This whole copycat thing has me perplexed. Can someone explain why it happens? I mean, I see horrible things on tv, but I don't think that I have to do it too, for any reason.

What's up with copycatters?

The author says it's about the highest number of body counts.

I wonder: Are they so detached they can think in such terms? Are they wanting immortality by being remembered, even if as a mass murderer?

I agree with the author that it's unwise (and incorrect) to label VTech as the greatest massacre in US history. But then, I believe MSM is more about alarmist dirty laundry than considering repercussions.

Has anyone other than Coleman confirmed the existence of a "copycat effect"?

Mr. Turgidson, while the threat to Israeli teachers is much more concentrated than US teachers, I would like to inform you that our teachers are most certainly under threat, albeit more diffuse. The threat takes several forms. You may disallow dangerous students, but I cannot, as I have been threatened with physical force at least 3 times in the last 18 years, was assaulted two years ago, and been the recipient of many mumbled threats of retaliation away from campus.

One source of threat are students who are identified as emotionally handicapped, many of whom are potentially (or have histories of being) violent. Another source comes from having juveniles sentenced to attend school (some having committed violent felonies), with no parameters (aside from numbers of days attended) for judging successful compliance for said students, and insufficient communication with/monitoring from the judicial system that ordered them there. Another threat comes from increasingly irresponsible, immature, and unreasoning parents that cannot understand that MY conduct of the classroom does not have to mirror THEIR expectations for their children, or that their children's grades should have some correlation with the degree of completeness and correctness of assignments. The final threat I will categorize as the unsuccessful, frustrated marginal student himself, who knows that he has not really accomplished much in the last 10-12 years of his life, forced into classrooms with 20-30 other students, to whom teachers cannot devote the extra time needed to give that student a chance at succeeding in an academic setting.

And, Israeli teachers may indeed be more trained, but I am a US military veteran, and we currently have at least two combat-experienced Vietnam veterans in our faculty. We would be most grateful to be allowed to participate in training in something other than just another "new" instructional fad that very often results in just another way to gloss over a student's shortcomings and ignore or deny their many wondrous talents. I fear that many pressures would prevent this prudent use of available expertise.

As to the links you provided, I agree that the second link that you posted could be seen as quite crude, but it also points out that many segments of our society no longer trust the media to report the facts in a straightforward and transparent manner. I cannot see the first one in such a light, however, as it seems to point out that we have maybe succeeded too well in teaching some of our children not to resist physically.

"Monkey see, monkey do" is an old idea; imitative behavior is almost an instinct for humans.

I suggest that a TV special should be made on this, but focusing on Liviu Librescu and his heroism. Choose what you want imitated.

Qui-bono??

Order out of Chaos?

The "problem-solvers" have a conflict of interest...? Yes.
Who profits?

Gun-grabbers(though it hardly makes a difference nowadays, most of society has been so brainwashed and pacified that they don't even know or care they are being enslaved).

The Psychiatric/Psychology industry(mirroring the Soviet model).

And of course the Police-state apparatis is further justified for expansion and more invasive-intrusive measures are "normalised".