I still have my copy of Rage. I first read it in high school. I hated high school. I hated most of my teachers. I hated most of the students. I hated myself. Even after reading Rage, it never dawned on me to hurt anyone. I had depression, but I never wanted to hurt anyone.

It's wild that people still can't grasp the fact that violent people are drawn to violent media, and that violent media does not inherently make normal, sensible people into violent lunatics.

"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." -- Stephen King

I read Rage when I was a kid. I was really, really unhappy in school and extremely scared at home. All it did was give me hope that I could bond with people eventually, and make me feel that, no matter how weird I was and how dark my thoughts, I could be angry over being treated unfairly. Never hurt anyone, always felt it hurt the protagonist more, ruined his life. The book really helped me through a bad time.

I always think of the Bachman books as huge fucking signs that sympathy and compassion for others is one of the the paramount lessons to give our children, to defend the bullied, to empathize with others, to hold up one another and not trod on anyone to get ahead.

Having gone to uni for english it became clear to me that banning uneasy or violent media does not solve the problems those who want to ban them desire. We must preserve and archive histories, relics, and artifacts no matter how disturbing some perceive them as. If we cannot recall our collective past we are doomed to repeat them.

Simon saying "we're not going to take it" instead of "we're not gonna take it" is the most proper British thing ever 🤣.

Rage is actually one of my favorite King/Bachman books. I never felt inspired to violence from it though. I suppose I can see why a broken person might be inspired to violence, but they could have gotten that inspiration basically anywhere and are just waiting for a trigger either way.

1) Broken people are attracted to stories of broken people. The stories are not what broke them. Pretending otherwise is foolhardy and counterproductive. 2) If anyone thinks that Rage will never again see print, they're kidding themselves. It will either be back on store shelves shortly after King passes away, or if his estate successfully blocks that effort, after the copyright runs out, when there's absolutely no way to prevent it.

The Walk was way worse of a book. This book was okay. The fact we remove media for fear of it inspiring people is stupid. I play all the violent games, watch all the violent movies, have done this since my early teens. I’m trained from 15 years in the military , live with PTSD and STILL have never had the urge to gun down random people. We need to acknowledge that media is not a trigger, people will simply commit violence because they can.

If we're terrified that a book detailing someone holding their class hostage because they are getting bullied would Inspire someone to do the exact same, then we shouldn't be banning the book we should be making it so the lives of these kids aren't so relatable to the violent main character. Look around today and you hear about school shootings all the time but never once has any of them mentioned rage inspired them.

The Dee Snider hearing is to this day one of the most amazing footage of someone thinking they got an easy target and then summarily being dismantled. Dee’s poise and eloquence and the way he flips the narrative around in a few minutes is glorious.

There's a fridge in every serial killers house. We must look into this further. It must be the reason for this violance just like the books are.

The whole "does violent art make people do violent things" debate is one I have grown exhausted with. It is readily apparent by the now that media cannot make one violent if their nature is not violent. I think violent people tend to gravitate toward violent media, so there might be some positive correlation between violent media and violent people. However, as every person who has taken a high school statistics class knows, correlation does not equal causation. I've consumed some absolutely grimy films and books and I have never had any desire to hurt anyone beyond the usual "oh I could just punch this dude" thoughts that I think most people have. I've read every single Stephen King book and don't think Rage is particular loss to the world. It feels very juvenile and definitely is a bottom-five book for me in his bibliography, but I still hate any time a piece of art is taken out of this world. Sure, you can still download pdf documents online or pirate the audiobook, but it is now removed from accessibility for the majority of people. I do believe that an artist has the right to control their own art though. If Stephen King wants his book to be discontinued from publishing, that is his right. There's honestly a lot more violent shit in some of his other books. It just so happens that Rage was realistic enough to where an event like it actually happened. Under the Dome has necrophilia, IT has animal torture, Rose Madder, IT, and probably several other books have domestic violence, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption has prison rape in it, Big Driver is a rape and revenge story. The list goes on-and-on. Ultimately, as long as the material is treated with the gravitas it deserves and isn't there for shock value or malicious intent, violence is fine. People are responsible for their actions. I think in general, violent people who claim to have done their crimes because of media are either lying or mentally ill. I work at a ministry that helps homeless people get back on their feet. There is a sizeable portion of our clients who have schizophrenia and will say crazy shit about things voices tell them to do. Depending on the severity of their schizophrenia and whether or not they are taking medication, they can map voices to things in their surroundings. I think it is the brain trying to make sense of something that doesn't make sense. Back when I was addicted to dissociatives, I would go on multi-day binges. Toward the final few days, I could hear voices that sounded real. It made reality seem like something it was not. I thought everyone knew what I was doing and they were conspiring behind my back. The last time I used was five years ago at the end of 10-day binge where I essentially had a total break from reality for a couple days. A mind unleashed is, I think, about the worst hell one can experience.

