Current Events > Why are most serial killers and mass shooters white?

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Are there any studies about this stuff? Curious to understand how this is happening so often.

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Depends on how you define mass shooters.
but as for serial killers it's just that the original studies were done mostly around white people because miniorities being murdered were very low down on the police and FBI list of things to care about back when attitudes towards racism was more open by the government

Crono99 posted...

Serial killers happen in every country in the world in every century. It's not an american thing or a "white thing"

Mass shooters are a recent thing and they're a very small sample of people to really see much of a trend. But in recent memory you've had at least two (Kimveer Gill and Seung-Hui Cho) who aren't white.

I guess I'm thinking particularly in the case of America.

nothanks1 posted...

Depends on how you define mass shooters.
but as for serial killers it's just that the original studies were done mostly around white people because miniorities being murdered were very low down on the police and FBI list of things to care about back when attitudes towards racism was more open by the government

That actually makes a lot of sense.

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Crono99 posted...

Serial killers happen in every country in the world in every century. It's not an american thing or a "white thing"

Mass shooters are a recent thing and they're a very small sample of people to really see much of a trend. But in recent memory you've had at least two (Kimveer Gill and Seung-Hui Cho) who aren't white.

Let's not kid ourselves.
In America, its a white male thing.

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SquantoZ posted...

Are there any studies about this stuff? Curious to understand how this is happening so often.

They are not. They are most often the majority race of their country. That happens to be White in America but would be Chinese in China.

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Compared to other races even though whites are the majority race in America, mass shooting are still disproportionately done by white males.

Simple high school math guys. Come on now.

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The uptick in mass shootings is people wanting to be famous at any cost.

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Is gang violence counted?

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KINDERFELD posted...

Compared to other races even though whites are the majority race in America, mass shooting are still disproportionately done by white males.

Simple high school math guys. Come on now.

this is a whole can of worms and the real cause for crimes is poverty or mental illness

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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

Is gang violence counted?

They usually are.

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https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/

Broadly speaking, the racial distribution of mass shootings mirrors the racial distribution of the U.S. population as a whole. While a superficial comparison of the statistics seems to suggest African American shooters are over-represented and Latino shooters underrepresented, the fact that the shooters race is unclear in around five percent of cases, along with the different time frames over which these statistics are calculated means no such conclusions should be drawn. Conversely, looking at the mass shootings in the United States by gender clearly demonstrates that the majority of mass shootings are carried out by men.

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s0nicfan posted...

https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/

facts are clearly not allowed in this topic, what are you doing

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Tyranthraxus posted...

They usually are.

I think the definition of a mass shooting should be defined here. That statista link says 121 mass shootings over 30 years...I feel like I hear Chicago in the news every other week in the news

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Just something about white pope lseem I guess

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Tyranthraxus posted...

They are not. They are most often the majority race of their country. That happens to be White in America but would be Chinese in China.

/topic tbh

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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

I think the definition of a mass shooting should be defined here. That statista link says 121 mass shootings over 30 years...I feel like I hear Chicago in the news every other week in the news

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

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Unsugarized_Foo posted...

I think the definition of a mass shooting should be defined here. That statista link says 121 mass shootings over 30 years...I feel like I hear Chicago in the news every other week in the news

Even the loosest definitions of a "mass" shooting generally require at least 3 victims.

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KINDERFELD posted...

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

Why are GVA Mass Shooting numbers higher than some other sources?

GVA uses a purely statistical threshold to define mass shooting based ONLY on the numeric value of 4 or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. GVA does not parse the definition to remove any subcategory of shooting. To that end we dont exclude, set apart, caveat, or differentiate victims based upon the circumstances in which they were shot.
GVA believes that equal importance is given to the counting of those injured as well as killed in a mass shooting incident.

The FBI does not define Mass Shooting in any form. They do define Mass Killing but that includes all forms of weapon, not just guns.

In that, the criteria are simpleif four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not involving the shooter, that incident is categorized as a mass shooting based purely on that numerical threshold.

Why doesn't GVA use the FBI definition of Mass Shooting?

The FBI does not have a definition of Mass Shooting. They have a definition of Mass Murder which is four or more KILLED. It includes gun violence, bombings or any other incident where four or more are killed. Mass Murder would statistically be a subset of Mass Shooting.

