More Than One Cause

   Normally I stay away from serious topics on the weekends. Weekends should be fun and relaxing. I also try not to write about current events unless I feel strongly compelled to. This is one of those times when I can not keep my mouth shut.
   I have read many posts from people I know on Facebook regarding the recent school shooting in Florida. Some of the posts have been shared from other sites. Some were original postings. Everyone has an opinion and those opinions are pretty strong.
   There are those who are asking when we will get gun control laws so these shootings will no longer happen. There are some who say that if teachers were armed then these things could be prevented. Some say that we need more money spent on mental health to prevent violent crime. People are blaming violent TV and video games for what happened.
   Everyone is frustrated. Most are scared and upset. I'm sure there are some people who wonder if it is safe to send their children to school. I know a few women who are gathering information and asking themselves and each other if anything can be done to prevent it from happening here. The vast majority are beginning to get impatient with the "thoughts and prayers" that many public officials have been expressing.   This, by the way, further upsets those who do believe in prayer.
   I don't think that we can pin these school shooting (or mass shootings) on just one thing. There are multiple causes that all need addressing.
   Several posts that I have read say that the guns used in mass shootings have been around for a long time. Yet, mass shootings are a fairly recent phenomena. I checked a statistics website to see what kinds of guns are used in a mass shooting. By far the most popular gun is the semiautomatic handgun. Were these guns around 30 years ago? I'm guessing that weapons technology like all technology has evolved. It could be that the kinds of guns used now did not exist 30 years ago. If they did exist 30 years ago were they readily available? If they weren't then why are they now?
   I read a quote by a woman whose niece was among the victims in Florida. She asked why someone's hunting hobby was more important than her niece's life. I can understand her question and her stance that guns need to be banned, but her niece was not killed with a shotgun or a target pistol. Perhaps it would be a good idea to explore why people other than police and military personnel need automatic weapons. I'm fairly sure that hunters and target shooters do not use those kinds of weapons.
   One person suggested that teachers in schools should be armed. I'm not sure this is a good idea. Police officers are given extensive training on firearms. They have simulated practices on situations when an officer may need to draw and fire his/her weapon. It is known that police officers can sometimes misjudge and shoot someone who is not a threat. If someone with extensive training can make a mistake like that, how can you expect a teacher with much less training to be able to do it?
   I have seen several posts that blame violent TV and video games. This has been a worry of mine for a long time. I started to worry when I saw my five-year-old nephew play a game called Deer Hunter with his father and uncle. This is NOT something a five-year-old needs to be exposed to. I worried, even more, a few years later when my then nine-year-old grandson was playing Grand Theft Auto, a video game his father enjoys. His character had lost his car and was looking for a new one. As his character walked down a street a man was getting into a car. My grandson's character ran to the car, pulled the man out of the car laying him face down on the street, Then my grandson's character shot the man in the back before climbing into the car and driving off at high speed. This is a nine-year-old! A child that age should not be seeing things like that let alone doing them even on a game.
   I sometimes wonder if they get older if they understand that life is not like the video game. Does Nick, my grandson, understand that if he shoots someone in real life, that person is not going to get up and be good as new five minutes later? Does he realise that if he shoots and kills someone with a real gun, it permanent? I don't know.
   I do believe that mental health treatment or lack thereof could be a cause. I remember when the state mental hospital was closed. Somehow it was decided that residents who had been living in the hospital would be better off in the community. The former mental hospital patients were released and sent to live in various group homes in town. I often wondered if this was really the best choice. While institutions can be cold and lonely places, some of these people may function better in such a setting. Being out in the community can be overwhelming, especially for one not used to it. I remember talking to one supervisor at a group home who had a resident that was violent to staff and other residents.
  Treating mental illness is tough. Many people being treated for mental health issues are not compliant or are only partially compliant with their treatment plans. I had one former friend who many times stop taking her medications. She did not believe she was ill.
   I personally think that one large reason why we are seeing mass shootings is because we are slowly losing our ability to see others as humans. Thanks to technology and social media we no longer have to associate with people that aren't like us. We do not need to deal with the many differences that we as humans have. It is easy to label those who are different as immigrants, snowflakes, libtards, Trumptards, Trumpturds, hacks, trolls, zealots and loons.  It's easy to think of women as witches, frumps, arm candy, eye candy or man-haters. Many people label Christians as bigots, racists, delusional and homophobes.
  Once you lump a group of people together and give them a label that you think fits them, it is easier to look at them as the label. You don't think of them as moms, dads, siblings, children, aunts uncles or grandparents. You don't see them as human.
   I saw this tendency once in a guy I knew, Peter. Peter had a brother named Jack. Peter and Jack never got along. Sometimes thier verbal fights would edge toward physical fights. Another member of the family would intervene to prevent this escalation. One time Peter told me, "There will never be peace in this family until Jack is dead." This scared me. He wasn't looking at Jack as his brother. He only saw Jack as someone who was always creating trouble. (To be fair Peter tended to do things that would set his brother off.)
   This would be a good time for all of us to come out of our little boxes and work together. Despite our differences, we can all agree on one thing. Children going to school should be safe. We need to get together, talk to each other and find ways to help. This problem has a lot of roots. We need to address all of them. Together.