Read an article in Time about the book Stalling For Time. The book was written by Gary Noesner, an FBI hostage negotiator for almost 30 years. In the article, he was asked about the recent tourist bus hostage-taking disaster. Part of what he said:
“I would have thought there would have been a lot of opportunity to pursue meaningful negotiations with this guy.”
That’s what happened with Mendoza. Instead of meaningful negotiations and defusing the tension, people were bullshitting him and practically pressuring him even more. He was aggravated to the point of snapping. If not by the so-called hostage negotiators then by the reporters or the other people who were allowed to talk to him directly.
If you are handling a ticking bomb, wouldn’t you be careful and handle it gingerly? If If you are dealing with someone crazy, unhinged, or downright psychotic, wouldn’t you be careful not to aggravate that person? If you don’t, you are practically asking for it.
The result was deadly. Too bad nobody had read Noesner’s book back then.