Tuscon’s lone wolf terrorist’s massacre brings to light the importance of Homeland Security’s latest campaign ” If You See Something Say Something. ” If people would not only have reported what they saw in terms of Jerod Loughner’s “off” behaviors to proper authorities and those authorities would have done something about it, perhaps this tragedy could have been avoided.
A lot of people saw something very strange and odd about Jerold Loughner and did nothing about it. While his junior college administrators told him not to return to college until he had a written letter from a mental health professional, it obviously was not good enough.
DISTURBING BEHAVIOR
Arizona is one of the few states where someone can be taken for psychiatric observation if their behavior seems disturbing.
One of Loughner’s math professors thought he was frightening after her wrote “Mayhem Fest” all over his algebra papers. A fellow math student who was in his algebra class at the community college though he was freaky after he shouted out ”How can you deny math!”
In fact, according to press reports, one of the students in his class wrote an email to a friend where she said” We have a mentally unstable person in class who scares the crap out of me. He is the one you see on the news who comes to class with an automatic weapon.”Hopefully he will be out of class soon and not come back with an automatic weapon.”
Then there was the neighbor who said to his own mother that that his hair stood up in the back of his neck as he thought Jerod was serial killer.
When your hair on the back of your neck stands up, it means that your body is telling you that something is terribly wrong. It is the body’s primitive response to letting us know that we are in danger around a particular person.
If you have ever have feelings like that, never ignore them. Say something and say it to the right people who can do something about it.
Perhaps the authorities at the school needed to have contacted Jerod’s family to let them know that they felt their son was in a mental crisis of sorts. Perhaps they could have helped his parents arrange for help for Jerod.
STRANGE BODY LANGUAGE
Most recently a friend who knew him from his poetry class said that he always seemed to walk around with clenched fists. Body language wise that means he was walking around angry. He also said that he would inappropriately laugh to himself. That may have been due to the drugs he was reported to have been taking.
Some of the neighbors reported that Jerod was a strange child and was kept isolated for most of his childhood. A neighbor reported that he would never come out to play and would only gaze out the window as a child.
Another neighbor reported that he would never look at anyone when anyone passed him in the street. He would just keep his head down and look down and never gestured.
Perhaps his parents kept him isolated because they felt there was something wrong with him and wee ashamed of him or afraid of what he might so to other children.
Perhaps there was something wrong with them as well. One neighbor reported that the father seemed to be an angry and contentious person.
Where was the community in terms of assistance to this family? What was going on at school? Did Jerod’s teachers ever contact his family when he was younger?
If he wasn’t socializing with children in the neighborhood as was reported, what was going on at school? Did socializ with other children or he fall through the cracks?
PARENTS DENIAL
The terrorist’s parents said they did not understand what this happened. Perhaps they were in denial about their son all of his life.
How could they not see the skull alter shine they created in their backyard on too of shriveled oranges next to some candles?
To Dr. Dennis Embry a mental health experts it says that their son may have been suffering from schizophrenia and had thoughts of death and violence .
It was also reported by friends who knew Jared that Loughner had used marijuana extensively and has used hallucinogenic such as psyillisybum mushrooms and salvia . Jared confirmed that he smoked pot when he tried to sign up for military duty.
Did his parents not know that their son was smoking marijuana which may have exacerbated his already fragile mental condition? Did they not have a clue he was using other mind altering drugs?
PARENTS REALITY
They lived in the same house as their son and obviously had no idea what he was up to until they got a reality check several days ago.
A neighbor who visited the parents said that they father is devastated and can’t get out three words without crying as he is not only upset about his son but is devastated about what happened to the people who were hurt and killed.
His mother is reported to be so devastated that she has broken down and is a nervous wreck she has taken to bed.
THE GUN STORE THOUGHT HE WAS STRANGE
When salespeople at the gun store where Jerod purchased his weapons were interviewed they said that they thought Jerod was strange and that reluctantly sold him the ammunition and guns. They sold him a Glock pistol.
That is unacceptable! If they had any inkling that there was an odd person in their presence with odd behavior, they never should have sold him the weapons in the first place.
STRANGE AND DISTURBING BODY LANGUAGE
When you look at the mug shot you can see and feel something is not right. He has a Joker- like smirk that is inappropriate based on the situation at hand.
