The bulletproof office.

The Chicago Tribune christened it "The Age of Mean." While social etiquette struggles with bad table manners, "road rage," shock locks and bathroom humor, we struggle with zero job security, not being able to trust anybody extended beyond what's realistic during waking hours. Festering among us

One steamy August day in 1986, postal employee Patrick Sherrill, 44, walked into the U.S. Post Office in Edmond, Okla. Inside his mail pouch were three guns and 100 rounds of ammunition. Sherrill killed 17 coworkers and himself in 10 minutes. Why? What cracked inside Sherrill's skull? Speculation ranged from post-traumatic syndrome to a poor performance review. Eleven years later, we still don't know. Sherrill had lived on the same street for 20 years. He used the words "thank you" and "please." A former neighbor shrugged. "We live in a time when we want quick answers. And since he's not alive, we don't have to come up with the right answers."

Software technician Richard Farley was 36 when he joined Electromagnetic Systems Labs (ESL). There, he met Laura Black, a 22-year-old electrical engineer. For the next three years, Farley deluged Black with 200 letters. He trailed her everywhere. Human resources instructed Farley to stop and to seek psychological help. When the harassment continued, ESL fired Farley. He lost his U.S. $36,000 job and two houses. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service was after him. He wrote Black in November 1987. "You cost me a job, 40 thousand in equity taxes and a foreclosure. Yet I still like you. Why do you want to find out how far I'll go?" In February 1988, Black finally got a temporary restraining order against him.

In mid-February, Farley approached his ex-employer's building, clinking with 100 pounds of weaponry. At the entrance, bullets shattered glass. En route to Black's office, Farley killed seven and wounded another four. He shot Black twice. Although her injuries were serious, she stayed alive. Farley's siege lasted five hours with a SWAT team. When apprehended, he expressed no shame. Incredibly, Farley seemed almost gleeful. Three years later, in November 1991, a jury recommended the death penalty. Richard Farley had no prior criminal record whatsoever.