Aggression, conflict, stress, frustration, anger these and more emotions are all linked to self-defeating emotions that impact on our cognitive, mental and emotional capacity to function normally. When aggression is not properly and accordingly dealt with it can lead to various detrimental consequences for the individual and surrounding members. Individuals struggling have an inner urge to cause and inflict pain onto others. One way is via the usage of guns. The usage of guns in America is not an eerie or foreign concept to America. In fact gun violence can be depicted as a culture in America. More than 31 000 people per year in America die from gunshot wounds (Hopkins, 2012) However the usage of mass gun violence is not just …show more content…
restricted to America, here in South Africa, our country is ranked 50th with a rate of 12.7 guns per 100 people. The big question is ‘Why and how did mass shooting becomes such a common phenomenon both internationally has and locally? What drives people into committing such heinous acts of violence? This assignment will answer these questions and as well demonstrate the link of aggression to violence and how people’s attitudes are formed in regards to guns and gun violence.
2. AN OVERVIEW OF GUN VIOLENCE
“Aggression can be defined as behaviour directed towards the goal of harming another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment” (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2009, p.95) Gun violence refers to the inappropriate use of guns in circumstances that it is not needed. It may also refer to the illegal use and ownership of guns especially when it is used to intentionally harm, injure and kill other individuals regardless of the mental condition of the individual that engages in gun violence. America is known and seen as a developed and rich prosperous country. However beneath this is a bloody picture enfolded by bloodshed and death. Many of these deaths stemming from the uncontrollable, escalating usage of guns legally owned and illegally owned. Mass shootings are not something foreign as over the years there has been various reporting’s and cases of mass shooting. Some cases dating right back to the 1900s with The Columbine High School shooting where a two teenagers fantasy of Nazism became brutal as they embarked on a mass shooting frenzy killing hundreds of children and teachers (Vulliamy, 1999)
From the Columbine High School mass shooting to the Sandy Hook shoot out in 2012, where 26 people, both students and adults where brutally murdered by Adam Lanza who was just 20 years old. It was believed that before embarking on his killing spree at the high school, Lanza had mercilessly killed his mother. Lanza had taken guns that were kept in his home which had belonged to his mother and he had dressed up in all black complete with a military mask.
(http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html) In that same year James Hulner purchased a movie ticket to watch a movie at the Colorado movie theatre. 20 minutes into the movie, Hulner had initiated a mass shoot out attacking and killing 12 people and injuring several others at the cinema. Hulner did not care as to who he had shot, he was merely shooting at anybody who had attempted to escape and run away from the shootout
(http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/aurora.shooting/index.html )
Some cases of gun violence can be boiled down to mental imbalance in an individual or stemming from some way of indicating they are not happy with a certain situation or person related to that situation (Dubrin, 2004) One such case was demonstrated in Tucson in 2011 where Gabrielle Giffords who was a representative of the Arizona Democrat was shot as well as 17 others. Jared lee Loughner who was 22 years old was apprehended for this crime. It was believed to be done over the inability to accept the immigration laws that Miss Giffords and over her vote in favour of the health care low. Miss Giffords had come under a lot of criticisms over her views and thoughts on the usage of guns.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09giffords.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 )
These mass shootings were conducted to cause and inflict grave pain, some cases intentional, some not intentional. Perpetrators who had elicited these mass shootings had the desire to kill and one could definitely judge their behaviour stemming from irrational and uncontrollable aggression and bottled up anger. This bottled up anger could have stemmed from negative experiences such as a hostile childhood or bad upbringing. According to Karen Horney, she believed that childhood is a time where the child should feel the safest. When their childhood is not a safe and loving experience, the child would develop repressed anxiety, which is a basic form of anxiety comprising of anxiety and neurosis (Friedman & Schustack, 2012) This repressed anxiety is a defence mechanism which intensifies as a child grows up leading to the build-up of an aggressive personality which consists of hateful and hostile feelings with the urge to inflict pain on others (Friedman & Schustack, 2012)
Other explanations could stem from these perpetrators having some sort of mental disorder. Mental disorders can arise from an impairment in neurotransmitters namely; serotonin and dopamine which are linked to aggression and impulsivity. The stimulation of certain brain areas or lesions to areas to or near the hypothalamus and amygdala can induce aggressive and unremitting rage (Banich & Compton, 2011) This rage has the ability to impair the cognitive state of an individual. When our cognitive capacity is reduced, the ability to elicit mentally acceptable behaviour is decreased. America is well known for their richness as a country and known for being a developed country. America is known to have blatant ignorance for cases and warning signs to their citizens having traits for mental disorders. Only after a situation has occurred then do they realise they should have acknowledged and dealt with these peoples disorders accordingly.
