School Mass Shootings
At least three forces are at work in our uniquely-American incidents of mass shootings in schools, and elsewhere. First and foremost is the engrained attachment to a constitutional ‘right’ to bear arms and assembly of ‘militias’. I have several concerns with both the interpretation of the constitutional language and further remain astounded at the effectiveness of the gun lobby to distort perception and influence millions of Americans. The days of needing a ‘militia’ of rifle-toting citizens to keep foreign invaders from running roughshod across this countryside, ended long ago with a paid military and National Guard. Why is that such a hot-button talking point?
Secondly, while I am not going to use the term ‘bribery’ — although I believe it fully applies — campaign contributions to elected officials are a scourge. As long as the National Rifle Association has Congress in its pocket there will never be meaningful control of firearms in this country. Use of military-grade weapons should be reserved exclusively for our military forces. No citizen needs an AR-15 or any similar weapon. I am headstrong enough to kindly ignore any argument to the contrary. I would draw your attention to several articles appearing today in print (or reprint) in The New Yorker. The article titles are:
“America’s Failure to Protect Its Children from School Shootings Is a National Disgrace” and “The Heartbreak and Frustration of Covering One Mass Shooting After Another.” But for me, the most disturbing article was the reprint piece from October 2015, which describes the minds of deranged people, called: “Thresholds of Violence: How school shootings catch on.” It solidly reinforces my third point which follows.
Thirdly, whether insurance-paid or paid-out-of-pocket, most reasonable people would seek medical attention for a broken bone, if given the need. We do not react in kind to mental illness. The stigma still exists in 2018 that those who need and seek professional mental-health treatment are ‘abnormal’ and ‘irreparable.’ They remain social outcasts. We expend little or no effort as a society in treating disturbed people, young or old, to avoid the frequent occurrence of mass shootings, or crowd bombings. Shooters are patently-disturbed people, who show signs of disorders that scream for effective treatment. Easy access to weaponry to carry out mass shootings, in schools, gay bars or Vegas is just the icing on the cake.
However, schools should not get off scot-free in this discussion. As an educator, we have educational systems that do little to meaningfully impact peer-to-peer bullying. Ask any middle-school student. We demand rigid adherence to behavior-management standards — at all grade levels Pre-K to 16 — rather than learning; and employ painfully-ineffective methods to immediately refer disturbed students for effective professional care.
Sleep well, America.
