Dangerous Minds: From Hate Fantasies to Antisocial Behavior

Dangerous Minds: From Hate Fantasies to Antisocial Behavior
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 23, 2014

Summary: The Sunflower Student Movement revealed the younger generation's political concerns and rebelliousness. Cheng Chieh's random killings revealed the younger generation's antisocial mentality, and their dangerous lack of conscience. These are two sides of the same coin. We cannot ignore either of them. Therefore we must reflect upon this incident. Insisting on increasing the number of transit police is probably not the solution. Instead, we must understand what lurks in the hearts of people such as Cheng Chieh. What kind of hate fantasies led him to cold-bloodedly murder innocent people? Where did his desire to be an antisocial killer come from?

Full Text Below:

The earliest reports said a knife-wielding drunk on the Taipei MRT was hacking away at people. But later everyone could see that the killer was a college student little different in general appearance from countless other young men. He was not drinking, nor had he lost his mind. He brandished a knife and stabbed people, killing four and wounding 24 others. The perpetrator was the first spree killer in the history of the Taipei MRT. The incident provoked gloom and anxiety.

Why was the killer mistakenly characterized as a drunk. Because it was easy to jump to that conclusion. Perhaps he came from a broken family. Perhaps he had been unemployed too long. Perhaps he experienced a sudden shock, then after getting drunk, lost control and committed these terrible atrocities. But 21 year old Cheng Chieh "always wanted to achieve something great." He originally intended to put his plan into action after graduating from college. But "As it happened, today there was no class." So he bought a knife, rode around on the MRT for a while, then attacked his fellow passengers on the longest stretch between MRT stations.

Had he been drunk, others would have noticed. Had he exhibited any mental disorders, others would have had advance warning. But Cheng Chieh's dangerous mind hid behind a calm exterior. His antisocial personality hid behind the mask of a college student. Upon graduating from high school, he wrote "I did not set fire to my house" in his yearbook. His comment was dismissed as mere youthful rebellion. On his college dormitory room door he wrote, "I will not accept treatment even if I am beaten to death." His roommates shared his morbid humor. They considered it fashionable. Within such a culture, hatred of the world feels like fantasy. Youth feel no guilt. Even if the government were to station police in every MRT station, could they really control such dangerous elements?

Cheng Chieh is reminiscent of Anders Breivik, who took over 70 lives in Norway. He is also reminiscent of the Tsnarnaev brothers, whose bombings during the Boston Marathon killed three and wounded nearly 200 others. They all had something in common. Their plans were drawn up and carried out by individuals, not organizations. They all chose to attack in a public place, without specific victims in mind. None of them had traumatic childhoods. All of them chose random killing as a way to uphold "justice." All of them considered their actions heroic.

Anders Breivik killed because he felt immigrants were inundating Europe. He opposed multiculturalism. The Tsarnaev brothers detonated bombs because they were unhappy with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, The wanted to exact revenge on behalf of Islam. What was Cheng Chieh's motive for cold-blooded murder? That remains a mystery. Was he really determined to "do something great?" Did video games take him to the dark side? Killing people with a knife and setting off bombs is different. In the former case, the victim's blood spatters everywhere, and his guts spill out on the ground. Killing people with a knife is doubly bloody, Cheng Chieh hacked away at over 20 passengers without letting up. His coldness and cruelty defied belief.

A key feature of the antisocial personality is a lack of remorse, a serious lack of conscience, an inability to feel guilty or upset. The day before yesterday police interrogated Cheng Chieh. He showed no remorse. Police reminded him of his parents and younger brother, but he remained unmoved. He exhibited these very psychological traits. So far no one has been able to determine why he did what he did. But yesterday, immediately following the incident, someone set up a "Cheng Chieh Fan Club" on FaceBook. They said they supported Cheng Chieh. They said they "worship him, love him, and are grateful he helped society take out the trash." Within hours, thousands of people had signed up. As we can see, certain corners of society and certain social networks contribute to this anti-social psychology, and constitute a catalyst for evil. Other voices on FaceBook are responding to the atrocities by demanding "capital punishment for Cheng Chieh," and screaming, "Cheng Chieh die!" These are equally dangerous and equally worrisome.

Cheng Chieh moved up his plan for random killings. Did this bear any relationship to the recent street protests? That is hard to say. But in April he boasted on FaceBook that he "would do something great." His comment included 21 examples of the word "hack," (as in "to hack with a knife"). This was precisely when protestors on Taiwan were opposing the STA, opposing the NPP4, and demanding an "appendectomy." Was the atmosphere of rebellion a factor? Even the police were helpless in the face of the crowds, Perhaps this touched a nerve in Cheng Chieh. In fact, some people around him noticed the signs. They informed the university administration.  Unfortunately the school counselor was unable to penetrate the darkness of his heart .

The Sunflower Student Movement revealed the younger generation's political concerns and rebelliousness. Cheng Chieh's random killings revealed the younger generation's antisocial mentality, and their dangerous lack of conscience. These are two sides of the same coin. We cannot ignore either of them. Therefore we must reflect upon this incident. Insisting on increasing the number of transit police is probably not the solution. Instead, we must understand what lurks in the hearts of people such as Cheng Chieh. What kind of hate fantasies led him to cold-bloodedly murder innocent people? Where did his desire to be an antisocial killer come from?