In the case of Adam Lanza he was believed to have shot his own mother. He is shown to have had some form of hostile aggression. Hostile aggression occurs when a person intends to hurt someone purposively in a moment of rage and can be viewed as an impulsive emotional reaction. (Bergh & Theron, 2007) May be unintentionally he had not meant to shoot his mother, however after his realisation of what he had done that overwhelming grief could have turned to anger and this might have prompted him into embarking on the widespread massacre of killing his fellow students. This act had him viewed as a maniac who had taken the lives of many innocent people.
3. THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
As discussed with the case of Adam Lanza, hostile aggression is when an individual purposively hurts someone. Instrumental aggression is when another person is harmed as a second objective or to carry out a primary objective. Example committing murder, or damaging someone’s property and forcing them into negotiation. (Bergh & Theron) Antisocial behaviour arises when an object of aggressive behaviour is to harm another person. The Columbine high school was done by two teenagers who had a belief and hatred which overwhelmed them, leading them into committing the act of mass slaughtering. Sanctioned aggression is acceptable behaviour in the act of self-defence. Here in South Africa many people who are killed are done out of the need to protect themselves from criminals and rapists.
3.1. Role of biological factors in aggression
According to Sigmund Freud, he believed aggression was derived from a powerful death wish known as; Thanatos. This instinct was aimed at self-destruction and directed at others. In contrast to Freud was Konrad Lorenz. Lorenz believed aggression was derived from an integrated fighting instinct which ensured only the strongest would succeed and pass their genes on to the next generation. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012) With the evolutionary perspective, beliefs stem from males seeking desirable mates and found themselves naturally competing with other males. A way of eliminating competition was via successful aggression. Some males possessed these qualities and passed it on, making men being prone to natural aggressive behaviour. Males have the hormone androgen in them, which is a male hormone which produces testosterone. High levels of testosterone are linked to aggression. Testosterone is linked to aggression, making men more susceptible to aggressive and violent behaviour. Testosterone levels reach its peak at the ages 20-29 years of age (Banich & Compton, 2011) According to the articles discussed in this assignment, the shooters implicated in this massacre were between the ages of 20-22 years. Lesions to or near the hypothalamus and amygdala results in abnormalities of the brain and inability to process information and reduces ability for appropriate emotional processing (Banich & Compton, 2011)
3.2. Drive theories: The motive to harm others
This theory implies that an external condition such as frustration elicits a strong desire to harm another individual. This aggression drive leads to overt acts of aggression. The frustration aggression hypothesis suggests we become highly frustrated when something prevents us from attaining a goal which leads to an arousal of wanting to harm the object or person stopping us from achieving what we desire (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
4. MODERN THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
Human beings are not born aggressive traits; they are acquired via social behaviours of others from either direct experiences or observational behaviour. The social learning theory is how behaviour is learned through observing other people’s behaviour. Behaviour can be learnt via a process called modelling or a person would learn a skill by another person and then perform the skill. (Dubrin, 2004) Albert Bandura believed that aggression was the most prominent source of behaviour modelling. If the parents were observed by their children while arguing they would cognitively adapt this mind-set and apply it at a later stage. (Bergh & Theron, 2009)
From a gene-environment interactions approach, hateful behaviour often tends to run in families. Problematic parenting, such as neglect or abuse is associated with hateful and aggressive behaviour (Friedman & Schustack, 2012) From a neo-analytic perspective, Alfred Adler, believed children who were rejected by their parents would view the world as being hostile and inhospitable (Friedman & Schustack, 2012)
Another way of the social learning perspective was the General Aggression Model (GAM). According to the GAM a chain of events that lead to overt aggression was initiated by two input variables. First was the situational factor, which were factors related to the current situation and person factors pertaining to the person. Situational factors would comprise of feelings of provocation such as an insult, aggression and rage, anything that would bring about a discomfort to an individual. Person factors would include irritability and traits that would predispose someone to aggression and attitudes and beliefs to violence (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2006)
According to the GAM these two input variables can lead to overt aggression through the impact of arousal which would initiate the excitement, and evoke hostile feelings impacting the cognitive capacity of an individual making them prone to thinking hostile violent thoughts. Depending on how an individual interprets a situation, they can either feel or engage in impulsive action leading to overt aggression. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2006)
Hostile vs. instrumental aggression
Hostile aggression is understood as being impulsive, driven by rage with the need to inflict harm on a target. (Anderson & Bushman, 2002) Instrumental aggression was conceived as premeditated means of attaining some goal other than harming the victims; it is more proactive then reactive. In terms of the mass shootings (Columbine High School and Sandy Hook Shooting) what was depicted in these incidents was an innate drive to harm and hurt the students and teachers. There was no sense of rationality displayed in the perpetrators of those incidents.
