Shooting rampage at my alma mater, UCSB. 7 dead. Horrifying.

<p>Bay brings up a good point about age. The most common age for psychosis or bipolar disorder to emerge is between the ages of 17 and 25. </p>

<p>I googled and found a little bit info about this troubled/twisted young man from the public domain. I tried to find why Elliot is short and whether it is mainly because of an unlucky draw of genes only, or it is also partly because of his mother’s ethnic group. I also wonder whether his short 22 years of life may be a little bit less miserable if his father and mother actually lived in a country somewhat similar to where her mother was born, say, Philippine. (At least he might not be considered as “very short” compared to his peers when he was a child. His “Eurasian” look may even give him some bonus points in some countries like Philippine.) The “worship of tall men” culture in many countries today (remember the “Napoleon Syndrome”?) seems to have done a lot of damages to this youngman’s ego. It is well known that a poor African American male tends to suffer more than even the African American female when growing up. Is it likely that a short Asian American male tends to suffer more than an equally short Asian American female when growing up? To be sure, I am not trying to paint a picture here that Elliot Rodger is not evil or he is a “victim” because of his psychological making. He is as evil as it can be no matter how you look at it.</p>

<p>It is well known he sort of worships his father (“very quickly get a new girlfriend after he divorced his mother” - I could sense that there could be an unequal standing in the marriage between his mother and his father due to their different SES or even the ethnic group here. Was his mother a nurse and was his father a film/TV producer?) I did not read from anywhere that he has ever said something as “nice” toward his mother. Is there a possibility that he dislikes the half of the non-main-stream culture/ethnic group he inherited from his mother’s side in his twisted mind?</p>

<p>"Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger was born in the UK July 21, 1991. His father is Peter A Rodger born April 6, 1965 in Kent, England of British descent. His mother is Lichin “Chin” Rodger nee Ong Li Chin born 1961 in Malaysian of Malaysian descent. His father Peter was an assistant director of “The Hunger Games.” His mother was a nurse who used to work on movie sets. Elliot has a full sister Georgia Rodger born 1995. He has a half-brother named Jazz born 2007 to his step mother Soumaya Akaaboune. Soumaya was born in Morocco and is a French actress known for being on French version of “The Real Housewives.” Peter Rodger’s father is George Rodger acclaimed photographer born 1908 in England, died 1995. His mother is Lois “Jinx” Witherspoon born 1925 and still alive.</p>

<p>Elliot Rodger, Peter Rodger, Lichin Rodger, Georgia Rodger, George Rodger, Jinx Rodger
He lived in the UK until he was five. Then his family moved to Beverly Hills, Topanga Canyon, Woodland Hills and Canoga Park. They divorced and Peter Rodger hooked up with the Morrocan French actress and moved to Calabasas.</p>

<p>I see no photos of his mother Lichin with Elliot though I do see pics of her with her daughter Georgia. The daughter is pretty, happy and well adjusted. I see no pics of Georgia with Elliot. I only see one pic of Peter Rodger with Elliot and Jazz."</p>

<p>I don’t know the answer and I don’t know the laws. But even if the cops did all they could do under the law since this kid said everything was fine and it was just a “misunderstanding,” it still seems that here we have parents and a therapist who are very concerned that this kid is posting about harming himself and others. I believe in privacy laws and so on, but when these flags come up, I guess there needs to be something that CAN be done. I feel the police or not sure whom else, could have dug a bit deeper because the alert was a real thing, and with evidence (videos). It was beyond just a mom being worried about her son. She had just cause that was concrete. In terms of suicide or murder prevention, when someone says they are thinking of doing it…well, it just seems like something should be able to be done. I am not saying to lock up every mentally ill person but these flags are precursors to actually committing suicide or killing others. The person is saying they want to do it. Again, I’m not sure the answer and I do believe in privacy rights and so on, but if authorities can’t intervene when such a BIG flag like this is raised by a mental health provider (this guy’s therapist, not just his mom), we have a problem. </p>

<p>As I said I dont condone bullying, and actually I do not know if the kids I observed were bullied.
I know that they did not fit in with the class.
They did not seem to understand that their whiny, and combative behavior did nothing to endear themselves to their classmates or to other adults.</p>

<p>Perhaps they didnt actually want negative attention, but my observation was that pleasant comments from their classmates was met with combative and rude comments from the child " who just wanted to be included".</p>

<p>I was in the classrooms everyday so I had a lot of time to observe.
As a quiet and shy child myself, I have sympathy for those with few social skills, but in particular one child seemed to actively work at being disliked.</p>

<p>We don’t know what the therapist told the police, though. And, yes, because of privacy concerns there’s a safe bet it wasn’t much. The Sherriff’s spokesman called it a routine welfare check. We do know the therapist assured the parents on the drive to SB that the ongoing rampage was not ER because he was a planner and was planning the day of retribution for tomorrow. In other words, the therapist was very wrong. We definitely have a problem.</p>

<p>I’ve been thinking about the therapist also. Why did the therapist call the mom first instead of the police? If the therapist understood the danger - and how could they not - the police should have been alerted immediately, prior to calling the mom. </p>

<p>In fairness, it wouldn’t have made any difference. (And in more fairness, we actually don’t know what actions the therapist did or didn’t take.) But I wonder if it speaks to the therapist downplaying the danger. And I wonder if the therapist downplayed the danger in the initial phone call to the police (“I’ve got a worried mom here, can you do a check?”). </p>

<p>I think the therapist thought there was more time, because the date in the manifesto was one day later. Elliot must have moved the date up because of SBCC’s graduation. </p>