I remember reading the Bachmann Books as a young teen. Loved them. Never felt the urge to kill anyone. Preferred The Long Walk out of the four.

Rage might be a top 10 work by king. It’s not just about violence in school. It’s a interesting character study with depth not only from the perspective of the “shooter “ but from each of his captors in the classroom.

It's a scapegoat. What he says is very true "he would have done it another way..." I'm sure cavemen, or Jack the ripper didn't need to read anything to do violence onto their fellow man.

One of the Bachman Books, Roadwork, is King's greatest work as far as I'm concerned. A deeply moving and powerful story of an everyday man who loses his battle with grief after the death of his young son and, faced with losing his job, his home and his wife, decides to end things on his own terms. I read it as a teenager and have never forgotten how much the story moved me.

My best friend has schizophrenia to the point that the best mix of medications she and her psychiatrist have found (over nearly 20 years) dulls the edge of the metaphorical knife. It's still there, it's always there. Over those 20 years, we've watched her endure stuff I won't describe here. Just know that some of my memories ache so painfully, and I'm eternally grateful that she cannot remember them at all. Playing violent video games can help her calm down. It's not the media. It's not even always the broken-ness. (Don't go fleeing from the mentally ill, please.) I don't know what it is.

I found Rage to be a compelling look into a troubled mind and how "groupthink" can make people do something they would never do on their own. It's sad that because of the actions of a few, the many will not be able to experience it, but it is completely understandable why King made this decision.

I was an angry rebellious teenager when I read Rage, and it didn't inspire me to kill anyone.....

Stephen King's quote about high school is 100% relatable. I too regard people who think it was the best 4 years of their lives with suspicion and pity. Seriously, were they asleep through most of it?

If Seven King felt inspired to write a book like this by his High School experiences, that young men have felt they could relate to this book for decades (as someone outside the US) then it sounds like books are not the problem, that guns are not the problem, video games are not the problem, music is not the problem. It's the school system that needs looking at, everyone looking for all these other causes, blaming all these things yet the only common thing to *all* of it is the schools or the system of schooling.

Stephen King does what a lot of writers do and have done through the ages. He sees something that's happening in society or a trend or taps into a universal experience and then he PUSHES it to see how far it will go. It's why so many old sci-fi books seem to predict the future. It's taking what's already there and expanding it until its large enough to make a compelling story. I hate the idea of censoring any book simply because I don't trust whatever group would be in charge of making those decisions to not go off the rails in short order but if anyone has a right, it would be the author of the book. I agree that broken people are always going to find a way, and an excuse, for their actions but I also respect King for doing what he felt was taking away their 'google maps' of how to do it.

Owned this three times in print, secondhand. It invoked a specific emotional response in me. I liken it to psychological horror. His effort, his call, in my opinion. I think that most times, people with those tendencies have that ship already cast for them and media is not responsible for people's lack of empathy.