The Excitation Transfer Theory’
Another form of aggression was derived from ‘The Excitation Transfer Theory’. It was when two arousing events contributed to anger even if it is within a short period of time. If arousal from the first event is still present, a disruption in the second event would provoke and initiate a heightened sense of anger. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2006) Anger and rage that is suppressed in an individual can be dangerous as even a small event could trigger an emotional outburst. Adam Lanza who killed his mother before embarking on his mass murder spree, perhaps the emotions he felt at that given time could have impacted on his cognitive and mental capacity to think rationally, and with his cognitive capacity to reason being disrupted the feelings that he had would have been overly aggressive and emotional.
Basic sources of Aggression: Provocation and Frustration
The frustration aggression hypothesis deduces that events or situations that prevent us from reaching certain tasks would elicit feelings of aggression. When an individual is unable to get something they want they are faced with feelings of disappointment, anger and rage making an individual think and act irrationally. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2006)
Provocation is one of the strongest causes of aggression. Provocation can be in the forms of physical assaults, unfair sarcastic remarks which are meant to harm an individual. When we are on the receiving side of provocation the insults we get is processed in our mind. We would than wish to elicit the same if not, a more harmful retort to the person who started it. It is an innate reaction to wanting to hurt the same person in the same manner as to how they hurt us. Teasing’s are provoking statements that are directed at an individual’s imperfections or flaws. It may be done as a joke, however research shows that, the more an individual is taunted and teased the more hostile feelings are induced internally. The more a person is embarrassed, the more likely they would lash out and respond in an aggressive manner. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
In gender differences, males are seen as more aggressive than females. This dates right back to the evolutionary period were men were seen as providers and women were seen as the more nurturing types (Friedman & Schustack, 2012) During the patriarchal system men were viewed as the dominant species and any person who tried to usurp their authority were met with hostile behaviour. Men at that time would react strongly in order to protect their turfs and beliefs. Men are viewed as more aggressive and irrational and woman were seen the type who always think before they act (Friedman & Schustack, 2012)
Attitudes are general beliefs and assumptions people have about themselves and others. Values are beliefs individuals have on what they should and should not do. (Dubrin, 2004) in terms of cultural honour, if there is a threat posed to a person’s honour, they would react in aggressive manner as means of defence and protecting their beliefs. A person’s belief is one of the things which make up a person. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012) In terms of sexual jealousy men are known and proven to be more jealous. If ones partner is unfaithful, it is a knock to that person’s ego and self-esteem and leaves the person feeling doubtful on the fact that they can’t keep their partner happy and satisfied. For men the jealousy trait is an evolutionary trait. Sexual jealousy is present in both woman and men, but the reasons for their jealousy are different. For men that experience jealousy over sexual infidelity is due to parental uncertainty that the child is not theirs. For woman, they would feel withdrawal of emotional support from their partner and they feel that their partner is seeking pleasure from another woman. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
Men who are jealous and cannot stand to see their partner with another person, to alienate the problem or situation they would resort to some sort of violent measure and use guns as a quick measure to get rid of the problem. Guns are perceived as a quick way of instant death. That is why most people would use guns as weapons of destruction as they have the potential of eradicating a problem almost instantly (Friedman & Schustack, 2012)
When manhood is threatened such as the inability to provide for his family it can evoke feelings of aggression. This can push and motivate a person to restore and protect their manhood. The loss of a job can evoke feelings of helplessness in a person as now that person has to worry how he/she is going to provide for himself and his family. Poverty and lack of education is also linked to aggression. The inability to do something initiates anger in a person. In this fast developing world, if one does not have any educational background, the chances of attaining a job is very slim as companies would not want to take the risk in hiring unprofessional people and risk losing money. Poverty leads to people resorting to criminal activities such as breaking into people’s houses. In some cases it’s a way of survival and providing for the family. Or in some cases such criminal acts are done merely because of jealousy as they are unable to succeed in life and can’t stand seeing other people progress. (Khazan, 2013)
