Saturday, October 3, 2015

What was the mental relationship between teacher Larry Levine and killer Chris Harper Mercer ?

What was the developing mental relationship between teacher and pupil, between this good, intelligent, nature loving Larry Levine and his troubled student Chris Harper Mercer. The teacher simply must have sensed a very " troubled " soul in his classroom. How could this gentle nature loving ( his writing here reminded me of famous Nature writer John Muir " ) Mr. Levine have aroused such murderous hatred ( Mercer killed HIM first ! ) in the " conservative Republican " Chris Harper Mercer ?

Just saying some killer is " crazy " does not explain anything . His monstrous deed must have a " meaning " in the context of his own mental world.
Above all any still young man cannot accept himself as a " loser " so early in life. Mercer's spiritual sickness killed that wonderful " sense of the possible " most of us have up to the age of 30. Later in life philosophy or religion comes to our rescue. Even the good professor Larry Levine must have experienced the melancholy of " closed doors " . He was already 67 years old. What is murder- suicide but closing the final DOOR OF LIFE on yourself ?
We must find the " logic of lunacy ". Our culture of violent narcissism breeds madness.

Umpqua writing teacher Larry Levine

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