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pure_temper posted...

this is a whole can of worms and the real cause for crimes is poverty or mental illness

What about white collar crime? Sorry I'll let myself out

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You also have to remember that America is still a mostly white focused country. So a rich white kid getting a gun and going on a rampage is what the media put out there as opposed to say some poor non-white kid shooting a bunch of non-white people since the narrative of 'why did this happy white person just snap' sells a lot fucking more than 'black child gets bullied and takes a gun to solve the problem'

Even with suicides in the media it's heavily focused around white people too

It's also worth noting that the GVA link above can't really contribute to this topic because, although they collect all that information, they don't seem to provide any sort of summary statistics around the identities of shooters. So while it may provide the broadest possible definition of mass shooting, it doesn't really tell us much about the demographics based on that.

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It's either an issue with their primitive culture or genetics.

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Serial killers are usually highly intelligent

Because America is a white majority. But one mass shooting prob still won't equal shootings done by thug gangbangers over the year. Either way we need to find a solution

It seems obvious that race and gender aren't determining factors in what motivates one to be a mass shooter. Most shooters are white men, but that doesn't really tell us anything insightful.

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s0nicfan posted...

It's also worth noting that the GVA link above can't really contribute to this topic because, although they collect all that information, they don't seem to provide any sort of summary statistics around the identities of shooters. So while it may provide the broadest possible definition of mass shooting, it doesn't really tell us much about the demographics based on that.

Stop being ridiculous.
It shows that significantly more than 121 mass shootings have occurred in the US from 1981-2021.

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KINDERFELD posted...

Stop being ridiculous.
It shows that significantly more than 121 mass shootings have occurred in the US from 1981-2021.

Read the part I quoted above from their own website. They're using their own custom definition of mass shooting that includes way more than any other definition. It's why their number is so high.

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POC mass shooting=gang violence
White mass shooting=sick individual

Mass media is a lie and scam designed to poison your brain so stop listening to them. Also if people would/could carry guns this stuff wouldn't happen. Same logic as big boy countries having nukes.

s0nicfan posted...

Read the part I quoted above from their own website. They're using their own custom definition of mass shooting that includes way more than any other definition. It's why their number is so high.

Um, how about you sit and read it slowly again so that you fully understand what's being said.

Their numbers are more accurate about mass shootings than the FBI that groups all mass casualties over 3 even though it may have been a bomb or other source of mass casualties.

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KINDERFELD posted...

Um, how about you sit and read it slowly again so that you fully understand what's being said.

Their numbers are more accurate about mass shootings than the FBI that groups all mass casualties over 3 even though it may have been a bomb or other source of mass casualties.

What point are you trying to make? Unless they actually provide summary statistics on the demographics of the shooter that link provides zero relevant information to this topic.

You want to claim the total number is bigger than official reports? Fine. What does that have to do with whether it's mostly a white person thing?

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s0nicfan posted...

What point are you trying to make? Unless they actually provide summary statistics on the demographics of the shooter that link provides zero relevant information to this topic.

You want to claim the total number is bigger than official reports? Fine. What does that have to do with whether it's mostly a white person thing?

Genius, did you see the post I responded to with that link??

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KINDERFELD posted...

Genius, did you see the post I responded to with that link??

You're the one who responded to me first by saying that I was being ridiculous for mentioning that we can't use those statistics in this topic. Do you have short-term memory loss or something? Here, let me bump the quote for you:

s0nicfan posted...

It's also worth noting that the GVA link above can't really contribute to this topic because, although they collect all that information, they don't seem to provide any sort of summary statistics around the identities of shooters. So while it may provide the broadest possible definition of mass shooting, it doesn't really tell us much about the demographics based on that.

KINDERFELD posted...

Stop being ridiculous.
It shows that significantly more than 121 mass shootings have occurred in the US from 1981-2021.

You're being pointlessly antagonistic over nothing.

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KINDERFELD posted...

https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/

This looks more like what I hear in the news, werd

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s0nicfan posted...

You're the one who responded to me first by saying that I was being ridiculous for mentioning that we can't use those statistics in this topic. Do you have short-term memory loss or something? Here, let me bump the quote for you:

You're being pointlessly antagonistic over nothing.

Dude you said the info in the link I post was irrelevant.
Just be an adult and admit you were wrong. The info I posted is pertinent as it shows significantly more than 121 mass shootings have occurred in the US during that time period.
Furthermore, it was in response to another poster so either you were mistaken or responded out of context.

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Imagine posting evidence that the initial data being discussed has inaccurate statistics then being told its irrelevant to the discussion.