Traits as Situational Sensitivities Model- TASS MODEL
This model believes that our personality functions in a threshold manner. Only if a situation is strong enough to trigger an emotion, only then would it influence behaviour. The tendency to behave aggressively would only be evoked if the situational factors are strong enough to provoke feelings for it. For people high in aggression the smallest trivial matters can evoke and elicit high levels of frustration rage and anger (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
Type A people have high levels of competitiveness and are known to be more aggressive then type B people who are perceived as calmer individuals. People who are highly competitive have the need to get what they want, when and how they want and immediately as well. For these people it is all about instant gratification. Any restriction placed on and individual and halting them from getting what they want would immediately lead to that individual getting angry. Type B people, a lot would have to be said and done to evoke feelings of aggression. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
Trait theorists view aggression as a dynamic organisation of personality and on how an individual behaves. According to Raymond Cattel, individuals low on the factors A are viewed as critical and aloof (Friedman & Schustack, 2012) For people low on the trait c, they are perceived as emotionally unstable, and people showing high levels on the trait E are seen as dominant people. In the case of the perpetrators of those massacres one can deduce that they were emotionally unstable and impulsive.
For people who are narcissistic and have unconditional and excessive love and adoration for themselves are perceived as being more aggressive. In these people’s minds they are seen as perfect, they are egotistical and see themselves been better than everybody else. A threat or insult to their perfect ‘self’ would lead to anger as they have a strong desire to protect their image. They would not want or let anything or anyone trample their perfect image. (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012) People who are highly competitive and cannot stand to have anything disrupting them from attaining a certain goal would be angry enough to react in violence and aggression rather than to think. Type a people would be those individuals who would not hesitate to carry out an action. For these individuals it is all about instant gratification (Friedman & Schustack, 2012) For these shooters one can easily deduce that they had unstable personalities and the inability to think rationally. This irrationality increased the chances of them resorting to mass shootings. Lanza can be easily said to be of a type A individual as well as having traits or narcissistic behaviour.
Situational Determinants of Aggression
High levels of temperature are known to initiate feelings of discomfort and increase the irritability rate felt by individuals. For people who go to clubs, the high levels of heat and closely packed room filled with so many other people was known to heighten and increase aggression in people as they feel as if there is not sufficient place to move about and breathe properly. Then you get people bumping into each other and yourself making them get angrier. Alcohol consumption releases the brains capacity to think rationally and it subsequently raises aggression levels in a person. Alcohol would give a person that chilled relaxed state of mind and the slightest thing to disrupt that state would evoke feelings of rage and anger making a person a very aggressive person (Mynhardt, Baron & Byrne, 2012)
5. GUN VIOLENCE IN THE US
More than 31 000 people a year in the US die from gunshot wounds and the homicide rate in the US is seven times higher than the combined homicide rates of other high income countries. (Hopkins, 2012) The firearm homicide rate in the US is twenty times higher than any other country. The higher the prevalence of gun ownership and the lesser the restrictive laws on gun usage are one of the many causes and reasons as to why crime in the US is much more lethal than other countries.
In New Jersey, convicts who have committed a crime with a penalty of six months, sets the minimum legal age for handgun usage at 21 years of age. The lack of standards for firearm possession is one of the very many reasons for the escalating rates of gun violence. Most people believe that criminals should not even be given the right to possess a firearm. Yet current laws are permitting criminals to possess firearms. Research shows that misdemeanants who were able to purchase guns committed crimes involving violence 2 to 10 times higher than people with no prior conviction. (Hopkins, 2012) Illegal purchasing of guns is known to be a faster way as making a living, as many gun dealers revealed they would be willing to break the law just to make quick cash as people who are desperate and require a gun quickly would be willing to pay any amount of money so long as they can attain a gun. (Hopkins, 2012) To own a gun in the Us is common to both males and females, as with the case of Adam, he used guns that belonged to his mother.
