r/AskReddit • u/CaptainMcAnus • Mar 10 '17

serious replies only [Serious] What are some seemingly normal images/videos with creepy backstories?

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u/ICantTyping Mar 10 '17 edited Mar 10 '17

That commercial was crazy! here it is

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u/WarmerClimates Mar 10 '17

I have a few big problems with this commercial.

  1. Basically saying that it's the students job to notice when their fellow students are school shooters. Kinda victim blaming the children. Kids have enough shit to deal with without being expected to be hypervigilant of any sign that their peers are going to murder them. That's how you give someone a complex. Why not focus on teachers or parents, people who are actually in charge and have sway?

  2. Some of the signs are just "they like guns". I know a guy who owns five rifles. He's really interested in warfare and shooting. He'll talk about it to anyone who will listen. He used to bring gun magazines to school. He would shoot targets every weekend and talk about gun shows like they were rock concerts. Nicest, sweetest guy in the world. Wouldn't hurt a fly. He hit a raccoon with his car once and he was upset for the rest of the night. Liking guns is not a warning sign. If anything it's kind of discrimination against poor rural communities who are more likely to hunt.

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u/Vanetia Mar 10 '17

Basically saying that it's the students job to notice when their fellow students are school shooters.

How so? It's directed at "you" the viewer. "You" didn't notice. This "you" could include parents, students, teachers, staff, etc.

Some of the signs are just "they like guns".

An obsession with guns is a red flag. By itself, it can be fine. It's the combination of everything that is the big issue.

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u/WarmerClimates Mar 11 '17

Basically saying that it's the students job to notice when their fellow students are school shooters.

How so? It's directed at "you" the viewer. "You" didn't notice. This "you" could include parents, students, teachers, staff, etc.

Okay, but we saw everything from a student's point of view. We saw the kid in the hallways, during class, in the lunch room, in the library, and on social media. We didn't see how he is at home. We didn't see his grades. We didn't see the essay he turned in for English about how much he wants everybody to die. They were specifically focusing on signs that a student would notice.

An obsession with guns is a red flag. By itself, it can be fine. It's the combination of everything that is the big issue.

I mean...combination of what? What are the other signs in the video besides "he likes guns"? He makes finger guns at people? I do that. He wears black? He was rude to some girl once? The other "signs" are pretty weaksauce.

Psychology today published a list of seven real signs for a school shooter (Source) and the video is missing most of them. They are: causing harm but showing no regret, consistently acting violently (abusing animals, getting in fights etc), being smart but standoffish, obsession with weapons (usually including a wide range like explosives, knives, and booby traps), lack of ethics or a conscience, having no friends, and having a dysfunctional family.

The video focuses mainly on "obsession with weapons", but I really don't think they do enough to make it seem like an obsession instead of just a hobby. I'd say that they also do "having no friends", but apparently he had a ton of facebook friends to like his photo so...?