It is a toxic masculinity. These men cannot cope... they do not know how

There are many examples of middle-aged men who resort to firearms when they lose control of their lives.

If they no longer feel able to cope, some go on to kill themselves and their families.

It stems from losing their place in society.

It’s a toxic masculinity. They think: “This is what a man would do.”

It’s a John Wayne syndrome, whereby they are seeking revenge.

One of the things people look to is the man’s underlying health, but lots of people experience similar crises in their lives and they don’t respond the way Martin Watt did.

So often these guys come across as trying to be alpha males, but need guns to achieve that image. Martin Watt did not go on a killing spree in the way Thomas Hamilton did at Dunblane Primary or Derrick Bird in Whitehaven.

But they were a similar age and race – middle-aged white men who felt they had lost their place.

They are beta males who could only feel alpha by facing the world with firearms.

It’s their understanding of what it means to be a man. They feel they have to use guns through a sense of self-righteousness.

What is apparent is that they lack coping strategies. A similar picture is portrayed in the Michael Douglas film Falling Down – a middle-age man loses his job and place in society, resulting in violence. They cannot cope.