Thread by @DrGJackBrown

THREAD: Body Language Analysis No. 4393: El Paso Mass Shooter - Using Body Language as a Threat Assessment Tool - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

#ElPasoShooting #ThreatAssessment #BodyLanguage #BodyLanguageExpert #Nonverbal #EmotionalIntelligence #GunControl

1/ On Saturday 3 August 2019, Patrick Wood Crusius allegedly went on a shooting rampage inside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. He traveled about 1,050 km (~650 miles) from his home in Allen, Texas to do so.

2/ Tragically, 22 people have died while another 24 were wounded. About 30 minutes prior to the shooting, Crusius published manifesto online, ranting against immigration and declaring that “this attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

3/ Moreover, Crusius confessed to law enforcement that he had been specifically targeting "Mexicans".

4/ From a nonverbal and specifically a threat-assessment perspective, it's crucial to analyze the three images of the suspect included here.

5/ In the first image, above, the suspect's eyebrows and forehead are lowered. His eyebrows are also mildly drawn together.

6/ The left side of his mid-face is contracted in what many would colloquially term a 'snarl'. This is primarily an expression of contempt with a secondary component of anger.

7/ Notice too, that his eyelids are partially closed.

8/ At this time it's not clear if the suspect's upper eyelids may have had this characteristic since birth (and, in that case, would be classified as congenital ptosis), but his 'droopy' eyelids have the effect of amplifying both his anger and contempt.

9/ An additional sign in this photo is the suspect's mild Forward Lip Pursing. A forward lip purse signals a full or partial undisclosed disagreement and/or a clandestine plan.

10/ A person configuring their lips in this fashion believes they are a relative alpha to (who they perceive to be) beta personalities with whom they're interacting. They also believe they have a good chance of successfully carrying out their plan/action.

11/ In the next image of the suspect, we see his expression is similar to that in the first photo. His eyebrows, however, are pinched closer together and perhaps lowered more.

12/ Notice his mid-face is mildly contracted - particularly his 'mustache area'. His nostrils are also mildly flared. This is an amalgam of Disgust and Anger.

13/ Anyone who displays disgust toward a person or group of people - signals their belief of their perceived superiority/the others' perceived inferiority.

14/ It's profoundly important to stress that such chronic displays of disgust also signal an inherent component to their beliefs of superiority - and others' inferiority. The thought-emotion of disgust is necessary for demonizing and 'otherizing' people.

15/ Thus, it's not surprising to learn that disgust was the most common facial expression documented on the faces' of Nazis staffing concentration camps during World War II.

16/ Many people would mistake the emotions seen in this third image as a partial smile - but it's nothing of the sort. This is Contempt - and more specifically, a variety of Smug Contempt.

17/ SUMMARY: All healthy human beings will, on occasion, experience anger, contempt, and disgust. However, those individuals who exhibit these emotions too often or too intensely have significant psychological pathology.

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18/ This pattern, of course, has been true throughout human history - but with the advent of social media, we can (openly and publicly) qualify this behavior - as well as quantify it.

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19/ So, while certainly, not everyone who displays disgust, anger, and/or contempt either frequently and/or extremely will perpetrate a mass-shooting, they will, at least, have Impulse Control Disorder.

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20/ Knowing how to spot these and other nonverbal behaviors is an integral component of accurate threat assessment and critical for personal safety.

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