<p>But, SewHappy, we don’t really know the specifics of this person’s upbringing. While early abuse and trauma can lead to decrease in empathy (as well as other deep scars), most people who suffered abuse as children do not go out and become mass killers. And, we do not know if the killer in this instance had been abused as a very young child… </p>
<p>It is hard to ever make sense of these tragedies, yet we do need to somehow “make sense,” at least with regard to deciding individually and collectively on a course of action… and to decrease the likelihood or frequency of recurrence… What can we do to get help to little children and parents to optimize early social development, which will help our society overall, and may decrease the number of severely affected/disaffected young adults (whether or not early childhood events are relevant in this particular instance)? What can we do to provide early and ongoing mental health support and preventative interventions with adolescents and young adults? </p>
<p>In addition to feeling so much sorrow for all of these children who were traumatized in this event and even more for the parents who lost their beloved babies, I also have empathy for the brother of this young man who lost his mother and brother (and whose family name is now linked in our national memory with this horror).</p>
<p>It is a sobering prelude to this holiday season, yet I do wish all of you peace and joy in the presence of your families this winter break.</p>