We salute the elderly white-haired gentleman who bravely subdued Cheng Chieh with his umbrella. When others were panic-stricken, he reached out his hand to uphold justice and defeat evil.

危險心靈：從仇恨幻想到反社會暴行
【聯合報╱社論】
2014.05.23 03:50 am

最初傳出的消息，是一名「醉漢」持刀在台北捷運上砍人；但隨後大家看到的凶手是一名外觀與一般年輕人無異的大學生，他既未飲酒，亦未喪失心神，卻連續揮刀砍殺造成四死廿四傷。這樣的犯案者，為捷運史上首宗隨機殺人事件勾勒出最幽暗的險惡與不安。

之所以會把凶手誤傳成「醉漢」，因為那是最容易想像的事：或許是家庭破碎，或者長期失業，又或臨時受到什麼刺激，然後在酒後失控作出可怕的暴行。然而，廿一歲的鄭捷卻只是「從小就想要做件大事」，本來打算大學畢業後再付諸行動，但「今天正好沒課」，他就買了刀子，試乘了一回，即挑選捷運站距最長的一段向同車旅客下手。

但如果是醉漢，外人很快就能辨識出來；如果是外顯的精神異常，旁人也比較容易提高警覺。然而，鄭捷的危險心靈包藏在他平靜的外表底下，他的反社會人格被大學生的身分掩蓋；他在高中畢業紀念冊上那句「我沒有放火燒我家」的留言，被當成青春叛逆的趣味；他大學宿舍門上「打死不治療」的橫批，是室友們共同分享的病態時髦。在這樣的文化下，像這樣心存仇世的幻想、卻又毫無罪惡感的年輕人，就算政府在每個捷運站都部署了警力重兵，又如何防制這類危險分子？

鄭捷的犯行，讓人聯想起挪威奪走七十多條命的殺人者布列維克，以及波士頓馬拉松爆炸案造成三死近兩百傷的查納耶夫兄弟。他們的共同點，都是個人（而非組織）策劃犯案，都選擇在公共場合向不特定對象下手，他們並不是個人在成長過程有過不幸遭遇，卻選擇隨機殺人的方式來宣示自己以為的「正義」或英雄行為。

挪威的布列維克行凶是為了反對歐洲外來移民太多，反對多元文化主義；查納耶夫兄弟引爆炸彈，則是不滿美國出兵阿富汗及伊拉克，要為伊斯蘭教報復。然而，鄭捷冷血殺人的原因至今仍是個謎，他難道真的就是立志要「做件大事」嗎？或者只是殺人格鬥電玩玩到走火入魔？再說，持刀殺人和引爆炸彈不同，前者需要近距離面對被害者血濺腸流的慘狀，那是加倍血腥的事，而鄭捷能連續刺殺廿多名乘客仍不手軟，其冷酷和殘暴真是教人難以想像。

反社會人格的一大特徵是「無罪惡感」，嚴重缺乏良心的譴責，也不會感到內疚或不安。警方前天偵訊鄭捷時，認為他毫無悔意；甚至在警方提醒他上有父母、下有弟弟時，他依然無動於衷，呈現的正是這樣的心理特質。目前，我們尚無法判斷他為何如此，但從昨天案發後臉書立即有人成立「鄭捷粉絲團」，宣稱要支持鄭捷，「崇拜他、敬愛他、感謝他清除社會汙染物」云云，且短短數小時便有上千人加入，可以看出社會上或社群網路的若干角落確實存在助長「反社會心理」的邪惡觸媒。這點，臉書上對鄭捷的暴行按讚和高呼「鄭捷處死刑」、「鄭捷去死」的兩種聲音，其危險本質同樣讓人擔憂。

鄭捷的隨機殺人計畫提前發動，和近來的街頭抗議有沒有關係，外界難以斷言。但四月間他在臉書上聲稱自己「會有一番大作為」，文中出現廿個「砍」字，正值台灣反服貿、反核四、割闌尾示威期間；當時那種沸沸揚揚「造反有理」的氣氛，乃至警察面對群眾束手無策的情景，也許不知如何刺激了鄭捷的神經，想要「做件大事」的念頭便油然而生。在他的周遭，其實也有人察覺情況不妙，因而通報了大學校方處理；遺憾的是，學校的諮詢終究無法深入他的黑暗之心。

如果說太陽花學運表現了年輕族群對政治的關注和世代叛逆，鄭捷的隨機殺人事件則暴露了年輕世代反社會、缺乏良知的危險心靈，這一體兩面的正反關係，我們不能忽視任何一面。也因此，反省此一事件，一味要求「增加捷運警力」恐怕不是正確的解方，而必須了解鄭捷的心裡究竟潛藏著什麼樣的仇恨幻想，導致他如此冷血地向身旁無辜市民下手，以及他一心想要扮演反社會角色的致命誘惑究竟從何而來。

我們也要向勇敢力擒鄭捷的白髮伯、雨傘哥致敬，在人們倉皇失措時，感謝你們伸出正義之手阻擋了邪惡。