What motivates a mass killer? Often, a quest for significance

+ Turkey blocks NATO expansion; the partisan divide in pandemic deaths US Edition - Today's top story: A quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world [View in browser]( US Edition | 19 May 2022 [The Conversation]( Is there anything left to say that hasn’t already been said about mass killings in America? That was the question we asked ourselves after an 18-year-old man who wanted to kill Black people allegedly did just that on May 14 in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket. Payton Gendron has been charged with the first-degree murder of 10 people. The mainstream media did a fine job of covering many aspects of the killings, including excellent, comprehensive reporting by the Buffalo News. If you want to see an example of why it’s important to sustain local news organizations, take a look at that outlet’s coverage. Here, we had the journalistic luxury of time to consider what we could add to the reporting that would be fresh and lead to greater understanding. Enter Arie Kruglanski, a revered scholar of psychology who has spent much of his career studying extremism and its motivations. As the world found itself wondering about what on earth could motivate a person to plan and then carry out the execution of almost a dozen human beings because of the color of their skin, Kruglanski brought what I call his scholarship-informed-by-wisdom to that question. “People want to know how such senseless acts of violence can even happen, why they happen so often, and whether anything can be done to stem their dreadful tide,” Kruglanski writes in his story. The headline of his story indicates his answer: “[A quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world](.” Kruglanski says that the quest for significance is a “major force in human affairs” that “shapes the course of world history and determines the destiny of nations.” But sometimes – in Buffalo, in El Paso, in Christchurch and in Pittsburgh – that quest can combine with other elements to lead a person to unspeakable violence. Kruglanski’s wisdom is especially evident in the steps he says must be taken to conquer this appeal to violence. They entail hard work, he says, “but if we fail to measure up to the task, murder will not stop.” Naomi Schalit Senior Editor, Politics + Society A memorial to the victims of the mass shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images [A quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world]( Arie Kruglanski, University of Maryland There is a mental and psychological dimension to what leads people to commit mass killings. But it is not mental illness or pathology. There have been calls to charge and prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine. Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images [Putin could be charged with the crime of aggression for the Ukraine war – but it’s an expensive process with high stakes]( Shelley Inglis, University of Dayton Countries would likely need to set up new courts to prosecute Vladimir Putin for illegally invading Ukraine – but this isn’t a sure bet he would ever be held accountable for his crimes. 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