I read it in junior high, borrowed the paperback from the school library even. The Bachman Books, ahhh memories

Stephen King is and always will be the most prolific author of our generation. You will find at least one book that resonates with you. He has an unmistakable talent for telling some of the most twisted tales. I think one of the scariest places you could ever find yourself is in Stephen King mind. He really can make you despise a character to the point of throwing the book away but you just can not stop reading them

We performed this in 1997 and 98' in high school in South Africa. We won the regional play festival to a standing ovation.

To understand King's horror, I had to see that horror through his eyes. For that reason, I sympathize with his revulsion at tainting the world further. As well, I feel his need to create, to purge, to examine, in light of day, his own demons. "A key to the Door of Forever is the heads of all the demons one sets loose upon the world." - fr. Toscing

I still have my dad's old copy of Rage. One of the few books I wanted to keep when we cleaned out his bookshelf, as I did a book review of it in high school. It's a haunting story, but one I would happily read again and again.

I remember reading the Bachman Books and Rage in 7th Grade. I was a confused teen who was picked and and just trying to figure out how to get on in the world. The Book actually gave me an example of what not to do. But I’m still glad it’s gone. Too much suffering has been linked to the book. It’s probably for the best.

My 9th grade English teacher made us read a book of our choosing and do a report every month. I did a book report on "Rage" when I was in 9th grade, roughly 1989 or so. I was also a nerd and got picked on a lot. I played Doom and Wolfenstein 3D and all those scary bad games. I listened to heavy metal from glam metal to dealth metal during that time. I managed to get ALL THE WAY THOUGH LIFE (so far!) without shooting anyone. Or even really being violent. Try again, there's another reason at play here.

I still have my copy of the Bachman Books. I read it when I was in school where I was picked on almost relentlessly. I never considered taking a weapon to anyone. Gonna keep it as long as it's legible. The stories are good and make you think about things and can help you realize that what you see on the outside may not reflect what's going on under the surface.

The Long Walk and The Running Man are my top two fav Stephen King books ❤ They're fantastic.

Much as i dislike censorship of any kind, Stephen King's self-imposed ban is exactly the way it should be done. He was reluctant at first, but when he saw a pattern that seemed to mirror events in his fiction, he accepted responsibility and did what he could to correct the problem. I have nothing but admiration for the man, as an author and as a human being!

I read the Bachman books as a young teen who had a hard time at school, Rage was easily the weakest and least compelling of the stories, to the point I had forgotten it even existed and went into this video initially confusing Rage with Roadwork (the next weakest in the compilation). The Long Walk is the standout and Running Man is a close second. Thinner is also great and probably up there with Running Man.

The Bachmann Books are all brilliant and brilliantly upsetting. This was published under Robert Bachmann alongside the Running Man, The Long Walk and Roadwork... All hard reads...all brilliant

Not sure what this says about me, but this gives me a powerful desire to read this book.

The equivalent to what King is calling for with gun control would involve the GOVERNMENT banning King's book, and the GOVERNMENT seizing all copies of Rage in circulation, with criminal penalties for anyone caught in possession of a copy of the banned book.

I have rage in a Bachman collection with 3 other books, the running man was one. When I read rage I instantly realized the book had nothing to do with school shootings

Feelin extra early on this one. PS: I actually own this book

What about “The Regulators”? Also published as Bachman….and a great book!(along with Desparation)

0:00: 📚 Throughout history, there have been instances where violent media has been blamed for inspiring real-world violence, including cases involving Charles Manson, Mark David Chapman, and Senate hearings on violent media censorship. 3:20: 😱 A summary of the disturbing and realistic Bachmann books written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Bachmann. 6:21: 😱 Several incidents of school shootings were inspired by Stephen King's novel Rage. 9:21: 📚 Stephen King's book 'Rage' has been blamed for inspiring real-life shooters, leading King to remove it from publication and address America's gun violence epidemic. Recap by Tammy AI

My wife started collecting Stephen King two years ago after reading my copy of 11/22/63. We have Rage, and both of us have read it. I just finished watching this video and then I played it for her. Neither of us thought the book could lead anyone to commit the crimes talked about by Simon. I would like to know if there are any statistics about females who read the book. I know women rarely commit mass murder, but if the book was that bad, I would think some female readers would have snapped somewhere.

