Reflection on William Freund
The mental capacity that it takes to recognize that it is wrong to torture animals is not superior. It is barely enough to make one a real human being. A real-world working definition of a "bully" is someone who tortures another person, then gets them in trouble for fighting back. The person who he does it to catches the blame, the culpability, and then the one who assigns the blame feels that his or her duty has been discharged. It is that simple. I believe that the bullies want these shooting incidents to happen, just below the surface, just behind the scenes.
These people who commit murder/suicide are never the ones who initiated the game. They wouldn't play it. They don't really know how. The horrible irony is that violence isn't in their nature until it is forced in. They became vulnerable when they decide, way early in their lives, to develop their intelligence and act like human beings. It takes them a long time to understand that so many humans aren't like that. It's hard for someone to believe that so many of the humans they deal with fall below minimum standards of functional intelligence. Take note of the fact that I said "functional" intelligence. Intelligent is as intelligent does.
These people who commit murder/suicide are never the ones who initiated the game. They wouldn't play it. They don't really know how. The horrible irony is that violence isn't in their nature until it is forced in. They became vulnerable when they decide, way early in their lives, to develop their intelligence and act like human beings. It takes them a long time to understand that so many humans aren't like that. It's hard for someone to believe that so many of the humans they deal with fall below minimum standards of functional intelligence. Take note of the fact that I said "functional" intelligence. Intelligent is as intelligent does.
AMEN BROTHER!
Geraldo will be featuring a segment on William Freund tonight at 6pm. The commercial I just saw on it mentioned A.S stated it to be a type of autism and questions whether it played a part in the shooting spree. The show is on the local fox channel. I dont know about anywhere else but here(Phoenix,AZ.) they always do a rebroadcast of the previous nights show at 4:30am the following morning. Possibly check your local listings for Geraldo slot on your local fox affiliate or look for show online even.
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?I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.?
-- Albert Einstein
Heres the enticer for the show and the story.
http://www.geraldoatlarge.com/
http://www.geraldoatlarge.com/blog.php
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?I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.?
-- Albert Einstein
You know, I hadn't even heard of William Freund until today, when I heard it through this forum here somebody linked me to yesterday.
There are kids with AS in my school who talk about killing people, I, and the teachers had always assumed that they were joking.
I wonder if the teachers will take those comments more seriously after this.
These kids all do have friends though, so that might make a difference.
I think, if you go back and read the AP coverage (the article I'm thinking of comes up in a search), you'll see that he had been taking a lot of what people were dishing out for years. The AP didn't follow that one up, but maybe 60 minutes or 48 hours will. And though I can't imagine taking a gun out and shooting my neighbors, I can understand where the poor guy was coming from.
From the AP....
"Freund had Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by poor communication and social skills. As an undergraduate at Aliso Niguel High School, he reportedly was harassed, spit on and had his head pushed into the toilet.
People laughed at him and harassed him in the school halls, Key told the Los Angeles Times for a Sunday story.
"He wouldn't get aggressive. He would never retaliate," she said. "He would just take it, day after day."
"Here's a guy who had it really hard and nobody made it any easier for him," said Tio Lavranos, 19, another former classmate."
How sad that the world has come to that.
RES
good point, GA.
obviously, there are people with AS who are violent etc., etc., just as there are muslims who are extremists. but, in both cases, the majority are not. AS does not equate to violence, just as muslim does not equate with terrorism. it's pretty obvious why people might think they do equate, but i like to think i'm not such a sheep as to believe one person, or a minority, of a group is representative of the whole group.
sadly, many, many people in this world don't think for themselves, and so do believe so.
William Freund is another fallen victim of the system; yet another person driven mad by the injustices in this arrogant and ignorant society. You can call him a crack-headed-killer or whatever you want, but the truth is he was a product of his society. Nature handed him a social blindfold, a handful or more people gave him a reason, yet others fueled his hatred and desperation, some handed him the fateful bullets, and another gave him the gun. In real life nobody was listening, nobody cared, not one person thought abusing him was worth stopping, nobody showed him a better way, no one gave him love or compassion, and none of his classmates had the courage to stand up and stop the abuse, or maybe they really didn’t even care to. It seems like they would rather talk about it on CNN or Fox news. All too often its some preppy blonde girl talking about the abuse she didn’t help to stop; the abuse that nobody tried to stop.
He even tried to reach out to other people online. I know that feeling. I know how it feels to be depressed, and doubting even the most sincere attempts at friendship from other people. Its hard to trust people when the ones in real life do rotten things to you. Hell, he was even posting stuff on Live Journal communities I bet. I suspect that he frequented the main one on there. The Internet is a very sad last resort for social interaction. Oftentimes the Internet brings out the worst in an already rotten society. I went onto depression support chat on the yahoo network where a young man was begging people to talk to him and stop ignoring his SN. You know what they kept doing? They ignored him again and again. He changed his name multiple times and was pleading with them to let him participate. Do you know what they did to him? They continued to ignore him, called him filthy names, and made fun of him. It turned into a sadistic game of torture, and from people that should have been able to relate to his pain. No…they did not! After all its just the Internet, and nobody can look past the black 12pt font and see an actual human being. Whocares? Whocares right? Right?
Aspergers will just get the quick and easy blame just like the video game and music industry did for the Columbine school shootings. Even people in this community want to mentally separate themselves from what Freund did.
The average domestic pet is treated better then most people are. There is a prison mentality in a great deal of the public schools, and the liberal teachers set back and ignore the problems going on right under their noses. I know all too well what it is like as a person who went through the Colorado and Wyoming public school systems. I was labeled the “problem”, and it was always me that was reprimanded when I would inevitably fight back. They even threatened to kick me out of school at one point in Junior High. When I reached High School people left me alone for the most part, but then I was literally ignored. Nobody cared that I was there, nobody remembers me or cares to, and nobody cares to talk to me anymore NOW, then they did back then.
I remember when the schools in my area went into panic when the Columbine shootings happened. I didn’t go to that school, but I was attending a school in a nearby suburb across town. I know why they did it, and it’s the same reason Freund did.
I too am a lost cause. Its hard to trust anyone when every single person in my life has betrayed me. I remember begging Anna to just talk to me again, but she wouldn’t. She just walked away and gave up on me. The only other person in my life I ever cared about just gave up on me. Whocares right? It doesn’t matter what I think or what I feel? The only thing I did wrong was point out the things she was doing wrong to me, and for that I got pushed away. Enough is enough.
Last edited by DarthSchizo on 11 Nov 2005, 4:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
no-one is a lost cause, darkschizo, and you certainly are not. you have a contribution to make here, for a start, as your experiences are relevant and help other people to understand how to deal with stuff in their own life. apart from anything else, it also helps them to see that they're not alone in feeling as they do - i bet there are many people here who have had similar experiences.
hang on in there, darthschizo.