Eyewitnesses even reported that during the court proceedings he smirked when the judge read the counts against him.
No doubt in his mentally disturbed mind, he is most pleased with himself. He is most pleased that he has accomplished his terror laden mission.
JEROD’S MENTAL SICKNESS CAUSED HIS TERRORIST ACTS NOT THE MEDIA OR POLITICAL POSITION
Besides Loughner’s disturbing behavior what is equally disturbing is all the name calling and finger pointing and political positioning and news media hosts and politicians using this tragedy to get their 15 minutes of fame This needs to STOP RIGHT NOW!!!! It is ridiculous! the only one to blame is the person who shot Gabriel Giffords and maimed and killed so many others- Jerod Loughner.
If anyone needs to be blamed it is those who observed this mental mess and said nothing or did nothing. If that is the case we can spread blame to the junior. college administrators, his math instructor, to his parents, his fellow students, his neighbors.
I am certain that mentally sick Jerod was not spending his time listeningto Rush Limbaugh or Sarah Palin or Barack Obama or anyone for that matter. He has his own opinions and very disturbed ideas as you can clearly see from his youtoube ramblings. They make no sense.
So to hold him up as the poster boy for the Tea Party politics, Republican politics, or Democratic politics is ridiculous! It is giving this extremely mentally sick and disturbed terrorist way too much credit.
STOP POINTING FINGERS AT ONE ANOTHER TO GET YOUR NAME IN THE MEDIA!
How ridiculous of columnist Howard Fineman to blame Palin for what happened. While may have been poor judgment for Sara Palin to put out a map with cross hairs she is NOT the one who is directly responsible for the killings and for Gabriel Gifford’s becoming a potential vegetable and perhaps never being able to speak coherent sentences again.
How ridiculous of TV host Chris Matthews to blamed radio host Mark Levin . I doubt Loughner was even in his car long enough during the day to even hear Mark Levin’s radio broadcat.
How ridiculous that Sherriff Dupnik said it was Rush Limbaughs fault. If Loughlin is in his room getting high all day, I dount he is getting up early on the morning to listen to Rush’s boradcasts and savor every word Rush says. He probably can’t even process what is going on.
Joe Scarborough was also ridiculous as he blamed it on FOX and said they need to be toned down. Once again I am almost certain mentally sick Jared wasn’t organizing his day so he could listen to Rush, Mark Levin, FOX, or even Keith Olberman who said that left wing rhetoric is not equivalent to right wing rhetoric. Al Shapton was also ridiculous when he blamed the media and said they need standards on the airwaves.
LONE WOLF MENTALLY DISTURBED TERRORIST JARED IS THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME!
Most likely terrorist Jerod was getting high and listening to music and not talk radio over the airwaves. No doubt he wasn’t even in contact with the airwaves as he was listening to the music he downloaded on his ipod all day
Chances are this terrorist didn’t even listen to the media pundits or spend time in his car listening to conservative radio show hosts or liberal radio show hosts for that matter.
Jerod Lo9ghner is a very mentally sick and disturbed person .
There is no evidence that t he was influenced in anyway by Sarah Palin, by the Tea party, opposition to health care or Rush Limbaugh or Mark Levin,”
IT’S UP TO EVERYONE OF US TO LEARN TO SPOT POTENTIAL TERRORISTS AND IF WE SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING!
An incident like this makes us all see the importance of learning how to spot a potential terrorist well ahead of time before it is too late.
It is essential to recognize when a person’s body language is so off that it makes you feel sick to your stomach or makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.
It is important to observe and report what you observe to someone who can do actually something about it. In Jerod’s case with Arizona being one of the few states you can have a person sent to a mental health facility to be checked out, he needed to be reported as soon as he wrote the word “mahem” on his math paper.
Perhaps this incident will encourage people to do what Homeland security said to do in their recent campaign “If you see something say something!
Apparently so many people observed the terrorist’s off behavior and body language and didn’t say or do anything about it.
Selling arms to a person you feel reluctant about selling it to is a perfect example of what I am talking about.
Apparently Arizona Sherrif Dupnik observed that Jared made death threats against others in the past and that that those threats had been investigated by police. So why was’nt there an eagle eye on Jerod at all times? Why didn’t Jerod have to suffer some consequences for making those death threats?