<p>What I don’t truly understand is if with such a report and check up, the police just take the word of the person being reported who claims “all is fine?” Of course someone like that is not going to say, “yes, I have threatened to carry out suicide and murder…want to hear my plans?” If a professional, plus a parent, is calling authorities because they have evidence of a very serious red flag, does the only thing that matters is what the troubled person has to say for themselves?</p>

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<p>I don’t think it matters who the therapist called first because both the parents and the police needed to know. It is not as if this therapist isn’t willing to call police because a few weeks ago, the therapist did call the police, though that did not seem to work. I’m sure she would have alerted police again but wanted the parent to know too. </p>

<p>I think it totally depends what the therapist told police. Did the therapist say he or she was concerned about the boy’s welfare? Or did the therapist say a heavily armed, psychotic patient had gone off his meds and was threatening a suicidal off campus killing spree. We don’t know. But, the police certainly made it sound like the former.His guns were registered so a quick click would have provided that information. Police also hadn’t seen the videos.</p>

<p>And, the therapist was in LA so I wonder how much contact he was having with this therapist. Not that it seemed to be helping much, anyway. </p>

<p>People have been killing other people since way before cable tv and broadband. @Bay brought up one case and I grew up in Seattle in the days of Ted Bundy killing sorority girls. We just didn’t have 24 hour cable and internet news to put it in front of us to the same degree. You heard about it for 30 minutes at 6pm M-F.</p>

<p>@mcat2 - Elliot spends some time in his manifesto marveling about how even other short guys seem to have success with women. Yes, he’s short . . . but he’s also just really, really weird and off-putting. He would have found something else to blame other than stature if that wasn’t an available excuse for his troubles.</p>

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<p>Are you kidding me? Some movies/shows I watched during my '80s childhood:</p>

<p>The A-Team, Rambo I-III, Commando, Terminator, Delta Force, Call of Duty, Platoon, Deer Hunter, etc. </p>

<p>Only difference is nowadays, there’s a greater public intolerance for violent shows compared to back then or for allowing elementary/middle school or even early HS aged teens to watch such shows even with parents accompanying them. </p>

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<p>It’s a strong possibility considering he stated he was thankful his “Asian side” isn’t apparent in his appearance. </p>

<p>There’s also the effects of more than a century of negative stereotyping of Asian-American males as short, unmasculine, and sexually unappealing within the mainstream US pop culture…including Hollywood. That still seems to have effects with some Asian-Americans I’ve known IRL and it’s an issue frequently discussed within Asian-American Studies scholars and Asian-American online communities. </p>

<p>One common topic is how being an Asian-American male is a serious strike against him in the dating world…especially outside one’s ethnic/racial community. I haven’t found that to be the case personally, but I have been subjected to some of those negative stereotypes from bullies during K-8.</p>

<p>Also, I can relate someone to being the shortest male in class as that was my lot from start of school till the beginning of junior year of HS when in the preceding summer, I had a sudden growth spurt from 5’2" to 5’7". Kinda weird to go from being the shortest male to being one of the taller ones within one summer. </p>

<p>The police still need probable cause to search a residence. They were concerned for is well-being - not others’. It seems they didn’t check gun records to see that he owned guns. Would knowing that he owned guns make a difference? It would be for me but I suspect a lot of people would go nuts. </p>

<p>Police really can’t do much without a warrant. If the family and the therapist were that concerned a month ago they should have been trying to get one. But, it’s difficult because he was 22.</p>

<p>cartera and actingmt, I realize they can’t search a residence without a warrant. I’m not saying they should have searched it. But it seems like just having a chat and the person saying, “I’m feeling just fine,” isn’t enough when someone is reporting that the person has posted about suicide and killings. I don’t know what they told police, but I imagine they had to give some justification for wanting the police to check on him. And it was a therapist/professional and so had some strong basis and not just a worried mom (nothing wrong with worried moms, but just saying, it is an unbiased third party). Like…maybe the police should have followed up a second time? Not sure the answer truthfully, but if red flags arise about people like this and one informs authorities and they don’t or can’t do much, what’s the point of telling them? It won’t avert possible bigger stuff they may do down the line. I guess you have to wait for the crime to take place first?</p>

<p>Why can’t they treat these situations as terrorist threats? Because that’s really what they are. I believe the authorities have broader rights under such circumstances.</p>

<p>The definition of a terrorist threat in California requires that the fear is “sustained” vs. “brief” and needs to be specific. Of course, it is unclear how long “sustained” is.</p>

<p>Well, that is one good thing that could come out of this. Clarify the scope of the laws and figure out better ways to use them to enable the police/FBI/etc. to be more proactive. </p>

<p>Why couldn’t they have checked the public records to find out if this reportedly disturbed person who was reportedly threatening violence and suicide had any registered weapons?</p>

<p>actingmt, you seriously perceive no American cultural thread of the loner/outlaw toting a gun and bringing justice with violence? Really?? You see absolutely no connectedness between school shooters and other mass murderers racking up their kills? None? Really?? I find that mental landscape difficult to imagine. </p>

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<p>Let’s hope! Not trying to lay blame. But lessons need to be learned from these incidents and perhaps new laws or processes put in place that might help in the future. </p>

<p>There just seems something not quite productive when you have a mental health professional reporting to police that a young man has made public statements about suicide and killing and the police only can take the person being reported’s word for it that all is OK. Like maybe check on the person again? Look up if they have any registered weapons? I am not sure but being proactive and having more preventative measures in place would help, even though each of these cannot prevent all crimes. </p>

<p>As horrible as what happened is, we have to also look at the results of giving the police more power in these circumstances would be. Do we want the police to have the power, based on a “I think something is up with Joe Smith, can you check on him” report to research gun purchase records, access internet search history, search a residence? I don’t believe there were any overt threats in the videos he posted prior to the retribution video. People have a right to be crazy. </p>