True. And the leading gun deaths in the US are suicides, clearly the product of mental illness among other causes. But suicide only kills one person, and is a completely separate problem than a mass shooting, which is caused by a combination of many things including mental illness, sociopathy and access to the gun. Why can’t we try to solve all the layers of this complex onion? Why is the gun unconditionally off limits to the right when it’s clearly part of the problem that literally no other developed country in the world has. It’s not as if the US has an exclusive on mental illness, do we?
I almost mentioned video games and social media in my post, as that’s a far more significant change in our society the past 20 years than our divorce rate. There are a lot of isolated young people in the US, particularly young men, especially through and after the Covid lockdowns. As I’ve said above, the problem is an onion in its layers, and the gun is only a part, but it’s clearly a part.
Most of these "active shootings" are suicides. They're all well aware of what their fate will likely be if they carry out their plans. I'm all for legislating mentally ill individuals from buying guns, but the enforceability of such legislation is going to be almost impossible. First, where do you draw that line on the "mentally ill" scale and who makes that call? A federal bureaucrat? Sure that will work out well. It all sounds good in theory until you actually attempt to implement it. Better to address the mental illness head on at the individual level, instead of attempting to band-aid it with a federal bureaucracy who will do absolutely nothing to stem the tide.
I don't want you taking our video games either. If someone doesn't understand the difference in a video game and real life, then that person has clearly not been taught the value of life. That's what we need to change.
There are practical ways to reduce these types of incidences and still allow “responsible” gun owners to own them. It would be a little more work and hassle for those owners, but seems like a small price to pay to save thousands of lives every year.
I’ve (patently sadly) known 8-10 kids in suburban north Atlanta (all from upper middle class, in tact, supportive families) who made the decision to end their lives. Most put a gun in their mouths, one jumped off a cliff, another shot himself full of heroin and the last ODed on pills. None of them took another life, they took only their own life because the pain and anguish they felt was too much to bear. It’s a tragedy beyond words But a person who goes to the mall to kill as many people as he can before knowing a cop may get him isn’t really committing suicide because of intolerable pain, even if the shooter’s death is likely. That person is getting revenge on the world.
How so? Is there a reason that you have in mind for how that society that you claimed valued life more than this one killed each other at much higher rates?
That was easily one of the worst press conferences after one of these shootings I’ve ever seen. Literally no info at all, just the tired cliches, and essentially “well that’s it for tonight it’s the weekend, maybe we’ll have information for you over the weekend”. Sounded almost like the sheriff and blue shirted politician had a Saturday A.M. tee time and are still deciding if this mass shooting thing is really worth their time. Unbelievable.
Pithy. Did I say that? Or did I specifically mention the unhealthiness of isolation and social media as a factor in the mental health of our youth. There’s not just one cause to this epidemic. It’s not just mental illness. And it’s not just social challenges. And it’s not just divorce or broken families. And it’s not just drug addictions. And it’s not just the gun. It’s a complicated onion and all we basically to is politicize the layers. Which is why we don’t even try to solve the problem. Hmmmm.
More rational people applying fixes to irrational people. More guns will just mean more. YOU are scared of an armed person in public. These maniacs are not. They know for sure it’s death on the spot or later, or prison for life. Giving more guns out is a predictable result.
Good grief. Who is coming for video games? I don’t give a shit if you play a video game at a drag show while reading 50 Shades of Gray or the Bible and drink Bud Light with a tranny on the can. It’s the isolation of our young that’s the bigger problem. Gamers in their rooms all day and night not learning social skills or going down social media rabbit holes while not participating in real human interaction that’s the crux of the problem. And porn. Ever see the % of male teens who watch porn and learn to objectify women as sex objects? Do Parents Really Know How Many Teens Watch Online Porn? | Hartford HealthCare | CT
We can list all of these complicated problems of society, all of which are true and decades in the making, and wring our hands about how we can fix all of them, so that we can all continue to buy guns on demand and carry them everywhere we go, or we can recognize these are intractable problems that aren’t going away any time soon and instead do something to get guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
Ahhhhh… parenting. You mean parenting could make an impact on this problem? You don’t say. Looks like we found some common ground here. Of course, parenting has a lot to do with it. Your children should know the true value of life.
Now it’s video games. Maga trying everything they can. I am soooooooo glad I don’t do whatever it takes to defend proliferation of ar15 assault weapons that are frequently used to kill humans and children, in mass, and then get triggered if congress/society even discusses ideas on what can be done.