extreme competitiveness of modern society is really taking its toll on youth. It shows for example on steep increase in mental problems of teenagers and young adults. Although the increase can be partly explained by the fact that to go to therapy and seek for help for mental problems has lower threshold than before, but I know people who are in piss because they have gotten into a fast track even when studying or people who are depressed because they couldn't meet the expectations everybody set on them.

Every generation imposes rules on itself. It's called fashion, and that's been around forever.

Consumerism gone mad? It's just the natural progression of capitalism without a war getting in the way. The evil children of hippies? You're just getting old and paranoid, mate. Most top TV, record company, advertising, bank and mobile communications executives are at least our age, if not much older.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fuller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Larian
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sorrell

Yes, Juho. The amount of information and media we are expected to absorb, and the competitiveness is far more than my day. I personally wouldn't want to be 20 right now. I know the 'young people' are supposed to be all multi tasking these days (home work, TV and instant messaging all at the same time) but it seems more like floundering until a pile of things demanding attention.

The leisure society promised by the information age sure as hell didn't happen.

Cheers,
B

Thanks for the research on these fine examples to which we should all aspire :) I don't blame these captains of industry for exploiting youth, but they are not the evil I am talking about.

The 'evil children of hippies' in my mind refers to the youth themselves - a generation which encourages itself to being sucked into greed, conformity and consumerism. No one is making them buy into it. I'm not saying it didn't happen back in my day, I really didn't notice. But can't they wake up and free themselves from the pressure?

Perhaps I was too alternative to even fit in with the alternative crowd. Not so much reacting against anything as just doing my own thing. A whole heap of difference.

Cheers,
B

Psy. Were you raised by a troupe of Kangaroos in the fucking outback?

Damn. Forgot to post this vid of our Psy as a lad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHY6n907OE

BWAAAAHHHH!!!!!

Is Skippy the Australian version of Lassie?

Funny as hell!

Heh, I guess growing up as trailer trash in Auckland NZ is equivalent to the outback for you.

I only wanted 2 things desperately as a teenager (apart from the obvious), a hammond wheel organ and a mini moog. Of course I couldn't afford either of them. But I have a TI to make up for that. Don't worry, I feed the consumer machine myself, but I'm doing it for the right reasons (greed) instead of seeking approval.

Cheers,
B

Nicely put! Gordon Gecko, the main character in the movie "Wall Street" said:

"Greed works. Greed is good"

My mother even once said: "There is nothing wrong with want as long as you have some sense about it. Without want you would sit around with no drive to succeed and ultimately, accomplish nothing."

I have my own wants and desires just like anyone else but I also think its important to help others in need as you can.

Back to the Columbine kids. In my high shcool there were these kids that wore black trench coats and were majorly obsessed with computers. They caught some crap from the mainstreamers as I remember. I myself was somewhat removed from the mainstream and happy about it. I was one of the biggest kids in my high school so I didn't get messed with. I had a girlfriend and a job and got good grades, so I didn't need to play football to try and get laid. I'm glad none of those kids went postal in my school!

Darn OVM, I missed your Skippy link on the top of the next page. I love that show! All the bad guys were camp or just out of prison, and Skippy unlocks doors, lights fires and such with close ups only showing her inflexible paws.

NZ was a lot different to that, mostly I remember the maori and pacific island gangs at school. No one had the guts to shoot down the school because you'd have to face them.

So points given for being different. But points taken off for shooting.

Cheers,
B

Psy. Bloody hell. You're from NZ. Shit, I thought you was an Ozzy. My mistake.

I fucking loved Skippy. Very popular in UK, too.

Tell more about Maori gangs at school (and outside school), please mate. Never read about that anywhere but always wondered what it's like in NZ. Is there much alcoholism amongst Mauris like with Abbos in Ozzy?

Matt, You should see that film "Once were warriors". A look into part of the modern Maori's in NZ.

They can be the friendliest bunch, and the nastiest too... depends if you give them a reason to be nasty. Big fuckers too, make Alex look like a feather weight.

Your not mistaken OVM. I was born in NZ but at 21 moved to Sydney and more recently Melbourne Australia. I haven't been back much, it must be 15 years since I was last there. So I don't know much about the country now - I was pretty amazed that they made Lord of the Rings as much as anyone. But I digress. What follows is my highly subjective opinion.

Back in the 70's NZ was through my eyes a pretty depressed place financially and morally. You were supposed to work hard and not make much money - people still seemed to be living in the post WW2 shadow although I was born 10 years after it. British movies set in the 1940's seemed to sum up the mood of my childhood.

NZ was very racial. My parents were the typical conservatives believing that white people were superior (although you didn't hurt the Maori's feelings by telling them that). Many place names and street names were Maori which makes for some wonderfully difficult spelling and pronounciation. But it was not integration. In the 70's liberals were talking about equality for Maori's, 'affirmative action' was giving financial and job advantages to people based on their race. Some Maori's were assuming the Black Power politics of the USA and some were arguing they had rights to the land. Due to a screw up in the Treaty of Waitangi that appears to indeed be true. NZ welcomed pacific island people (as they were all members of the British Commonwealth I believe) and the country was not just divided by European and Maori, there were several other ethnic groups like Fujian, Tongan, Cook Island, Samoan - and there were long standing gang disputes all based on an individual's race.

Frankly I didn't take it all in, but there was always a threathening trouble about race. The violence was not that bad, but the Maori and Islander attitude of intimidating through the power of a group was common. What the hell is a Haka for example? Traditional greeting it is not, no matter what they say. After leaving NZ, I have only experienced similar intimidation by afro americans.

I went to an apparently rough grammar school, but there was no violence. The odd bash up, but nothing bad. In fact my probably only friend at school was a huge tall Maori named Toa who was the most likeable and peace loving person but because of his skin colour and size got heaps of respect whereas me being white and smaller got crapped on.

The culture of optimism and freedom in Australia was a huge contrast and many my age left for Sydney. I never looked back although I did go back to see my family a few times. They resented me leaving the country. I wikied NZ recently and read with amusement the implication that its a nice place now and former Kiwi's can came back because its better.

OVM, I can't tell you much about the NZ of today. I think the Maori's were always a gentle people, living in a land providing everything without too much effort. Tribe disputes were mainly shouting and the odd spear thrown, then stories told about how brave the warriors were. I could be completely wrong, but Aborigines seem to have come from a harder environment. Still separate warring tribes although there's supposed to be a single Aboriginal culture. I think the Abo's were both treated harsher and were less resilient when the invaders came. The spirit was knocked out of the Abo a long time ago whereas Maoris were able to still have identity. Neither should have been invaded by the diseased and greedy europeans.

I don't come across many Aborigines in Australia, mainly Adelaide and Perth in my travels. Maori and aboriginal alcoholism seems similar, and unfortunately seems so tame compared to the drugs available out there. None of it is particularly visible to society.

Cheers,
B

Thanks mate for the top reply. That was a great read.

I like to think that I can look anybody in the eye and say "Fuck it. We're all in the same boat."

So far so good for OVM. I've fucking walked around Harlem and Brooklyn and even Manchester alone in the dead of night and had a great time. Maybe cos I'm big and stupid.

Talking about meself here too much. I have to write a reply to that tomorrow.