An Omaha news channel (www.ketv.com/news/14792807/detail.html) writes today about the 19-year-old who opened fire in Westroads Mall on Wednesday, killing eight and injuring several others.

The article is presented under the header of State Spent $265K On Hawkins' Care. In it, we are given a detailed run-down of the various “services” this troubled youth received during the four years in which he was a state ward.

I probably don’t need to tell you how distasteful, even disgraceful, I find this kind of rhetoric. What exactly is the point? Giving the tax payer an opportunity to scoff: “Dude, I could have paid off my mortgage with that money and instead they spent it on a killer”?

Even more irritating (to say the least) is that yet again no mention is made of the insanity of American gun laws. Every time one of these lost young souls goes on a killing spree, the fact that none of it would have happened had the weapon not been readily available from Daddy’s gun cabinet is ignored—all because of a bunch of rednecks trying to compensate for… well, yeah.

The only interesting/enlightening part of this article is where you get to find out that there is actually a formal diagnosis called “oppositional defiant disorder”. Don’t ask me why, but something about it felt strangely familiar. So I looked it up, and here are the symptoms:

• Throwing repeated temper tantrums
• Excessively arguing with adults
• Actively refusing to comply with requests and rules
• Deliberately trying to annoy or upset others, or being easily annoyed by others
• Blaming others for your mistakes
• Having frequent outbursts of anger and resentment
• Being spiteful and seeking revenge
• Swearing or using obscene language
• Saying mean and hateful things when upset

Yep. I knew it. Out of the 9 symptoms listed, I have at least 7, which I guess means I now know what is wrong with me. And with about 99% of my fellow Europeans. On the other side of the water, you see, being oppositional and defiant is a lifestyle. Over here, it is a disease.