In the 49 years of working I have watched the whole Work Ethic and workplace/coworker/supervisor "normals" change to the point I simply had to get out - retire, save myself, and get out of The Way. I have a serious soft spot for most of the younger employees at my old place of employment as I trained and nurtured (literally) every Engineer, Installer, Programmer and even the Supervisors, Salesmen and Management. I have no idea how these people are gonna continue for another 20+ years until they can retire and escape.
It's a fucking madhouse trying to work now and just do your job and get home to take care of loved ones and responsibilities. Nothing seems to remain of the work ethic and "rules" that were "normal" back in 1973 when I entered the working world. I can't imagine spending 12 years at the Walmart working nights as apparently the shooter in this story did.
I think he literally just finally cracked and committed suicide after venting his anger, frustration, and madness. I used to tell my Employees (after we had a couple of instances people bullying and messing with other employees) about the theory of pushing some peoples buttons repeatedly and not giving them options. Some folks take the stress until they can't sleep at night....they can't perform normal functions and bit by bit they become so distressed that they end up sitting in the corner, in the dark, rocking back and forth and crying until they pick up a pistol and blow their brains out.
Then other folks take the stress until they can't sleep at night....they can't perform normal functions and bit by bit they become so distressed that they end up sitting in the corner, in the dark, rocking back and forth and crying until they pick up a pistol and blow everyone else's brains out before they end their own suffering.
Something in our Civilization/Culture is cracking record numbers of people, more and more every year, and driving them to murder others. Until we figure out what is broken and fix it, I fear we'll see more and more of this and the noose tightens. That said, my condolences to the families of the victims. It's the families and loved one who will suffer most from this.
VooDoo
It's my belief that EVERYTHING taking place in our country is designed to do exactly this. All of the covid bullshit, which really exacerbated the situation for lots of people. We are under a constant barrage of things, which taken singularly, would be manageable for most folks, but when piled on, day after day, just becomes more than some can deal with.
Also, keep in mind, we have at least a few generations that have never been taught to deal with adversity. They we're never taught how to lose, and upon entry to the real world, they can't cope.
We also, as a nation, have lost our moral compass. There is a lot of really sick shit going on. The bad folks want to continue doing bad shit, often with the sanction of the state. The good folks feel powerless to change it. I think this situation is being borne out evertime we have an election. If you look at the things some of our elected "leaders" condone or even support, it boggles my mind.
I have noticed just in the last two years, it seems like everyone is just ill as hell, has no consideration for anyone else, and just in a constant state of borderline pissed. I think this is on purpose. It's easier to control and manipulate the sheep when they're in a constant state of confusion, and they're distracted with the struggle of every day life.
The sad truth is folks don't know their breaking point until they've reached it, and, unfortunately, some can't control their evil impulses. I do, however, believe it's all by design.