I'm an avid reader of Stephen King's novels and short stories. Many of his stories involve no paranormal activities. His books are the only books I read these days. SK is a living legend!!! He DID say that Rage was the only story he regretted.

I have "The Bachman Books" on my bookshelf, with the story "Rage". It is falling apart. I remember liking that story (and a few others) in that collection. I was not happy to find I could not find an ebook of it that contained this story, and eventually found out why it is no longer available. I did eventually find an epub version by alternate means. To me the story was fascinating because it seemed to portray someone losing it, but the writing was very matter-of-fact.

Been a fan of S King since fourth grade, when one of my cool, rebel teachers decided to read The Shining to us (uncensored except for one sexy bit-it was fun to watch her face work while reading that to herself, tee hee) during the last ten minutes of class. I remember I was the first one to figure out what 'redrum' meant, so proud. I was hooked & read every book he'd written to that point (this was 1978ish) and then all the other horror authors of the time. I have the Bachman book, so I will revisit Rage and The Long Walk (my favorite). Rage isn't anything more than the product of the author's imagination, written when he himself was in high school, written when school shootings weren't a thing at all, written when parents still actively raised their own children through to adulthood. Given how children are largely left to their own devices these days, it's no surprise that some would take to violence to relieve the pressure. It's a sick society, specifically American society, that induces violence, not a book!

I'm a huge fan of King's work, but I had never sought out Rage before. Recently I decided to buy every novel he released that I didn't already own, and that included the original Bachman Books collection with Rage, even though I did already have the stand-alone versions of the other three stories. I found that reading as a 40-something man must be very different than reading it as an angsty teen boy. I thought it was really poorly written, with completely unbelievable character actions for the circumstances they found themselves in. It reads like a bullied kid's immature daydream where they are the most clever one in the room, and they have all the control of the pathetic sheep... But it really reads like that. Not like the kid might want to appear, but as they really would sound if the fantasy was spoken outside their own head. Absurd. In reality the bullied kid is not charismatic, clever, or powerful, and the story doesn't come across as an excellent author's imagining of the tale. If it had, there may not be all this controversy.

"I wrote a song about toothpaste but nobody's teeth got cleaner."

The kids knew exactly what was on the line. The all watched the walks every year. Willing participants as much as any impoverished people can be.

I read Rage when I was bullied in high school in the 80’s. I had easy access to guns but I couldn’t fathom going that far.

"Roadwork" sounds a lot like the movie "Falling Down". In the movie, a defense contractor employee is fired, after he was already in the middle of a divorce and losing custody of his daughter, and then goes on a rampage against a variety of targets because he's lost everything.

Art does not imitate life unless some idiot wants it too. I've read almost all of Stephen Kings books and was not influence into doing anything more than love his books and admire his work.

I enjoyed Rage when I read it years ago and still have a digital copy, I've never thought of doing things myself but I can understand how it would be like pouring gas on a fire for someone who is already on that path. The Long Walk is probably one of my favorite books ever, I'm surprised no one has ever tried to make a film adaptation of it.

The Long Walk was one of the first books I read by Steven King/Richard Bachman back as a freshman in high school and I still as a 37 year old father love that novel and King's works. I hope those with mental health issues and their family know the signs to seek real help. After serving 8 years in the military I have seen alot but I still talk to therapist after 10 years.

That new intro sequence. Absolutely stunning and brilliant. Well done to the editor!

