There has been a progression of decline since the JFK assassination that has made us numb to such acts. My point is that on 11.22.63 society felt that the president was safe to drive around in an open car on a preannounced route. Unthinkable today. His traumatic and brutal death changed all that in an instant. It also introduced the TV media spectacle that follows such events and often results in copycat crimes. The nuts learned they could make a big splash. I doubt any school or mass shooter of today has any idea who Oswald was. They are more likely familiar with the Columbine-type nuts but Oswald still influenced that cultural shift. If you are angry and blame others for your misfortunes, Oswald showed the way to get some payback. Prior to that there was societal concern with morality, shame, and reputation that made such acts unthinkable. There are certainly other factors in this decline but Oswald has a role.
Certainly these Columbine style mass shootings were far more rare in the 20th century than they are now. It almost seems like each mass shooter is trying to out do the previous one. Even though rare, they did occur. Less than two years after the JFKA and just down I-35 from Dealey Plaza, Charles Whitman murdered over a dozen people and wounded a number more from the tower on the University of Texas campus. Interestingly, Whitman did his killing from a much higher perch than Oswald and his best score in the USMC was only two points better than Oswald's. The school massacre in US history took place in Bath, Michigan in 1927 when a maintenance man blew up two school houses, killing everyone inside. We've always had nutcases who were willing to commit mass murder but they are just many more of them now than there used to be.
