Mall_shooter
By Selwyn Duke

After the horrible mall shooting in Omaha, Nebraska, people are asking the usual questions.  Many want to know why shooter Robert Hawkins did it.  A better question would be: Why not? 

No, I haven’t become an anarchist, but I do wonder why a society that has expressed utter contempt for moral standards for decades would expect that other people wouldn’t.  We feed children moral relativism in many guises — tolerance, multiculturalism, diversity — and this removes all logical reason to impose moral constraints on oneself.  We say that right and wrong are opinion; everyone has his own "truth"; if it feels good, do it; and whatever works for you.   And then we’re surprised that what works for some is murder and suicide.

We only have to read the killer’s words to see the ravages of secularism in our society:

"I’ve just snapped. I can’t take this meaningless existence anymore.
I’ve been a constant disappointment and that trend would have only
continued."

A meaningless existence . . . .  In reality, if there’s no God and nothing beyond this fold, if it’s just ashes to ashes, dust to dust, what meaning is there?  Then it really is "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die." 

But as the Bible says, "There is pleasure in sin for a season."  What happens when winter comes and neither eating nor drinking will make one merry?   Then, sometimes, it’s tomorrow we die. 

What particular path is chosen by the meaningless isn’t that meaningful.   When a person perceives no Truth, when he is bereft of spiritual substance, he will always fill that God-shaped hole within with a thing of this world.  It will always be one lie or another; will it be sex, drugs, power, or something else?  It’s naive to think it matters.  If we operate by the pleasure principle, it will always be whatever tickles our fancy.  And some dark souls will be pleased by death and destruction. 

People such as Christopher Hitchens and Michael Newdow ought to think about this — that is, if they’d think at all — when they prance about trying to destroy faith and strip God from the public square.  Because maybe if kids heard that judgment wasn’t demonic but divine, they’d make better judgments.  Maybe if they understood that they come not from muck but God, they’d be more godly.  Maybe if they realized they were also spirit, they’d have more respect for the flesh.  Maybe, just perhaps, if kids saw "Thou shalt do no murder" in the classroom, we’d have fewer Robert Hawkinses committing murder in the world. 

If they were given a reason to live, they wouldn’t have a reason to die.   

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5 responses to “The Mall Shooter: Why Did He Do it?”

  1. Ray Hicks Avatar
    Ray Hicks

    Bravo!

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  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Too bad the “lost puppy” didn’t get his rabbis shot! But that is no one’s fault. He certainly spent enough time at the Vet. Too bad, he never learned how not to bite. But, that’s no one’s fault either. There are no crystal balls to predict when someone like him will “snap.” And…the shootings and murders in Omaha; they are no one’s fault either. No one other than Robert Hawkins, that is.
    Soon, we’ll be hearing about how one social system or other failed poor sick Robert; about how a firearm was to blame; how his family let him down and how Hawkins himself…was a victim too. (I think the person standing closest to any idiot that makes that assessment should punch him in the throat.)
    Hawkins knew exactly what he was. He wasn’t a victim, or a tortured soul, or even a demented man. He was a piece of “sht.” It was what he called himself in his suicide note. He thought you were a piece of “sht” too. He said so. He wanted to become “famous” by shooting what he thought were other pieces of “sh*t” while they Christmas shopped. And of course, he did.
    In the end, Hawkins was either too stupid or too stoned to know the difference between fame and infamy; between celebrity and notoriety; between accomplishment and murder. But, even knowing his own worthlessness, he still sought to be “famous.” He killed eight people and injured five in his mindless, sickening attempt at fame. Hawkins’ suicide, of course doesn’t count. He wasn’t human.
    Eight…Eight people… Dead. The slobbering monster! Let’s not waste sympathy on him. Just cart his body off to the landfill and dump him where he wallowed in life and where he clearly belongs in death. “Famous”….how disgusting!

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  3. Dr.Cummings Avatar

    Mr Duke
    Bravo. This is a tour de force.

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  4. Jason Christensen Avatar
    Jason Christensen

    Today’s media dares ask why while simultaneously displaying a picture, name and bio of the shooter. Turns out the shooter already told them why..”to be famous.”
    Why did he kill himself? For many of the reason’s Selwyn pointed out.
    Why did he go to a mall and shoot innocent people? “to be famous.”
    Only when the media stops displaying names, faces and letters of these murderers will massacres like this stop.

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  5.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    I dont think feeding children with more God and Bible would fix this, Yes God should be also in their formation, but dont base the meaning of their lives in it because unfortunaly they could believe in a wondeful God and when the rough stuff from life hits them, they can feel dissaponted and depressed thinking that “God left them”. Robert had clearly a medical condition, and what he needed was attention from the loved ones, not only his doctor. He had Attention Deficit and a bandalism history thats why he was removed from his parents custody. and thats why he got even more depressed. so it was a mix of situations that exploded. Communication and spending a lot of time with your kids is a key to prevent this mix of situations from coming together. Guiding them trough life, knowing them, never ever losing their respect, knowing their friends, knowing their hobbies, joking with them, holding them and maybe even being bossy at some point. You can tell them about God and keeping God close but is importat to Develop in them the joy of doing the good, because thats something that shouldnt be “teached” ( you should do this, you should do that), but developed (dont you feel great helping people?, cmon lets do it again!) .. how do you develop?, setting the example. They will later understand better God

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