Killer's family tried to intervene before rampage

[JDPriestly]

22. Yes.

Think about this young man's life. He was an excellent student, but short. He had not yet begun to accept himself or learned that there was a place for him, maybe a good one, in this life. He wanted everything right now -- as many young people do.

He was actually a good-looking young man but was so self-centered that he could not show enough interest in the girls he wanted to impress to interest them.

And that reflects a serious problem in our society. We emphasize winning and succeeding. But we don't teach our children that we are all part of one world, that we have to be kind and that we have to help each other make it through life. We don't teach them early on to expect life to be difficult. We inundate our children with stories of super-heroes for whom everything is easy. But the reality is that life is tough. He does not seem to have understood that what he experienced was normal. He imagined that other young people's lives were easier than his. I have known lots of short guys who attracted beautiful, wonderful women. My own father was short, and he was so loved. It's ridiculous for men to think that being super-heroes or being tall and handsome matter all that much to women.

Rodgers was the child of a divorced couple. I don't think people realize how much divorce can hurt their children.