Domestic Disturbances

Sometimes I wonder if there is a sickness in society. Do sociopaths form from purely internal means, or are they created by society? After reading the story of a man who had killed five of his family members, critically injured his wife, and then finally committed suicide. He had killed his young son, his very young daughter, his brother-in-law, his brother-in-law's wife and their baby. He did all of this with two semi-automatic pistols. This reminded me of a previous event a few months ago, when a father who had lost his job decided to kill all of his five children, his wife, and himself. Both events are horrific, but what struck me was how the article reporting the first massacre took note that he was in no way in danger of losing his job. As if that would supply a rationale. However, that these acts of horrendous violence are repeating themselves is very disconcerting. Just today, a brother killed two of his sisters, decapitating one of them. What in our culture could influence individuals to act so inhumanly towards their own family members? I would like to think that our society's atmosphere has nothing to do with the actions of these men, but the consistency and rate of these massacres is so deeply troubling. We as a people value retribution, success, and violence. Could the combination of all of these factors actually influence sick people to take such drastically terrifying actions in order to achieve catharsis? I certainly hope not.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/31/california.shooting/index.html