Oddly enough, it appears to be a consistent strain among "civilized" societies that occasionally someone kills their entire family. Of course, access to 24-7 news coverage makes it seem as though this is happening in 9 out of 10 families, when it clearly is not.

One very sad case in point: on the remote island known as Henderson Island, which itself has never supported a large population, but which was once a part of the "polynesian expansion," some skeletons were discovered in a cave. There were five--two adults, three kids.

The immediate response by those who found them was to assume that this was a modern murder/suicide case. Testing of the bones, however, showed that the family had been dead for about 1,500 years.

Exactly why this family died/was killed remains a mystery, but each time I see one of these stories pop up on the news, I am reminded of this story. What must have been in the minds of these adults, when making this decision (assuming, of course, that they did make a decision)?

Huge populations allow for all kinds of statistical abnormalities. The news likes to report these things as though they were constantly happening on your doorstep. It's how they keep your eyes on the screen, the better to sell you their Pepsi and Chee-tos.

And of course it is undeniably horrible and sad . . . but I don't believe for a moment that a shared sense of humanity is what prompts the news stations to erupt with their lava-colored "live bulletins" about such things.

Herring405