Why  do  they  do  it?  It’s  time  to  stop  asking  this  question  and  face  up  to  the  blueprints  
for  action  etched  in  the  brains  of  persons  who  believe  they  must  do  to  others  what  
others  have  done  to  them.  This  article  is  for  people  who  want  to  understand  and  
prevent  violence.  
 
About  the  Author  
 
Jane  F.  Gilgun,  Ph.D.,  LICSW,  is  a  professor,  School  of  Social  Work,  University  of  
Minnesota,  Twin  Cities,  USA.  She  has  done  research  on  the  meanings  of  violence  to  
perpetrators  for  about  25  years.  See  Professor  Gilgun’s  other  articles,  books,  &  
children’s  stories  on  scribd.com,  Amazon  Kindle,  and  other  internet  books  sellers  for  
a  variety  of  mobile  devices.  
  
Do  Unto  Others:    
Murderous  Rampage  as  a  Response  to  Injustice  
 
 
He  snapped,  so  he  did,  when  he  learned  his  company  planned  to  fire  him  based  
upon  a  video  that  showed  him  stealing  beer  at  work.  He  was  a  driver  for  a  beer  
distributing  company.    He  retrieved  two  handguns  he  had  hidden  in  the  company  
kitchen  and  shot  to  death  his  supervisor  and  seven  others.  He  called  his  mother  to  
say  goodbye.  He  asked  her  to  tell  “everybody”  he  loved  them.  Then  he  shot  himself  
dead.      
 
This  is  a  34  year-­‐old  man  with  a  clean  record  and  who  worked  long  hours.  Relatives  
and  friends  described  him  as  a  good  person.    They  also  said  he  had  complained  of  
racial  harassment  at  work.  Company  spokespersons  had  no  official  record  of  his  
complaints.    
 
Complex  Automatic  Emotions  
 
Shamed  and  enraged,  he  experienced  thoughts  and  emotion  that  arose  so  
powerfully  that  they  overwhelmed  his  common  sense  and  decency.    He  reverted  to  
blueprints  for  action  etched  in  his  brain,  laid  down  over  the  years  through  
experiences  of  racism,  discrimination,  lack  of  opportunity,  bankruptcy,  hounding  of  
creditors,  and  difficulty  with  intimate  relationships.  His  bedrock  response  was  to  
kill.  He  owned  nine  guns,  legally.    He  told  a  friend  the  guns  were  for  protection.    
 
His  automatic  reactions  were  complex.  They  may  have  included  rage  at  being  fired  
for  actions  he  considered  minor  and  that  many  other  people  get  away  with.  White  
people.    
 
He  may  have  felt  entitled  to  the  beer.  Many  people  who  work  for  beer  companies  
believe  beer  is  one  of  perks  of  the  job.    
 
He  also  may  also  have  prided  himself  on  being  a  good  person.  The  video  showed  he  
had  stolen.  He  may  have  prided  himself  on  being  a  good  worker.  Being  fired  
devastated  this  image  of  himself.  
 
Shamed  and  enraged,  he  did  what  he  blueprint  for  action  guided  him  to  do.  He  
protected  himself  at  all  costs—murder  and  suicide.  
 
Facebook  Likes  and  Interests  
 
On  his  Facebook  page,  he  listed  his  “likes  and  interests”  as  the  video  game  “Mafia  
Wars,  “  Best  Buy,  two  bodybuilding  companies,  and  a  gun  range.    The  YouTube  video  
on  Mafia  Wars  shows  14  gangsters  stalked  and  gunned  down  at  close  range  in  about  
a  minute.    He  did  what  the  video  game  shows.  
  
He  graduated  from  high  school  in  1996  and  attended  college  for  a  while.  His  aunt  
said  that  as  a  child  he  followed  her  around  every  Sunday  at  her  Pentecostal  church.  
His  parents  worked  hard,  too,  raising  three  children.    He  was  the  “baby.”  The  man  
who  shared  a  home  with  him  for  several  years  said,  “He  was  a  quiet  person,  not  a  
mean  bone  in  his  body.”  
 