Mass shooting has become so common in the US. One theory for the occurrence of mass shooting is that these killing sprees are of a contagious phenomenon. (Plumer, 2012) The extremity of an attitude is linked to how strong the emotion is in relation to the attitude. Strong attitudes are good predictors of behaviour. The attitude-to-behaviour process model depicts how our attitudes guide our behaviour. For those mass shooters in their mind they would have perceived these shootings as a way of eradicating people they don’t like. People that they despised or thought of as being problems the thought of executing them for good would have excited them. In 1999 researchers conducted a study titled, ‘Media and Mass Homicides’. This study involved a series of mass homicides in Australia, Britain and New Zealand. During the 1980’s and 1990’s researchers discovered that different incidents appeared to be influenced by each other in numbers of way spanning many years across different continents. (Voison, 2012) One violent rampaged had inspired and gave rise to another violent rampage. The perpetrators of these mass killings were given considerable amount of mass coverage and media attention. These mass murderers were attention seekers and psychos who were driven to evoke aggression in the worst possible ways.
In the US history of the 12 deadliest shootings, six had occurred in 2007. In the Us there has been an approximate of at least 62 mass shootings in the past three decades, with 24 happening in the last seven years. (Voison, 2012)
Mental illness was another contributing factor and reason behind the explanation for such killing sprees. People who have been diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder have episodes where they act on aggressive impulses resulting in serious assaults or destruction of property. (Barlow & Durand, 2012) People who had unusual levels of serotonin and norepinephrine and higher levels of testosterone were known to have this disorder. However in the US the idea of a mental illness has been shunned. This ignorance of mental illnesses is one of the contributing factors in mass shootings. The survey conducted by ‘Mother jones’ showed that at least 38 out of 61 of the mass shooters in the past decade have displayed signs of mental health problems. (Voison, 2012)
Eric Harris, one of the boys convicted in the Columbine High School shooting displayed signs of an mental illness. Before he gunned downed and killed Cassie Bernall, he knew she was a religious person and had taunted her asking her where her god was now as he gripped her by the hair and held the gun to her head. Despite her pleas he tugged her hair tighter and just before shooting her he said he must be her God for he had control over her life. (Vulliamy, 1999) For Harris, his aggression might have stemmed from a biological level and his capacity for evil would have resulted from an evolutionary history of violence and aggression. The Columbine shooters had a cultural ideology to get rid of students and people they disliked and for whom they saw as enemies. In their minds they might have seen this and felt that they were doing it for the greater good.
Many people refuse to acknowledge mental illnesses because of the stigma attached to it. Incorrect labelling can indirectly mentally unstable a person more leading to detrimental consequences. (Barlow & Durandt, 2009) Also the availability of so many guns is a huge problem as the m ore guns that are available more homicides will be committed. As much as people would like to blame these massacres on lack of education and poverty, one has to take into account with situations such as the Columbine shooting and Sandy hook shootings these massacres were actually carefully executed and these killers managed to attain their goal of killing so many people. The likelihood of evil being minimised in society would only occur once individuals would stop producing people to being prone to evilness (Friedman & Schuman, 2012)
6. MASS SHOOTING AND GUN VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mass shooting is not just restricted to the US, but here in South Africa this country is ranked 50th with a rate of 12.7 guns per 100 people.
(Hopkins, 2012) South Africa however trumps the US with a rate of 17 gun related deaths per 100 000 people as compared to 3.2 in the US. 67% in the US are done via firearms, meanwhile in South Africa the homicide rate is 45%. (Ralph, 2013) Citizens in South Africa are restricted to one weapon for self-defence and a maximum of four for hunting. In South Africa to legally own a gun, the person would have to go through a police background check. Some would say it is harder to get and own a firearm here in South Africa then overseas.
