Sociological and Criminological Perspectives on Mass Shootings, Dark Fandoms, and Police Mental Health

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key sociological, criminological, and psychological concepts from the lectures on dark fandoms, police mental health, and the cultural context of American mass shootings.

Dark fandoms

Communities of fans who identify with or otherwise celebrate individuals who have perpetrated heinous acts, such as mass or serial murderers, typically congregating in online spaces.

Columbiners

A term used broadly to refer to fans of the perpetrators (Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold) of the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Murderabilia

Physical items connected to serial or mass murderers—such as locks of hair, bricks from their residences, artwork, or trading cards—sought after by collectors and fans.

Dark tourism

The practice of visiting sites associated with death, disaster, executions, assassinations, and confinement, such as prison museums or locales where serial killers operated.

Celebrification of murder

The cultural and media phenomenon in modern society whereby perpetrators of mass and serial violence achieve prominent celebrity status and infamy through extensive media exposure.

NBK

The shorthand code name used by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in their personal journals and basement tape recordings to designate their planned attack on Columbine High School.

Operational Stress Injury (OSI)

Any persistent psychological struggle—such as depression, anxiety, or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder—resulting from operational duties in law enforcement or military service.

Operational stressors

Pressures and demands inherent to frontline police work and public service, including physical danger, shift work, fatigue, paperwork, and repeated exposure to traumatic incidents.

Organizational stressors

Workplace stressors stemming from the internal administration, policies, and culture of a police department, such as understaffing, red tape, inconsistent leadership, and perceived lack of institutional support.

Moral injury

A profound, long-lasting emotional and psychological wound that arises when an individual's actions, or the actions of others, contradict their deeply held moral values, ethics, and core beliefs.

Pre-employment clinical assessment

A formal psychological screening conducted on police candidates to identify personality traits, behavioral patterns, or psychological characteristics that could impair their ability to serve safely and effectively.

Mental health rooms

Dedicated spaces established within police departments (such as the Marietta Police Department) allowing frontline officers to decompress, reflect on traumatic calls, and process experiences with peers before going home or taking another call.

Public mass shooting

An incident occurring in a public location—such as a school, workplace, mall, or place of worship—in which a perpetrator utilizes a firearm to kill at least four victims, excluding the shooter, according to traditional definitions.

Fame-seeking mass shooters

Offenders who perpetrate mass violence primarily motivated by the desire to attain notoriety, media attention, and celebrity status, exploiting a culture where the boundary between fame and infamy has blurred.

Accelerationism

A violent ideological strategy discussed in extremist online networks that views mass shootings as heroic acts designed to accelerate social collapse and instigate an overt race war.

Super controllers

A criminological concept (Sampson et al., 2010) referring to regulatory and institutional entities—including departments of education, courts, insurance companies, and school boards—that govern and influence organizational opportunity structures and violence prevention policies.

No Notoriety

A campaign and protocol urging news media organizations to withhold the names and photographs of mass killers to deny them celebrity status while continuing to report other factual details of the crime.

Involuntary celibates (Incels)

An online community of sexually frustrated men whose shared subculture is shaped by marginalized masculinities, rigid gender role expectations, and grievance-fueled resentment toward societal dating norms.