In 1999, the world was horrified when two students in Columbine, Colorado went on a killing spree at their high school. It inspired numerous discussions of youth alienation, gun control, and our culture (targeting musicians like Marilyn Manson). It inspired Micheal Moore to make a movie. It even had some schools banning long black jackets, as if THAT would prevent this sort of thing in the future.

What was once horrifying and unique has almost become commonplace today, which is itself horrifying in its own right. What makes people kill others (sometimes their own families) before killing themselves? Are they exacting their last bit of revenge before they go? Are they afraid of going alone? Why are we seeing this more and more lately?

Within the past day, there were two such incidents:

Ala. man kills at least 9, including 4 relatives:

At least 10 killed in German school shooting:

Earlier this year a California man killed his entire family before killing himself. He left a note saying his lack of a job and job prospects drove his madness to the breaking point.

Of course, we all remember last year, a man, distraught over a divorce and dressed in a Santa suit, killed his family before killing himself. And even earlier last year was the liberal-hater that shot up a Tennesee church because it embraced liberal causes. In his case he was also distraught over his job loss.

So what can we learn from all this? We don't know the exact motivations in the Germany shooting, but one can imagine they will be a repeat of the feelings of alienation in the Columbine case. In all of these cases, there is a sense of hopelessness in the mind of the killers, that there is only one way out and that is death. Considering the foreclosures, bad job market, collapsing of Wall Street and investment houses, the combination of desperate and despondent will only get worse.

That said, there are a lot of people suffering these same problems, and most people don't feel the need to take their own lives, much less the lives of friends, family, co-workers, and strangers. Why do some people snap and others do not?

We as a society need to figure this one out and soon, because these incidents seem to be occurring more often.