So many times in life we expend our energy solving the wrong problems. Our country has faced too many mass shootings. Each time, the problem has been framed in the context of the Second Amendment. The problem, the debate, has become “Do we have the right to bear arms? Are you trying to diminish my Constitutional rights?” The answer is simple: the right exists. I’m not sure why this particular discussion continues. After all, framing the problem this way has not ended the problem of mass shootings. It is time, then, to consider what solutions would be possible if we reframed the problem.
For example, we could reframe the problem as:
Did the victims have the right to live? Did the parents have the right to see their children grow to adulthood? Did the friends and family have the right to enjoy more time with those they lost? Did the shooter have the right to better access to mental health care?
Consider the implications if we made the problem even broader:
What is the source of the anger that allowed this mass shooting? Why does the solution of killing others seem appropriate to so many people? What is producing all of this frustration? Is the increased use of technology part of the problem? Is it both increasing our isolation as well as our belief that violence is a solution? What structural changes can we make in society that might ease this anger and frustration?
The questions we ask determine the solutions we generate. Clearly, the questions we have been asking about our Constitutional rights are not producing the solution we ALL want. We ALL want less violence, less death, more personal security.
Perhaps, then, the real questions are:
How can we achieve less violence? How can we reduce the national murder rate? How can we achieve greater personal security?
So many more solutions are possible when we reframe the issue in this manner. It is time that we change the frame, expand the possibilities, and resolve to solve this. We cannot continue to allow mass shootings at school, at work, at places of leisure, or at churches. We cannot allow them to continue anywhere.
I completely agree professor, we must ask the right questions in order to find the right solution. Its a complex situation but my opinion our society need more mental health workers for the whole family, not just the children but for ALL.
I agree that in order to better understand why we keep having repeated horrific offenses in society we have to try to get to the root of such an action taken. I feel that in this country we have a way of being quite hypocritical when it comes to dealing with the affairs of our citizens. Instead of talking about the main issue which is that we handed this man a gun and now hundreds of lives are at stake, the government focuses on whether or not his right is being violated under the second ammendment. However I think most people forget about our unalienable rights which is the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, so by giving this man his right to bear arms, we actually violated the rights of individuals who died at his expense because their right to life was taken. I feel like this article properly highlighted the need for us to ask the right questions before coming to a conclusion on a discussed problem or issue.
I agree Professor Urban, I think there needs to be more laws that can prohibit people who are not mentally stable to purchase fire arms, that we as a society should make our communities safer by trying a different and more effective approach. If we paid more attention to the general health of other physically and mentally and gave everyone equal opportunities to seek proper treatments maybe such atrocities would not happen. To being to find a solution we need to realize that it cannot only lie within modifying laws, it involves everyone, every resource in every community.
I truly like this post.
I believe peace needs to be an effort for everyone. Just like changing laws by themselves won’t fix the problem, only providing more mental health to those who seem in trouble, won’t either. I believe in balances. It’s kinda like a work team, If we don’t start by exploring and understanding more about psychology and educating children and others about it – it does not matter if they seem like very stable people – then our hamster wheel of beliefs will keep spinning forever. If we don’t start pressing the government to start acting smartly and doing the right for people, then they will continue to make laws that open new doors for violence.
So many questions that we cannot yet answer to. Hopefully things will start changing soon and we can find a way to feel safe. Also, for the mentally disabled, I hope we can start healing and finding more open solutions to our problems.
A student wrote this very thoughtful comment – and hopefully it will further open our discussion: “The discussion of the second amendment, which is the right to bear arms, has been a heated topic for the past few years. The frequency of mass shootings at gatherings and schools has the public conflicted on whether guns kill people or people kill people. I personally feel like the amendment is dated since it was written in a time of fewer restrictions and a gun may of have been needed for protection or hunting purposes during its conception, but now in the modern world, the need to hold a gun every day isn’t really a necessity. The ease of buying and owning a gun are also too loose, especially when you think about the finality of using it to take a life. The issue of making it easy to get a gun means people, who should not have them, can obtain them, which increases the chance that violence may occur. To some people owning a gun may give them a sense of power that could stem from an insecurity that society may have helped cause and that should be the last person who should own a tool that that end a life.