In South Africa there is a long history of rape, theft, robbery and owning a gun is seen for protection measurements. Owning a gun in South Africa Is done to increase a person’s sense of safety (Khazan, 2013) Majority of South Africans fear burglary more than any other crime. In the mid-1990s at least one out of every two white South Africans owned at least one firearm. (Khazan, …show more content…
2013)
With the recent case of Oscar Pistorius, he claimed to have shot his girlfriend out of self-defence as he feared that his girlfrimd was a thief attempting to break in. (Khazan, 2013) In South Africa mass shootings is not a foreign concept. Just last year in August, the killing of 34 striking Marikane Mining workers got shot by the police. These strikers were striking for a wage increase; however their strike turned into one of the bloodiest shooting since the end of the apartheid era. (Thakali, 2012)
Another incident occurred back in 2002 where a man shot 11 people in a township before killing himself.
The suspect had first shot his girlfriend after a lovers quarrel, then shot her relatives and had then shot 7 random people after fleeing his girlfriend’s house. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1384392/Mass-murder-in-South-Africa.html) South Africa has crimes that are derived from financial motivation as well as poverty, unemployment all of which leads to acts of violence. Shootings are violence are done for protection purposes or for survival as the underprivileged and poverty stricken people resort to criminal acts to fend for them. Shootings done in the US are done on a wide scale range and viewed as irrational and stemming from frustration and uncontrollable aggression and is seen as a culture and way of life. In South Africa the occurrence of violence and shootings are seen as protective measures and some people would view it as acceptable to possess a gun due to the high criminality acts in this country. For people it would only be natural to possess a firearm as it means of increasing their security. Gang warfare is also a common phenomenon in South Africa as you would find people wanting to protect their turfs and not let other people degrade or threaten
them.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1384392/Mass-murder-in-South-Africa.html)
7. CONCLUSION
Mass shooting is a common culture and a way of life for the citizens of America. Pent up frustration, rage, rejection are some of the causal effects for encountering on such mass killing sprees. Another reason for the increase of mass shootings is the concept of mental illnesses, as many of the perpetrators has displayed symptoms of mental behaviour. In South Africa the ownership of firearms are restricted and are owned on the basis of protection as South Africa has one of the highest levels of crime in the world. Shootings are violence are done for protection purposes or for survival as the underprivileged and poverty stricken people resort to criminal acts to fend for them. Shootings done in the US are done on a wide scale range and viewed as irrational and stemming from frustration and uncontrollable aggression and is seen as a culture and way of life. This assignment has depicted and given a detailed analysis on gun violence and as to how aggression is linked to mass shooting and the comparison between usage of guns overseas and in South Africa.
8. REFERENCES
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Barlow, D & Duran, V.M. (2012). Abnormal Psychology an Integrative Approach. Australia:Wadsworth Cengage Learning
Baron, R.A, Byrne, D & Branscombe, N.R. (2006). Social Psychology. USA: Pearson
Baron, R.A, Byrne, D ,Branscombe, N.R & Mynhardt, J.C. (2009). South African supplement to social psychology. South Africa: Pearson
Baron, R.A & Branscombe, N.R. (2012). Social Psychology. New Jersey : Pearson
Dubrin, A.J. (2004). Applying psychology individual and organizational effectiveness. New Jersey: Pearson Education
Friedman, H.S & Schustack, M.W. (2012). Personality classic theories and modern research. USA: Pearson
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Ralph, E.F. (2013). Foreign policy comparing gun violence in the US and South Africa. Retrieved 14/02/2013 from: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/14/comparing_gun_violence_in_the_us_and_south_africa Thakali, T. (2012). Marikane Massacre. Retrieved 18/12/2012 from: http://www.iol.co.za/saturday-star/marikana-massacre-1.1442562#.UWlX6JOkqHw Vulliamy, E. (1999). How a teen misfits hate turned into murder. Retrieved 25/04/1999: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/1999/apr/25/edvulliamy.theobserver
Voison, S. (2012). Why are mass shootings becoming more common? Retrieved 14/12/2012 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/why-are-mass-shootings-becoming-more-frequent/ Unknown. (n.d). Sandy Hook shooting: What happened? Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html Unknown. (n.d). Timeline: Colorado theatre shooting. Retrieved from: http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/aurora.shooting/index.html Unknown. (n.d). In attacks wake, political repercussions. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/politics/09giffords.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Unknown. (2002). Mass murders in South Africa. Retrieved 10/02/2002 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1384392/Mass-murder-in-South-Africa.html