My father had a copy of Rage I now own it. Out of all the books in my collection it’s the only one with dark history to it

While I don't think a piece of media makes anyone do anything, i respect King for this move. He was maybe the only right person to choose to do this as its author.

I read the Catcher in the Rye when I was in highschool... LOVED IT! Had a great effect on me... Tried to read it again recently as a 40 something year old... Unreadable. Clearly written for a kid.

I remember reading "Rage" back when I was in fifth grade. It was part of a Richard Bachman short story collection. This was back in 1985. I was reading it during a dry spell in English class.

I loved this book! I actually read it in 11th grade back in 1996. It used to be part of the bachman books. And as an outcast in high school who fought on the regular, I could commiserate with his character and it made me realize that there were probably other people out there going through the exact same bullshit as me. And they probably wanted to talk to somebody about it as much as I did. Did so I saw those people out and we became friends. I didn't see it as a detriment. I think the book was actually kind of positive. And yes he shoots his teacher. But then he has a therapy session with the entire class. And he calls everybody on their bullshit

Great book!

"We are not going to take it." Is the best rendition of this song so far!

I love this channels intro so much it’s so sophisticated and also comforting

The fact we blame inanimate things eg. Guns, movies, video games and books for violent actions instead of finding the real causes is telling it's to scapegoat. Oh its not the parents or society itselfs fault it's the guns or the movies. No people will always find a way to hurt each other and while tragic we must understand to sacrifice any freedom for safety will only get us neither freedom or safety

I have this book. Read it when I was a teenager. I didn’t shoot up any schools.

The Bachman books were incredible. I hadn’t read anything like them, ever.

Guns, Books, Music, don't kill people ...... people kill people. The root of the problem is the lack of care for mental health issues we have in America. High schools need to have classes on the subject. The stigma of seeking help for mental health has to go. America needs to do better with this

It’s too bad he had it removed. It’s a good book, somewhat important, too. Definitely more important than Thinner or other Bachman books

This is hands down one of the most interesting literary topics to me. Having an artist pull his own work in order to save lives is largely unheard of in the modern era, and for King to take responsibility for this should be more controversial than it is… even so, as a survivor of a school shooting incident, I value his choice to do so.

I still remember reading Rage when i was a kid. I actually read all his Richard Bauchman stories, but rage certainly stood out as memorable. Im often reminded about it when another school shooting takes place.

I remember the media and anyone and everyone else coming unglued over Mortal Kombat… My grandmother saw the game being played at a nearby Toys-R-Us and had an absolute hissy fit when my cousin tried to go over and play the game. My cousin told me that she witnessed Sub-Zero’s fatality as I recall. My parents bought my younger brother and I a Sega Genesis console and a copy of MK2 for Christmas not long after. The best part? My brother and I hearing our parents and aunt and uncle playing the game on Christmas Eve at around 2 AM just to see what it all looked like before putting the console back in its box and wrapping it all up for us to tear into the following morning. Our parents were more pissed off that they couldn’t figure out how to use the controller than they were about seeing a spine being ripped out in a gush of highly animated blood. One of the only times my parents actually were cool and not lame asses when I was a kid. Edit: Spelling because I’m a fool.

im my hs school in nyc we had shootings and robberies all the time. just went to the next class like it was nothing.

Simon, PLEASE use brain blaze to keep all your true fans in the loop on where you're going to be! A lot of us saw the top tenz apology video from the channel owner earlier. We didn't watch for the channel itself, mainly just for the host. Hate that that all happened, but really, keep us posted!

Another excellent video thank you Simon

I was badly bullied in middle school but by high school it was mostly over. When I was a junior, I was in Spanish class when suddenly there was a loud boom and the school shook. We were all told to remain where we were as bomb sniffing dogs went over the school. A kind of nerdy boy decided to take revenge on his bully by putting a pipe bomb in his locker, rigged to explode when he opened it. The thing about pipe bombs is that they're hard to regulate how big an explosion they make. I felt ambivalence about it. I never had wished for serious harm to my bullies, but I got it. As they drove me to near suicide, I wanted retribution. Now that I'm older, I'm very much inclined to blame the parents. Teach your children love and kindness. Teach them that bullying is never acceptable.

