# What to do about crazed shooters? Send them on a mission somewhere **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 24, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052 "2012-12-24T21:09:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/1 "2012-12-24T21:09:02Z")
I posted this in one of the other threads, so my apologies if this is redundant. Anyway, with all the talk about guns - I don’t think anyone is really afraid of guns per se, the real issue is what to do about the crazies. So if we have these people around… why not get to them first and find a place for them? Create a military unit with almost no discipline or structure, strictly to attract and recruit these people. Give them some “really cool” guns to use and send them on the most high-risk, high-reward missions in hostile areas. Put them up against the same kind of crazies from other countries. Haven’t many other cultures been doing this forever anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/2 "2012-12-24T21:16:14Z")
I see someone’s been watching _Dirty Dozen_. But more seriously, what makes one think some of them won’t snap and start fragging commanding officers? Or commiting massacres against civilians? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/3 "2012-12-24T21:20:23Z")
Great idea. Export crazy people with weapons to other countries. What could possibly go wrong…? ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/4 "2012-12-24T21:32:48Z")
Well yeah, obviously I’m thinking outside the box, but they are already snapping and committing massacres _here_ anyway, so it’s not like they could act any worse. I’m not up on the psychology of these people, but maybe the only way to control them is to give them a legitimate outlet that has some risk/reward. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/5 "2012-12-24T21:32:58Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I see someone’s been watching _Dirty Dozen_. > > But more seriously, what makes one think some of them won’t snap and start fragging commanding officers? Or commiting massacres against civilians? I presume we would reserve these units for use in situations were we just don’t **care** about that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/6 "2012-12-24T21:36:52Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > Well yeah, obviously I’m thinking outside the box, but they are already snapping and committing massacres _here_ anyway, so it’s not like it could get any worse. Yes, it could get worse. A lot worse. You are setting up a system that will nurture and encourage this behavior. Even most crazy people don’t become killers, but your system would increase the probability of them becoming one. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/7 "2012-12-24T22:30:26Z")
After they come home, we could build a wall around New York and stick 'em all in there. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/8 "2012-12-24T22:48:29Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > After they come home, we could build a wall around New York and stick 'em all in there. Yeah, that always works great until terrorists hijack Air Force One . . . ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/9 "2012-12-24T23:05:13Z")
Well, first, we have to take some of them alive… ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/10 "2012-12-24T23:38:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Great idea. Export crazy people with weapons to other countries. What could possibly go wrong…? Who cares? It’s not like it’d be happening in America, where god pays attention. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/11 "2012-12-24T23:54:37Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > \*\*What to do about crazed shooters? Send them on a mission somewhere \*\* Excellent idea! Wait, you **do** mean an LDS mission, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/12 "2012-12-24T23:55:56Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Well, first, we have to take some of them alive… Easy; set traps baited with AK-47s. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/13 "2012-12-25T07:05:11Z")
A couple of quick questions: 1. Is this a joke? 2. Why would these people want to join the military? Many of them seem to be loner egomaniacs. 3. Why would the military want them? I thought the first thing the military tries to do is weed out the violent lunatics who just want to kill. 4. Some of these people seem to just snap. What makes you think you can identify them in the right period of time? 5. What mission calls for wandering into a civilian location like a school or movie theater and shooting everything that moves? How do you get them to shoot the right people? 6. What if another country does this? 7. Is this really better than improving the way care for the mentally ill and possible changing gun laws? 8. There are probably more questions to ask here, so I’ll go back to 1. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/14 "2012-12-25T17:18:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > A couple of quick questions: > > 1. Is this a joke? > 2. Why would these people want to join the military? Many of them seem to be loner egomaniacs. > 3. Why would the military want them? I thought the first thing the military tries to do is weed out the violent lunatics who just want to kill. > 4. Some of these people seem to just snap. What makes you think you can identify them in the right period of time? > 5. What mission calls for wandering into a civilian location like a school or movie theater and shooting everything that moves? How do you get them to shoot the right people? > 6. What if another country does this? > 7. Is this really better than improving the way care for the mentally ill and possible changing gun laws? > 8. There are probably more questions to ask here, so I’ll go back to 1. 1, Yes and No. I realize this will not happen in today’s climate, but maybe “it’s so weird it just might work!” in theory. 2, That’s why you create a special unit just for them with little discipline and little structure 3, Use them for the most high-risk and high-reward jobs. 4, Let them come to you by creating an attractive place for them. History is rife with stories of people running off to join the French Foreign Legion or other such things 5, Nobody wants “missions” like that. I’m talking about using our crazies to take out the enemy’s crazies. Send them against a militant training camp or something. 6, Just saying this might be a technique to deal with crazies that other cultures have been aware of forever. 7, Well, the whole debate is that those policies are ineffective, unenforceable, etc. in cases like this. Just trying to offer another perspective outside the box. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/15 "2012-12-25T17:30:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > 1. What if another country does this? What do you mean, “what if”? I think the OP has a grand idea. Outfit these people with suicide bomb vests and send them up against foreign targets (we’d have to fool them into thinking they’re blowing up a school or workplace when it’d really be a nest of terrorists or Justin Bieber World Fan Club headquarters). Apart from a few minor ethical, training and logistical concerns, it’s a win-win deal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/16 "2012-12-25T20:26:11Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > 2, That’s why you create a special unit just for them with little discipline and little structure That doesn’t answer the question. > [@](#): > > 3, Use them for the most high-risk and high-reward jobs. These people don’t want high risk jobs, they want easy targets. That’s why they shoot unarmed civilians in malls and schools. > [@](#): > > 5, Nobody wants “missions” like that. I’m talking about using our crazies to take out the enemy’s crazies. Send them against a militant training camp or something. That’s a job that requires skill and discipline- assuming for some reason you need human beings to do it instead of unmanned drones. Seriously, indiscriminate murder isn’t a skill set. These people need help. They don’t need to be put to better use. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/17 "2012-12-25T20:45:15Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > After they come home, we could build a wall around New York and stick 'em all in there. New York already has a moat around it to keep the idiots out. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-about-crazed-shooters-send-them-on-a-mission-somewhere/645052/18 "2012-12-25T22:26:17Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I posted this in one of the other threads, so my apologies if this is redundant. Anyway, with all the talk about guns - I don’t think anyone is really afraid of guns per se, the real issue is what to do about the crazies. Where to even begin. I’ll assume by crazies you mean people who commit mass murder in schools and movie theaters and such. If it were possible to identify murderers precognitively _a la_ The Minority Report they would cease to be a problem; we’d lock them up before they committed their crimes. Why would we want to make use of them? Since we can’t identify them precognitavely, how are we to round them up for such a plan in the first place? There is a reason militaries place such a high emphasis on discipline and organization; they are what hold militaries together in the terror and chaos of the face of battle. Undisciplined and disorganized groups fall apart very easily. The Dirty Dozen makes a unit formed of murderers, rapists and criminals given a chance to redeem themselves seem rather romantic, but the reality is the only thing a unit formed of murderers, rapists and criminals is good at is murdering, raping, and committing crimes. See [Oscar Dirlewanger](http://www.thedarkpaladin.com/dirlewanger.htm) and the [Dirlewanger Brigade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36th_Waffen_Grenadier_Division_of_the_SS).