Do  Unto  Others  
 
This  is  a  man  who  tried  to  make  it,  but  who  fought  failure  throughout  his  life.  He  
wanted  others  to  think  well  of  him.  To  be  confronted  with  his  act  of  theft  was  too  
much.  To  experience  one  more  instance  of  unfair  treatment  was  too  much.  To  fail  
once  again  was  too  much.  Up  arose  images  of  shooting  his  way  out  of  a  scorching  
hell.  He  was  going  to  do  unto  others  what  others  had  done  unto  him.  He  did  just  that  
and  took  eight  other  people  with  him.    
 
A  Senseless  Act  of  Violence?  
 
The  reactions  of  the  governor  of  Connecticut,  where  the  murders  and  suicide  took  
place,  were  the  same  reactions  that  many  people  have  and  have  had  for  years.  
Governor  Jodi  Rell  called  the  shootings  a  “senseless  act  of  violence”  and  said  she  
joins  many  who  ask,  “How  could  someone  do  this?  Why  did  they  do  this?”  It’s  time  to  
stop  asking  questions  like  these  and  take  actions  that  prevent  such  horrific  loss.    
 
Why  Did  He  Do  It?  
 
Too  many  risks  and  not  enough  within  him  to  offset  the  risks-­‐-­‐that’s  why  he  did  it.    
What  can  we  do  as  individuals  and  as  a  society  to  create  conditions  where  children  
grow  up  enabled  to  deal  with  actions  when  they  feel  that  they  are  boxed  in  with  no  
exit?  
 
“I  did  it.  I  was  wrong.  I’m  sorry.    How  can  I  make  up  for  this?”  Simple  words.  These  
words  need  to  be  etched  into  brains  to  replace  images  of  shooting  your  way  out  of  
trouble.      
 
We  can  teach  children  and  encourage  each  other  to  say  these  words  each  time  they  
do  anything  wrong.  Eventually  such  words  could  be  as  automatic  as  pulling  out  a  
gun  and  killing  people.  We  need  to  learn  to  say  these  words,  even  when  we  believe  
that  others  are  treating  us  unfairly,  as  this  man  did.  
 
Blueprints  of  Accountability    
 
Many  people  believe  others  treat  them  unfairly  and  the  deck  is  stacked  against  
them.  Often,  this  is  so.  As  a  society,  we  have  to  decide  what  to  do  about  unfair  
treatment  on  a  personal  level  and  through  policies  and  practices.      
 
We  must  figure  out  what  to  do  so  that  fewer  people  have  blueprints  etched  in  their  
brains  that  tell  them  that  
 
1.  the  odds  are  against  them  and      
 
2.  when  they  get  to  a  point  where  they  see  no  exit,  they  must  do  whatever  it  takes  to  
right  the  balance  of  the  injustice  they  have  experienced.        
 
These  blueprints  tell  them  they  must  give  as  they  have  gotten.  What  can  we  do  
about  these  blueprints?      
 
We  must  replace  these  blueprints  with  blueprints  of  accountability.    Each  of  us  is  
accountable  for  the  injustices  we  perpetrate.    
 
The  Dead  
 
Omar  S.  Thornton  was  34  years  old  and  grew  up  in  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  killed  
Victor  James,  Craig  Pepin,  Bryan  Cirigliano,  Louis  Felder,  Francis  Fazio  Jr.,  Doug  
Scruton,  Edward  Kennison,  and  William  Ackerman.  These  men  leave  shocked  and  
grieving  families  and  friends.  Lost  lives  and  tragedy  result  when  we  fail  to  replace  
blueprints  of  violence  with  blueprints  of  accountability.  

Craig  Pepin,  Hero  

Craig  Pepin  was  a  hero.  He  shouted  to  co-­‐workers  to  listen  to  him  if  that  were  the  
last  thing  they  would  ever  do.    “There’s  a  shooter,  get  out!”  he  roared.  He  stayed  
behind  to  make  sure  everyone  got  out.  He  may  have  lived  had  he  been  less  
concerned  about  others.  

Thornton  walked  by  a  woman  in  a  wheelchair.  She  did  not  know  why  he  spared  her.  
His  blueprint  for  action  did  not  include  killing  people  with  obvious  disabilities.    

As  Was  Done  to  You  

 
In  his  own  mind,  Omar  Thornton  did  to  others  what  he  believed  had  been  done  to  
him.  He  was  scorched  beyond  his  capacity  for  reason.  He  scorched  back.  
 
What  can  we  do,  indeed.