People Don’t “Snap” – Part II

In my first blog I opined that people do not “snap”, but that they often make rash and foolish decisions.  I realize that it sometimes seems that people fall prey to what some psychologists have called “temporary insanity” but, quite frankly, that’s a large load of crap.  ”Insanity” is a severe mental illness and mental illness does not come upon one suddenly.  Mental illness is generally a slow degenerative process.  Take a chronological look at the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and you can see how, near the end, his mental illness is reflected in his brush strokes.

On Friday, February 12, 2010, University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) Professor Amy Bishop stood up at a faculty meeting, took out a pistol, and began shooting people in the head.  In the end, three people were dead and three people wounded, two in critical condition as of this writing.  It was revealed shortly thereafter that Dr. Bishop had apparently been denied tenure earlier that same day at UAH and it was then speculated that she had “snapped” and shot her colleagues.

Bullshit, I told myself, people don’t snap.  Rather than writing a blog response at the time, I awaited further developments and information about Professor Bishop’s background.  The results were, to quote Mr. Spock, “Fascinating“.

The first revelation was that, in 1986, Professor Bishop had shotgunned her 18-year old brother to death in what was, at the time, considered an accident even though two rounds had been fired.  The case was investigated but, for some reason, the case file has disappeared.  An investigation into the decision not to charge Bishop at the time and the surprising disappearance of the case file is ongoing.

In 1993, Professor Bishop and her husband were both questioned regarding a pipe bomb which had been sent to one of Dr. Bishop’s colleagues at the Childrens’ Hospital in Boston.  The pipe bomb did not explode and no charges were ever filed.

Now we learn from Professor Bishop’s husband that, just days before the shooting at UAH, she decided to go to the pistol range to practice her shooting.  The pistol range.  For no apparent reason, he said.  Right.

Professor Joseph Ng who was present during the deadly UAH faculty meeting last Friday, said that everything was going along like a typical faculty meeting until Amy stood up, took out a 9-mm pistol, and began “shooting her targets in the head” until her gun jammed. (Apparently, no one taught Professor Bishop that you’re supposed to clean your weapon after visiting the rage to avoid blockages.  A fact that may have actually saved some lives.) Afterwards, Bishop then left the room and discarded the pistol in a bathroom trash can.  She was taken into custody a short time later.

Amy Bishop has a history of dealing with problems with force.  She killed her 18-year old brother with a shotgun and probably sent a pipe bomb to a “colleague” she was undoubtedly having some sort of dispute with.  While she may have made stupid, rash decisions, she nonetheless made decisions; she did not “snap.”

Now she finds herself in the position of probably losing her teaching position at UAH.  She was denied tenure which, in academe, generally occurs for good reason.  She had engaged an attorney to fight her tenure denial but the odds were against her.  Her response was to go to a pistol range and practice loading and shooting a 9-mm pistol.  She then attended a faculty meeting where, after 30-40 minutes, she took out the pistol and began deliberately shooting her colleagues in the head.  Those same colleagues who, earlier in the day, had voted not to grant her tenure.

The two most glaring bits of information that point to the fact that Professor Bishop did NOT “snap” are the facts that (1) she had gone to the pistol range only days earlier, and (2) she had a pistol with her during the faculty meeting.  Basically, everything points to the fact that this was a premeditated and calculated murder.  Was this the wrong way to handle the situation?  Absolutely!  Were her emotions involved in making this decision?  Clearly.  But did she suffer from “temporary insanity” when she brought a loaded pistol to a faculty meeting where she methodically began shooting her colleagues in the head?  Not only NO! but HELL NO!

Dr. Bishop’s mass murder makes her eligible for the death penalty.  Alabama is a state with a history of using the death penalty.  To give this murderer anything less than she deserves would be……insane.

As always, I welcome your response.