Culture

LA man shoots family and then himself

by Mikasi | October 7, 2008 at 05:35 pm

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A Los Angeles man who was beset with financial worries after having trouble finding work has shot dead his wife, three children and mother-in-law before turning the gun on himself.

I don't know anymore about this story than you do. That it is reminiscent of the suicidal stockbrokers crosses my mind, and perhaps it crosses yours too...

Michael Moore, the LA deputy police chief, described it as "a very tragic scene, total devastation inside this home.''
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"We believe that he had become despondent over financial dealings and the financial situation of his household and that this murder-suicide event is a direct result of that.''

I put this peace under "culture" rather than "world" because mass murder/suicide is not the natural response to financial despondency but is more a culturally learned behavior.

During the Middle Ages the Western World had a distinctly Catholic flavor. Everything that was said, done written and thought out during the time was liberally flavored with Catholicism. Today, as we know, the flavor has changed. No longer Catholic we are now Capital in our concerns. To paraphrase the 70's Musical Philospher Grand Master Flash -

"It's all about money
Ain' a damned thing funny
You got to have a con
In this land of milk and honey."

Later, Moore described it as "this is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair, somehow working his way into believing this to be an acceptable exit,'' he told the Los Angeles Times. "It is critical to step up and realise we are in some pretty troubling times.''

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