There is a side of me feels that changing the amendment won’t stop mass violence but instead force the person to use a different weapon; violence isn’t exactly a new phenomenon in humans and history shows that. Which leads me to think that maybe it is our culture that pushes some depressed individuals towards acts of violence and not the weapon itself. We often go through our days not really thinking about the impact that we have on the individual lives that we come in contact with, whether it’s positive or negative. I could imagine that someone who encounters negative feedback from multiple people on a daily basis could develop a psychological disorder. An untreated disorder, plus a gun is naturally a recipe for disaster. Although that is no excuse for violence, I feel it’s part of the discussion that often gets swept under the rug because we as a culture never want to see ourselves as a possible part of the problem but as part of the solution. There are multiple pieces to the puzzle of why someone may do these horrendous acts of violence and discussing all the parts so we can reduce the frequency of occurrence should be everyone’s goal and making changes at not just a macro level but also a micro level is essential to achieving that”.
think the problem with Mass Shooting is not getting the needed attention because we always talk about it when it happens but after a short time we all forget. We should look at what causes people to take arms and kill their fellow human beings. The problem I think is we are not using our social interventions properly to help those who are in need. Most of the time those who kill these innocent people have psychological problems and we need to see how best to help these people. I suggest they should be more community social intervention centers where these individuals go to seek help, when they get people to explain their problem to them they will not channel their frustration to kill innocent people, these people normally use displacement mechanisms to cause atrocities, they think they can channel their frustration on killing people and that is wrong.
Should the mentally ill be able to purchase guns, ABSOLUTELY NOT; BUT BUT BUT how would you(generalized) create a database that HIPPA laws don’t allow you to share that information. That’s the hardest part right there. I’m pro 2nd amendment and for sensible gun laws (whatever sensible means)
What’s acting smartly? Making it harder for law a bidding citizens to purchase guns to protect themselves as sensible gun laws?
Yes, mental illness is extremely hard to deal with, in hospital settings we out then in gowns, maybe straight jackets or restraints and push meds till they calm down, but how do we get to the real root of the problem AND what is that? We absolutely need more mental health workers and facilities as well. But that’s also money, and that doesn’t grow in trees either.
This has been a huge issue for years and will continue to be one..
As far as feeling safe goes, a person should feel safe unless something happens to them and if nothing happens to that person then unfortunately they just became part of the problem
Often times, when traumatic events occur, society’s knee jerk reaction is to turn to the government and pose, what they believe to be, simple solutions to combat the reoccurrence of the traumatic event. Rarely do we pose questions about the cause of the event and possible solutions to eliminate the push factors that motivated the individual to act in these mass shootings. Take for example the recent shooting incident occurring in a high school in Florida. One of the solution posited was to arm teachers with firearms so they are able to defend our children. Though this may sound perfectly plausible, on paper, as a teacher myself, I think the solution is positively horrendous. Yes, I said horrendous, yes, it is a strong word, and yes it encapsulates my thoughts on the idea.
If we are to look at this situation through Freud’s psychoanalytic lens, everyone has three egos- the ID, the ego and the super-ego -constantly vying for supremacy within in that individual. Freud believed that how well developed our egos are, is based on our background; how we grew up, the culture, values and morals instilled during infancy, will determine how much control we have in society. Let us think about that for a minute. We all know of at least one person we grew up with, whom our parents pointed out were “bad company” for us. Whether it be, because they were under no proper guidance from their guardians, the values and morals being instilled in their household, or that child’s constant mode of operandi? Right? Imagine if that child were to become a teacher. A teacher in the school your child attended. Would you be comfortable with the idea that he/she held a gun? I would think the answer is no. The point I’m trying to make, is that teachers come to us from various backgrounds. We all handle situations differently, we have different coping mechanisms for stress, and “protection” for us means different things. If I wanted to be armed for my job, I would not have become a teacher. I do not see how the solution to end violence is to combat it with more violence. I’m sorry, I’m not a hero, nor do I have the need to be one, I would not be one to confront a crazed, armed individual all because I had a gun. Furthermore, we must consider how stressful the teaching profession is. Imagine teachers facing constantly delinquent children, disrupting their classrooms, who knows, a shot in the air may finally get the class to quiet down and everyone to focus. Or maybe, threatening to shoot a child, -not a life-threatening shot, mind you- may result in them handing in papers on time, or think twice before responding disrespectfully to their teacher. Can we not see how arming persons in already highly stressful situations could increase not decrease violence?
