We’ve always had gun ownership in this country-- a lot of gun ownership. But we didn’t always have mass shootings. It’s a rather recent phenomenon. So what’s different now? What changed? This is the question the media isn’t asking. They just immediately go to gun control. But that in no way gets to the cause of these shootings.
So what’s the answer as to why these shootings are happening? I think the answer to the question is quite simple…people are different. We live in a society that has gradually over time eliminated the safety nets that prevented crazy people from acting out with such extreme violence, or prevented them from getting crazy violent in the first place.
The first safety net was stable families. Our society has pretty much done everything it can to damage family life. Many of these shooters come from horrible family situations. They didn’t learn right from wrong. They suffered serious physical and/or mental abuse, traumatizing them for life. They were left to fend for themselves as kids. They raised themselves with all kinds of bad influences that desensitized them to the plight of others. They never learned empathy or compassion. They witnessed thousands of acts of extreme violence in movies, TV, video games, etc., with no parent around to limit their exposure or at least talk it through. The value of life was gradually diminished for them.
Even with all this exposure, most people can still manage to keep it together. But there is a small subset group of individuals who cannot, and with their safety net gone, they become more and more likely to act out in extreme violence.
Another safety net that has largely deteriorated is religion. Fewer and fewer people have a religion to fall back on that teaches them right from wrong, that teaches them the value of life and how to put others before yourself. Yes, some people are radicalized by their religion to commit violent acts, but that is not the case with most of these perpetrators in the U.S. So there is another safety net gone.
So couple the gradual removal of safety nets with unlimited exposure and glorification of violence to young men without parents around to intervene, and for a few susceptible individuals this is the recipe for creating a monster.
So what’s the solution? Whereas I think the cause is fairly simple, the solution is unfortunately complex. Our families are a mess. We have to make family life and good parenting a bigger priority in this country. Rampant divorce, no one at home with the kids, too much leeway for the kids to expose themselves to every bad influence–all these things add up not for the good mental health of children. I think family is the key, but I don’t have much faith that our society will recognize this and reverse the trend.
www.latimes.com
