Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Jill, IL on April 5, 2009:

I'm not convinced that April is "more lethal" than other months. School shootings cluster around the start of the school year and towards the end of the school year. Granted, Columbine has been "the" massacre to emulate for copycat perpetrators since 1999, and massacres seem to beget massacres, so once there is publicity for one... more tend to follow.

The US has just experienced 3 massacres in 3 days (more since your original column, and perhaps more to follow?)

I don't dispute your observation that April has had its share of senseless massacres. I dispute that April is MORE prone to massacres than other months.
I could cite massacres from every month, but what I think is important is that media coverage tends to fuel the next massacre.

The Kent State Massacre received huge media coverage (May '70) and the massacre at Jackson State soon followed.

I believe publicity of massacres unwittingly perpetuates more massacres. We need to rethink how our massacres are reported, and stop publicizing the names of the mass murderers, in an effort to curtail the copycat effect.

(Northern IL University had a massacre on 2/14/2008 - I don't think the choice of Valentine's Day was a coincidence, but I don't know what the meaning was for the shooter).

Posted by Bruce, South Carolina on April 6, 2009:

Returning to taxes, though I don't really think it's the primary cause:

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." -- Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist

Posted by Kermit from TriCities, Washington USA on April 6, 2009:

A few of these folks - if I recall correctly, the Columbine shooters - are obsessed with death and darkness, and as such are often big fans of one of the darkest souls: Adolf Hitler. His birthday was on the 20th of April. Consider the possibility that some of them have this in mind.

---

Great: now I'm wondering if the IRS did.... -rc

Posted by Jon, Ohio on April 7, 2009:

I'm not with you 100% on your theory, Randy, but it is an interesting thought. At least some of (if not most of) the shootings in April COULD be related to taxes. It would come as no surprise to me. I'm generally grumpier when I know I have to file. I hate wasting a couple of hours of my time on something so idiotic and un-american. Yes, UN-AMERICAN. It seems like there are way too many people out there wiling to defend the IRS these days. I think it's perhaps because they have been goaded into feeling like it's their 'patriotic duty' to fill out those stupid complex forms each year and pay their taxes (who in their left-mind came up with these rules anyway!?...it IS enough to drive a sane person insane). What do you suppose our founding fathers would have done if they had to fill out a form 1040?

I doubt it's coincidence that the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment was in the same year the Federal Reserve Act was passed. I wish the people in this country would wake up already and vote for people that want to rid us of both the IRS and the Federal Reserve. Anyone who takes a little time reading about our monetary system, will see the IRS and the Federal Reserve are the source of the financial problems we are facing today.

Posted by Judy, Tucson AZ on April 7, 2009:

I think you are onto something, but I don't think it is just taxes. I work at a community college and student code of conduct issues go through the roof in the spring, especially April. It seems most of the violators are of the age where they probably are still on mommy and daddy's taxes and not filing their own. I've always thought hormones play into it too. Let's say the answer is D) All of the Above.

Posted by Ernie, Sydney, Australia on April 7, 2009:

(Note that this is an old joke)

Super Simple Tax form (SSTF)

Line 1: enter your total income ___________

Line 2: write out a check for the amount on Line 1 and send it in.

---

The version I saw was 1) How much did you make last year? 2) How much do you have left? 3) Send amount in Line 2. -rc

Posted by Noel, Jackson MS on April 12, 2009:

I suspect that it has something to do with the IRS, if you think about the tension that so many people experience in the days leading up to filing, the joy some feel because the are getting "paid" and the despair of those who are doing the "paying" and feel like they have been robbed. That seems like a LOT of emotion being bandied about @ the same time. And EVERYONE is going to be in contact with it in some shape, form or fashion.

Posted by Jill IL on April 15, 2009:

Finally! April 15! If Randy is correct, all this senseless serial carnage will stop tomorrow! (until next year, of course)

---

Well, not necessarily: the tax return may be mailed, but the stress doesn't abate immediately. Hell: it might take up to a year to really go away.... -rc

Posted by brigid, atlanta on April 16, 2009:

Slate ran an article yesterday about how it seems that April is a deadlier month than any other. They didn't comment on the Tax day connection though. Rather than explore reasons for April being such a lethal month, they use it as a potential argument for stricter gun control.

Posted by Andara - Long Beach, CA on May 17, 2009:

As fun as it is to blame tax season for these events, I just can't accept it.

"Spring Fever" is a much more likely cause and the onset of spring has already been linked to behavioral changes. This includes notably increased sexual desire, which peaks during the longest days of the year, resulting in the higher number of springtime births that Randy noted earlier.

Sunlight is a form of actinist. It causes chemical changes in the living things that it hits. Those chemicals build and when they reach a predetermined level over the course of a day, other reactions are set in motion. So, while the length of days increases gradually over time, it is a sudden change when the chemicals in our systems finally reach the necessary levels.

Sure, tax season is a stressor, and I'm sure there are some cases where it actually is the causal factor in acts of mayhem. But The sun is a far more powerful and pervasive force than taxes could ever challenge.

Thanks for yet another thought-provoking entry, Randy. It was particularly interesting for me today as my boyfriend had mentioned the exact same possibility to me less than an hour before I read it. Although for him, I went into far less depth when shooting it down. :D