“An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world – Nine Recently emerged Major Anti-Social Behaviors

“An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world, marked by unwarranted optimism mixed with paranoia and a feeling of emptiness, has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere.” — Iain McGilchrist

Nine Recently emerged Major Anti-Social Behaviors

2. From Wikipedia: “As of 2017, studies indicated that the rate at which public mass shootings occur has tripled since 2011. Between 1982 and 2011, a mass shooting occurred roughly once every 200 days. However, between 2011 and 2014, that rate has accelerated greatly with at least one mass shooting occurring every 64 days in the United States. (Wikipedia) Besides school shootings, a number of “antisocial” behaviors have emerged recently. First the CDC study showed an increase of 36^ in the suicide rate from 2000 to 2021 – and an epidemic in narcissism in western countries of roughly 25% (Twenge, et al). 

3. CDC: Suicide rates increased approximately 36% between 2000–2021. Suicide was responsible for 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes.3 The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021, an estimated 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million attempted suicide. Suicide affects people of all ages. In 2021, suicide was among the top 9 leading causes of death for people ages 10-64. Suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.3

4. There has been a recent drastic increase in physical assaults on teachers in America – and worldwide i.e Teacher stabbed to death by pupil in France (BBC World News, France)According to a new survey from the American Psychological Association, one-third of teachers report that they experienced at least one incident of verbal harassment or threat of violence from students during the pandemic. (National Education Association, USA)

Germany sees increase in attacks on teachers. (Deutsche Welle, Germany) Student Violence Against Teachers Has Become the Norm and That’s NOT Okay. (Bored Teachers, USA) School principals experience highest rate (75%) of violence and abuse in Australia. (ABC News) Surprising Israeli statistic emerged: the victims of student abuse – primarily veteran teachers – don’t seek help. (Bar-Ilan University. Israel) New Zealand teachers want action as student assault rates on staff escalate . (Stuff, New Zealand) – (Violence Against Teachers: 17 Alarming Statistics and Headlines https://www.bite-pro.com/blog/post/violence-against-teachers-17-alarming-statistics-and-headlines)

During the 2020–21 school year, a higher percentage of elementary public-school teachers than of secondary public-school teachers reported being threatened with injury (8 vs. 4 percent) or being physically attacked (7 vs. 1 percent) by a student from their school. Teachers Threatened With Injury or Physically Attacked by Students  (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a05/teacher-attacked-by-students)

5. The FBI reported a new high in hate crimes in the USA: Washington Post:

The number of hate crimes in the United States jumped dramatically in 2021 to set a record high of nearly 11,000 incidents, the FBI said in a supplement to its annual hate crimes report. – with a huge increase in hate crimes reported by Asians including 826 Filipinos

UPDATE March 13, 2023 7:18 PM Masood Farivar US Hate Crimes Hit Record High: FBI Updated Report

6. Intentional killings of police have increased dramatically in the USA

Last year saw the highest number of law enforcement officers who were intentionally killed in the line of duty since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, an increase that comes as a rise in gun violence and homicides continues across the country.

According to preliminary year-end data provided to CNN by the FBI, 73 officers died in felonious killings in the line of duty in 2021. The year marks the highest total recorded by the agency since 1995, excluding the 9/11 attacks . (https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/13/us/police-officers-line-of-duty-deaths/index.html)

7. Assaults on healthcare workers have had an exponential increase:

What’s behind an alarming rise in violent incidents in health care facilities “Government data shows that health care workers are five times as likely to experience workplace violence as other workers. They accounted for 73 percent of non-fatal injuries from violence in 2018, the most recent year for which numbers are available, and there are signs it’s getting worse.”

8. Narcissism Epidemic: Since roughly 2000 there has been an epidemic of narcissism in western countries. Is modern life making us more narcissistic? And if so, why? We agree with Paris (2014, pp. 220 –226) that the answer to the first question is yes. In fact, as we demonstrate below, the case for increasing narcissism is even stronger than presented in his article. On the second question, we agree that expressive individualism and lack of social support play key roles in this increase. However, we question the idea that therapy is building narcissism.”  (The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. APA Psych net)

9. Perspective from an extreme case: Chinese Kindergarten Knife Slayings

China kindergarten stabbing: Six dead in Lianjiang By Kelly Ng & Rupert Wingfield-Hayes BBC News  The stabbings also fit in to a disturbingly familiar pattern. Firearms are banned in China but the country has seen a spate of knife attacks in recent years, although there was also one incident where the attacker used a chemical spray to injure a classroom of 50 children. The BBC has counted at least 17 knife attacks in schools, colleges and universities since 2010. Ten of those have happened between 2018 and 2023.

This particular behavior is unheard of – unknown! Killing – murdering – with a knife is up close and personal – very different from killing forma distance with a gun. Killing a 5 or 6-year-old child with a knife is horrifically brutally violent. Any way you look at the situation – it is Abnormal – with a capital A. 

The article highlights these two incidents:

“In April 2021, two children died while 16 others were injured during a mass stabbing in Beiliu City, in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In October 2018, 14 children were injured in a knife attack at a kindergarten in Chongqing, south-west China.”

Excerpt from Wikipedia

A series of uncoordinated mass stabbings, hammer attacks, and cleaver attacks in the People’s Republic of China began in March 2010. The spate of attacks left at least 90 dead and some 473 injured. As most cases had no known motive, analysts have blamed mental health problems caused by rapid social change for the rise in these kinds of mass murder and murder-suicide incidents. The state media has also been keeping news of these attacks quiet by deleting forum entries on the internet and releasing few facts on the incident for fear of copycat crimes and mass panic. (almost as bad as FB when it comes to spirituality – eh?)