The wildness | Press

We have all just witnessed a third teenage murder committed on the Island of Montreal. This murder seems completely gratuitous. Thomas Trudel, 16, was returning home. He was shot dead just before entering his house. Thomas was probably chosen at random by a youngster who was looking for a challenge by going through a street gang initiation rite. In fact, we sometimes find this kind of behavior in groups of criminal individuals.



Frankie Berneche

Frankie Berneche
Professor of Psychology

Conduct disorder

In reaction to the increase in violence that is raging in Montreal, everyone is loudly proclaiming the need to control the entry of firearms into Canadian territory. Unfortunately, this measure will have no effect, because the problem is light years away from the Canada-US borders. The problem lies even further, it lies at the bottom of the individual, in his personality structure, in his psychology.

Until we approach violence (both domestic and street gang) from a psychological perspective associated with conduct disorder, we are on the wrong track and the problem will only grow.

In fact, the real question is not with what weapons do offenders assault, but what motivates offenders to assault. In other words, reduce the motivation of criminals to commit mischief and you will quickly have an impact on reducing the demand for illegal weapons at the border.

Neurological dissociation

Much of the solution to the crime problem lies in our knowledge of the underlying motives of sociopaths. In general, violent people who do not hesitate to coldly kill another innocent person, like young Thomas, are very special individuals who have achieved a high level of dissociation. Their capacities to feel the suffering of the other are completely inaccessible to them (they have no empathy). And this is explained quite well.

We are not born dissociated, we become so. Studies show that children living in traumatic family environments (eg a lot of violence, physical and sexual assault) generally end up with severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress. One of the most disorganizing consequences of this syndrome is that the child’s brain gradually “disconnects” from an emotional point of view. Motivated by the survival of vital organs which could not last long in such states of anxiety, part of the brain will shut down (thanks to natural biochemicals) another part of the brain which is responsible for emotional feeling.

Thus, the traumatized young person will become incapable of feeling the slightest empathy towards others. However, in conjunction with a narcissistic rage to have been treated so savagely in childhood, the desensitized brain of the young person motivates him to commit all the atrocities we witness (for example: coldly killing a person for no reason).

We cannot escape it as a society. All violent adults draw their deepest motivations from an abused childhood. It is therefore in this place that the solution must be sought and not in the international customs posts.

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