Stephen King's books also have a paranormal component that can sway the gullible criminals. Especially one's where the antagonist has some sort of supernatural powers. Dean Koontz's books also fall within this genre.

Every human turned murderer has bones. It's likely, since every human that has killed anything had them, that THEY ARE TO BLAME.

I've got a copy of that book, the one shown in this video. I bought it second hand in a charity shop here in London. I had no idea it had been removed from print!! Fascinating.

This is something journalists often face: to explain stuff without providing a template. It's an early book so King can be forgiven a "rookie mistake" learning experience.

This is the equivalent of Metallica being taken to court because someone killed themselves while listening to Fade to Black...its ridiculous to blame an artist for the actions of a person with mental health issues especially now with the saturation of violent fiction thanks to the internet...if I kill someone while listening to Mozart, does it mean we should cancel Mozart?!

Rage is good.but i think the long walk was the better Bachmann book

I've read Rage, I've played Doom, I've listened to Marilyn Manson and I've never managed to hurt anyone

GREAT intro. Love the music & visuals

I read this book when I was a teenager….. I never wanted to shoot up a school. It’s a mental health issue

I am going to assume that the book was sold in more countries than just the US but that somehow all these killings did happen in the US. Weird how nobody can figure out why this is

The title animation is so cool. I don't know how I've never noticed it before if it isn't new.

Loaned that book to a co-worker. 20 years later, I have yet to get it back. It's probably earned several hundred dollars while being passed from one person to another, because it's out of print and in demand.... I just want my damn book back.

I liked all the Bachman books, have the first four as a collection on hardcover. Thinner was probably the best, however. Also, I have to laugh at King taking rage out of circulation, if he was serious he should have taken the stand out of circulation instead of something that hasn't sold in decades. It's content is certainly far more violent and darker than anything in the Bachman books.

The truly unfortunate thing is that we, as human beings, tend to focus on the tool, not the tool user in this kind of scenario. It IS Not gun violence, it is Human Violence using a gun. Taking away the gun WILL NOT stop the violence. The focus needs to be taken off the tool and placed on the user of the tool. But that ain't gonna happen, because that means people actually have to care for and look after each other. We're way too selfish and self-centered for that.

The Long Walk is one of all-time favorite books. I don't understand why it hasn't been adapted for film or television .

This is a very insightful video. Well done.

This is a tough one. If I were King, I would have also withdrawn the book. I’m a writer and I really, really object to censorship of taboo themes and content, including self-censorship, in literature. But I would have done the same thing in King’s shoes. I don’t know, man. School shooting media is a strange beast.

I've read it. Own U.S. & British versions. Not as bad as it's made out to be. Seems to me it falls into the same category as the Judas Priest trials & video games inspired violence. You can't blame media for a psychopath's actions. They're going to find a reason to lash out no matter how many books, games, movies etc. you ban. Too me, The Running Man is the best of the 4, & Thinner is the best originally published under the Bachman pseudonym.

I felt like the long walk, apt pupil and the body were much more effectual than rage. I had no idea how rare the Bachman book collection was so rare. I picked it up at a local garage sale with 6 other Stephen king novels including different seasons. I think those short stories are some of his best work… wild.

Whether it be books, games, or guns, all are the whipping boys of misdirected angst. They perpetrators are solely responsible for the methods, tools, and actions of violence.

SK is seriously disturbed, but at least he's sane enough to act out his angst in writing and not in the real world.

_Rage_ feels a lot like _Lord of the Flies_ to me in some ways. I'm glad I never had that reaction to it when I read it as a teen.

I read Rage when I was 13,a miserable teen. Never once thought of doing it

Hitler drank water!!