Research is not only skewed by the creators, there is no such thing as conclusive research. Every case is individual and an individual's actions are sometimes predicated on the existence of very simple commission or omission of unpredictable events. The real story of Cho Seung Hui lies in the cultural ideologies diminishing his own capacity for self-appreciation and understanding. These cultural factors dictated the environment he ultimately reacted to.
If you want to understand you must gain the thinking skills necessary to understand yourself. By the extension of this understanding you will understand all men including Seung Hui. This understanding is only thought to be impossible by the western intellect. Our system does precious little to increase our minds ability to think productively along these lines. Despite universities one has to stumble alone in the dark many years to find this enlightenment. The first action of university education is the pretention to objectivity. It is an objectively which is self-exclusive of the subject matter you. You are the only material for which complete insight and understanding is available. Good luck.
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Other reader comments on this article
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I've been living in The Netherlands for nine years. It's been a very lonely road, and I have suffered from... [MORE]
lila
Sep 25, 2007 05:07
Having been "one of those kids" who was constantly rejected throughout life I have been both a loner and lonely.... [MORE]
Steve M
May 21, 2007 17:13
Thank you so much for writing this article. I am a loner myself, and cringe everytime a violent offender is... [MORE]
Jamie
Apr 24, 2007 14:29
Being lonely or a loner is simply insufficient to explain this. If either in itself was the reason there would... [MORE]
Steve
Apr 24, 2007 09:23
Thanks for a great article. Household census data shouldn't indicate a "person of interest". I hope we learn to reach... [MORE]
Ron
Apr 24, 2007 06:51
All this debate about semantics is cruel. I too am a loner feeling that I am labelled dangerous when I... [MORE]
Clare
Apr 24, 2007 05:30
As a professional that deal with workplace violence as a living I thought your article was interesting and provided a... [MORE]
Barry Nixon
Apr 23, 2007 22:37
I spent many years in the field of family violence (investigation, advocacy, prosecution, research, and prevention). Most cases of workplace... [MORE]
Diner
Apr 25, 2007 19:25
Barry, are you trying to say there is no truth unless you say so? [MORE]
Gordon Crump
Apr 26, 2007 09:43
Research is not only skewed by the creators, there is no such thing as conclusive research. Every case is individual...
Jerry Hewes
Apr 27, 2007 22:23
I'd suggest the key is the difference between "solitude" (Yea!) and "isolation" (Nay!). SJS [MORE]
SJS
Apr 23, 2007 13:54
The ironic thing about all this discussion about Loners vs Loneliness, Sounds like Cho really was a loner, more than... [MORE]
Josh
Apr 22, 2007 09:32
Now I wonder why in our religion it is strongly discouraged to live or stay alone even for a single... [MORE]
Mohammad
Apr 22, 2007 04:23
Why should anyone be left alone in the way we say our lives are in now a days. If you... [MORE]
James Ted Bradley
Apr 22, 2007 23:09
Excellent column! I'm a bit on the loner side myself. Thanks for explaining the vital distinction between the 2. [MORE]
Lisa
Apr 21, 2007 16:04
Excellent sometimes witty column making an important distinction between loners and the "lonely" who want to join clubs. This loner... [MORE]
mary
Apr 20, 2007 20:52
This is a good distinction if you want to really try and understand the underlying problem that leads somebody towards... [MORE]
Gary Meisner
Apr 20, 2007 19:11
What gives with the Travis Bickle comparisons everywhere I turn? Have any of these people even SEEN the movie? This... [MORE]
Audentes
Apr 20, 2007 16:52
Yes I too fit that profile, remarkably so. I have read the previous missives and one by one they said... [MORE]
Bill Campbell
Apr 20, 2007 10:22
Wonderful article. While I enjoy gadgets, more for the information they provide rather than the connection to other folks, I... [MORE]
Rich from RI
Apr 20, 2007 05:35
When are Americans going to realise that with those crazy gun laws this sort of thing is inevitable.*Sigh. [MORE]
Jon
Apr 20, 2007 18:55
You've got to be kidding me! To try to reduce this grave matter to a discussion of the semantics used... [MORE]
Tinashe Rondozai
Apr 20, 2007 03:01
I enjoy solitude. I am also the least likely person I can think of to do the nutty things that... [MORE]
Rich
Apr 19, 2007 21:32
Dear Lenore (I'll try not to quoth Poe- nevermore!)
Anyhoo. Thank you-nice article. Harlan Ellison ran this number about thirty some... [MORE]
Patrick Northway
Apr 19, 2007 17:35
Yeah, he was lonely alright, because I think he was just pure evil and nasty! ugh! how about telling that... [MORE]
Linda
Apr 22, 2007 20:19
While I have no social problems or hangups whatsoever and I can be charming and enjoy a party or a... [MORE]
Daniel Brennan
Apr 19, 2007 14:31
loners are perfectly content to be alone, says the married woman? pardon me for stating the simplistically obvious, but honestly..... [MORE]
Vzur
Apr 19, 2007 08:38
My husband and I were loners. We spent most of our time at home, he painting in the basement, me... [MORE]
denise banker
Apr 18, 2007 14:12
I have been a loner all my life.I had friends while i was growing up but they never seem to... [MORE]
Cheryl
Jul 5, 2007 01:28
See, this is why Lenore Skenazy is my favorite columnist, and why I have followed her writing here to The... [MORE]
Melanie Scarpati
Apr 18, 2007 13:06
My first Leonore Skenazy column I've read and I must say I'm very favorably impressed! Well done, nicely done, great... [MORE]
A.M. Mora y Leon
Apr 19, 2007 01:28
Come on. Is it so hard to fathom that it is people who don't need people who kill 32 people... [MORE]
Chasli
Apr 18, 2007 10:53
Was the Lone Ranger lonely or a loner? He was definitely a loner because he had Tonto, his trusty sidekick,... [MORE]
Bob Mack
Apr 18, 2007 10:38
The real issue here is not semantics - it's a combination of mental illness, multiple warning signs that were ignored,... [MORE]
Diner
Apr 18, 2007 21:18
This issue is not being reduced to meaningless bantor. Once our media and society at large starts blathering on and... [MORE]