The Shame Spiral in School Shootings

Abstract This essay explores the role of shame as a mediator of thought and action in school shootings. A focus on shame widens the debates around this American societal tragedy beyond mental health concerns and gun control. The 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in the U.S. state of Colorado, is recognized as a paradigmatic event for subsequent shooters. The lives of the two shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, reveal a shame spiral prominent in school shootings. This spiral implicates society’s relational web. The essay argues that pastoral care providers are among the social agents who can diminish and disrupt the shame spiral.