These grossly uneducated posters can be so annoying sometimes.

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Because whites are the majority race in America. The same if you ask this question in another country, but the real question should be why are are the majority of mass shooters and serial killers male?

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Prestoff posted...

Because whites are the majority race in America. The same if you ask this question in another country, but the real question should be why are are the majority of mass shooters and serial killers male?

Biology

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Prestoff posted...

Because whites are the majority race in America. The same if you ask this question in another country, but the real question should be why are are the majority of mass shooters and serial killers male?

When the demographics are broken down even further, it shows that white males are disproportionately committing mass shootings in America compared to males of other ethnicities.

Potential factors are:

• Guns are easily accessible in America
• Whites tend to have a more pro gun view than other ethnicities.
• Privilege leading to underdeveloped coping mechanisms when dealing with stress.
• Glorification of mass murderers.

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KINDERFELD posted...

When the demographics are broken down even further, it shows that white males are disproportionately committing mass shootings in America compared to males of other ethnicities.

Potential factors are:
* Guns are easily accessible in America
* Whites tend to have a more pro gun view than other ethnicities.
* Privilege leading to underdeveloped coping mechanisms when dealing with stress.
* Glorification of mass murderers.

Where does it show that? You just spent the better part of a half hour arguing that the only statistics provided that break down mass shootings down by demographics is wrong, and that we should be using the GVA statistics which don't provide that info at all.

Directly from the GVA site:

Collection of Personal Characteristics
GVA does not collect or distribute victim or subject-suspect characteristics such as race, religion, mental health status, nationality, or political affiliations.

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s0nicfan posted...

Where does it show that? You just spent the better part of a half hour arguing that the only statistics provided that break down mass shootings down by demographics is wrong, and that we should be using the GVA statistics which don't provide that info at all.

Directly from the GVA site:

There are studies that offer insight into the topic and provide supportive evidence for what I'm saying.

I would post links but they require a login to access.

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KINDERFELD posted...

There are studies that offer insight into the topic and provide supportive evidence for what I'm saying.

I would post links but they require a login to access.

Post them anyway.

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It gains nothing to make crime about race

The Admiral did it and did it foster any unity? No

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s0nicfan posted...

Post them anyway.

I would but instead chose to use this as an opportunity to teach those who care to be enlightened.

The focus on mass murders and the misleading of the masses into believing that "whiteness" is the reason behind these occurrence is deliberate and only serves to overshadow the reality that gun violence in general, that occurs mostly in impoverished communities, is a significantly more pressing issue.

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KINDERFELD posted...

I would but instead chose to use this as an opportunity to teach those who care to be enlightened.

The focus on mass murders and the misleading of the masses into believing that "whiteness" is the reason behind these occurrence is deliberate and only serves to overshadow the reality that gun violence in general, that occurs mostly in impoverished communities, is a significantly more pressing issue.

As far as I'm concerned, this is evidence enough that your intentions are bad and what you're actually doing in this topic is intentionally spreading misinformation.

Because you just spent quite a bit of time arguing that the data that claims that white people aren't overrepresented is wrong, and then you claimed that actually they ARE overrepresented, but you won't share your sources. You insist you have them, but that they're behind a paywall, but even so you won't share them.

Unless you're willing to provide your sources, I'm calling your bluff. At best you're simply lying, at worst you are actively trying to spread fake statistics for some reason.

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s0nicfan posted...

As far as I'm concerned, this is evidence enough that your intentions are bad and what you're actually doing in this topic is intentionally spreading misinformation.

Because you just spent quite a bit of time arguing that the data that claims that white people aren't overrepresented is wrong, and then you claimed that actually they ARE overrepresented, but you won't share your sources. You insist you have them, but that they're behind a paywall, but even so you won't share them.

Unless you're willing to provide your sources, I'm calling your bluff. At best you're simply lying, at worst you are actively trying to spread fake statistics for some reason.

When your definition for mass shooting is "more than x amount of injuries or deaths", you will never get an accurate picture.

The real question is, why are we not talking about the gun violence that occurs in these communities that are grossly impoverished and underfunded.

Why is it that white male mass shooters are the ones dominating the media when they are only a small number of the total gun violence. Why are we always so focused on a mentally ill white male from a well off family committing mass murder not connected to drugs or a robbery? We have solutions for this already. What about trying to find a solution to the gun violence that is a result of poverty and inequality?

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Szeth Son Son Varano wore white on the day he was to kill a king

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