If school officials suspended Jared after they found a rambling incoherent youtube posting he made, why didn’t they contact his parents or send him to a mental health facility?
For anyone who is upset about the If You see something say something concept violating anyone;s freedoms of First Amendment Rights, I will ask you where are Rep. Gabriel Griffith’s rights are or where are the rights of a Federal Court judge and a precious 9 year old girl who are now dead at the hands of this terrorist. www.drlillianglass.com
Dr. Lillian Glass Body Language Blog 
When I saw this mug shot my first impression was that he looks like a 40 year old pedophile. He seems to be happy….I wonder if he was experiencing auditory or visual hallucinations when this mugshot was taken.
I agree with you that all of this talk of this being politically motivated or so and so’s fault is ridiculous! This man is mentally ill, probably Schizophrenic or psychotic. Like many people with Schizophrenia he has obsessional and delusional thoughts/beliefs that just so happen to involve politics and society in general. Some Schizophrenics have religious delusions. So if they murder people are they part of some religious organization? Hopefully people will become more educated and enlightened about mental illness so that they can recognize signs of potential danger and they can take action before something like this happens again.
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Good entry, Dr. Glass. From a psychodynamic viewpoint I wonder what was going on in the home as he was growing up. It sounds as though something was wrong very early. It could have been internal – biologically-based mental illness – or it could have been environmental – mental illness caused by childhood abuse or neglect that no one helped him with – or maybe a combination of both. But whatever it was, there were many signs that went unheeded.
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This sort of thing keeps on happening and people keep on not telling anyone of their misgivings before something happens. People living in Arizona should exercise their right and best judgment to report feelings of danger about a person as those feared can be brought to a facility for evaluation even if they protest. I wonder why nobody says anything before it is too late?
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And, if the community college professor made a report to the police, what do you think could be done? Or, if neighbor’s had reported to the parent’s that their son was a bit “strange” what would you expect of the parents? How about the students in Loughner’s poetry class. What would you have them report and to who? In this country, nothing can be done until a crime is commited. Cops would laugh if I called to say my neighbor is odd and have you ever tried to tell a parent their child might not be perfect? Come on, Dr. Glass. In this country it is not illegal to be nuts or act nuts so long as nobody is hurt. I don’t agree with this mindset but it’s reality. Then, to add injury to insult, after a crime is commited, the perpetrator has all the rights. The system needs to change and yes, we all must be vigilant.
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Arizona is one of the few states in the US where someone can be admitted to a mental health facility involuntarily. If people noticed his abberant behavior they needed to speak up and call someone who could do something to get him into a facility. If thete were enough reports something could have been done by someone, Also the father must have known something was wrong as she ran after his son to the desert. No doubt some of his tears which were reported by a neighbor may be due to his not stopping his son before he committed such an eggregious act. If you are a parent and have a troubled child you should know better than to not watch them carefully or get them the proper assistance so that they dont harm others.
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Dr. Glass,
I agree with your article and was not attempting to challenge any of your views. The problem is with the way our system works. The authorities don’t listen until after a tragedy has occured. I was in that situation with my ex-husband and told by the police they couldn’t do anything for me until I was physically harmed. They could intervene after the fact. Great help, huh?
Loughner’s parents must have known he was very mentally ill. This falls in their lap for not taking any proactive measures. It shouldn’t fall on the rest of society but sometimes, when parents shirk their duty, it must.
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As I searched the web this evening, trying to find help, I stumbled across this post, as my daughter sleeps (or tries to) in a safe house with my granddaughters, not because her husband beats her but because he is so unstable that after an argument with a neighbor recently he went back home and put a rifle in his trunk and drove back to where the argument had started, unfortunately (fortunately for the neighbor) it was unloaded so he wasn’t arrested even though he had a bullet in his hand and three in his pocket. From emails of his that I have read, if he was from the mid-east, I would think he was planning a terrorist act – yet I have no proof to say, hey, he’s a danger just bits and pieces of strange comments and strange on-line orders. He came out of a two week stay in a mental institute only a few months ago after talking about killing himself and has been getting worse, taking medications he gets prescribed by several different doctors and becoming so angry that it scares the children. Can’t his therapist see this behavior – it certainly is obvious to the rest of us – so what am I to do? And, even more distrubing, what will my daughter be able to do to protect herself and her kids or the other people in his line of fire? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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