I'll Say It Again: If We Truly Wished To Make Sense of the Paris Shootings...

We would be asking this question.

Given the fact that mass shootings are ROUTINE in the United States, forensic psychologists here should be in a strong position to advise the French government as to what to do and what not to do in response to the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Moreover, we should all be bracing for that most peculiar phenomenon that tends to appear in the wake of a tragedy such as this: the copycat killings.

Our utter refusal to deal rationally and realistically with these kinds of crimes--wringing our hands and chalking them up to irrational religion--only guarantees the repetition of the cycle.

Wake up, study, act.