Nature or Nurture?

Monstrous, tragic and shocking were just some of the words that came to mind when I first read the story of the shootings in Germany executed by loner seventeen year old Tim Kretschmer. However this story is just a chilling reminder of previous school shootings and raises some important questions the first being: do gun laws need to be more strict? And are these school shooters born killers or moulded into murderers by their peers?

To answer the latter question are killers born or made I think that it is important to look at where the killer fitted in the social hierarchy at school, as this will tell us whether they were bullied or loners; which I know is a common stereotype but if they were bullied or victimised it would make sense that there would be a strong motive for targeting members of the school they attended. So here are a few examples of previous cases, the Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui and Kimveer Gill according to psychologist Robin Kowalski they did fit the typical profile for school killers, for instance they both were rejected in some way whether that was through bullying or other means, both had an obsession with guns and weapons, they were premeditated and methodical. Therefore to some degree it does seem that these killers are created through years of bullying, which raises the question do children need to be taught the repercussions of bullying rather than what it does to the victim? As both of these examples the killers deliberately planned out their revenge.

My final point is do gun laws need to be more strict and are parents reckless with their guns if their children are able to access these weapons? As Kretschmer got the guns he used from his father's collection of eighteen guns. I personally for a long time now have thought that gun laws are too relaxed as it seems anyone can walk into a shop and purchase a gun. I also think that America's whole attitude regarding guns is important, because they seem very gun happy and emphasize the need for guns as a form of protection and to be used on a regular basis...well Britons don't have that attitude and we have had no school shootings, however we do have a severe knife problem. So is it American's attitude that arms the hate fuelled teenagers with the tools they need to carry out their revenge? In conclusion I think it is important to look at the society in which these killers come from as I feel that it is partly responsible.