This is the first time I&#x27;ve read excerpts from these &quot;manifestos&quot; and it&#x27;s hard to know how to react. It all reads like a kind of mental illness and it&#x27;s chilling to see the similarities (although this article may only make them look similar). Intellectually I feel like there should be room for sympathy of some kind, but to be honest, I feel nothing of the kind; just angry. The authors strike me as small, pathetic, misguided and (for me, worst of all) demanding and entitled.<p>In terms of constructive moves to try and deal with this issue, it&#x27;s hard to think of anything substantive. For sure, less guns means these individuals would have taken fewer lives. Perhaps a better attitude toward mental illness and easier to access treatment options might help. On the other hand, it doesn&#x27;t sound like these people though they were mentally ill. On the contrary, they felt the opposite.<p>I found the bits about how special they think they are to be particularly striking. I certainly feel that my daughter is special, but I understand that what makes her most special is that she is my daughter. The idea that everyone should be, in some way, globally special seems somewhat misguided.