If Freud, is to be believed, it is safe to say that the person behind these mass shootings are satisfying their ID. That infantile, illogical portion of our psyche that demands pleasure and satisfaction and consequences be damned because it is not connected to the conscious portion of the mind that interacts with the world. Now, imagine if we had teachers with similar dispositions, and we handed them guns, can we honestly say we see a solution to our children being now safe? I believe there is some truth to Freud’s theory in that, the ego, and the super ego play a vital role in the overall outcome of an individual’s personality. According to Freud, the ego is ‘like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse.’ The superego ensures the ego has moralistic compass in controlling and providing pleasure to the demands of the ID. Therefore, seeing the ego and the superego are influenced by society, we must look to ourselves, not the government as we are the ones who make up society. In rearing our children for the society, are we instilling moralistic goals in them, are we showing them plausible behaviour to the demands of our IDs? Can we honestly say we are living in a manner for them to emulate, and show them how to create a balance with all the egos warring for supremacy within us? Despite what society fails to believe, we are to be blamed partly for the level of degradation and the increase of violence in our cultures. We have sought to satisfy our IDs, we have started the ball rolling with an upcoming generation of poorly developed superegos that think it is ok that violence begets violence. The values and morals we develop and portray in and to our children during infancy, aids to the development these children’s future ego and super ego. It additionally can affect their future interaction with society, as they are the future society. ‘…the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” is not the solution for violence reduction. There is no compact, one step solution. It has to start somewhere, and I think our homes can be the best place to start the revolution. How about we live by a new right; the right to instil, good, moralistic, attainable values in our children? I think that’s a good place to start. Though I guess we can say, who determines what “good values” are? hahaha. But that’s another battle for another day.
After hearing about all these mass shootings, in the schools. It REALLY bothers me being a mother of two it gets my mind thinking in the direction am I going to see my kids after school? I’m I leaving them in a safe place? Will this be the last time I see them? I think the way we can be able to achieve less violence is to be a little more sensitive to people. When we see our fellow peers acting out of character or someone looking sad we should take the time to ask them if their ok. Sometimes people just need someone to talk to,to feel wanted and to feel like they matter. I feel as the years go by we as citizens of the world are becoming less sensitive to each other and more into technology. Instead of calling someone up we now text everyone. Social interaction as we know it is being more and more of something of the past. And at times we can’t see that,people around us are suffering emotionally, mentally and physically, but we can’t see that cause where to busy with technology to notice.
I don’t think it’s technology making or causing people to commit murder or mass murder. People today have become ALOT more weak internally than years past. Everyone needs a safe place or butthurt over a comment and sometimes the comment isn’t even directed to them or even about them and yet still butthurt over it.
People do need to cowboy up (step-up) when they see something, don’t keep your damn mouth shut, say something!!! You might just actually save a life or stop a crime!!! All of this truly shows and proves that it’s people and not the tool/weapon that kills!!!!
I really liked this post and it grabbed my attention because nowadays violence has become a big problem. It has increased over the years. In today’s society violence is affecting people’s lives negatively and also hurting them more. According to cognitive theorists aggression or violence is learnt rather than innate. They did an experiment called “Bobo doll” they made adults treat the doll aggressively by hitting it or kicking it, then they asked children to play with the doll, they would treat the doll the same way they had seen the adults play with the doll. In my opinion there are things that we learn from adults because when we are born we do not know anything about manners we learnt it by seeing others doing it or showing us how to do it. I think that behavior is something that we are born with which might be inherited from or influenced by our parents, grandparents.
Violence is an expression of our feelings and anger. A month ago, I watched on the news that a man killed a woman in the middle of the street while she was going to school with her friend, then he killed himself, and his last words were, “it was all your fault”. The man always attacked the woman even though she did not want to be with him anymore, but he could not accept it. I would relate this to behaviorism theory by Skinner that we are not responsible for our own behavior but everyone else is. Nothing we do is our fault. People around us are the ones that motivate us to do great or forces us to do bad things that we maybe do not want to. I would also relate it to the Freud theory super ego- moral compass, we as human beings cannot accept being ignored. When pride comes than disgrace follows, we cannot lose our reputation and respect, we cannot be the ones who lose.
Violence is anger, but anger is not an emotion, it is a manifestation of an emotion. People who feel betrayed, insulted, rejected, sad express it through anger. Jay Z said, “Leave Iraq alone. But to all the soldiers on the field, I wish you saw return, because only love kills war, when will they learn?” It means that violence only leads to more violence, but as humans we have the capability to avoid violence.
Martin Luther King, “Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie nor establish the truth…” Violence is not the answer we are seeking.
I’m a nonviolent person. I don’t believe in a violent action can be a solution to anything. It is just sad that one day this will be a regular thing for us to experience. I can’t believe Trump have even suggested that teachers should carry guns. This is not a solution in my personal opinion. It is like adding fire to a burning building.
Just imagine a boy is taking out his wallet out his bag and the teacher always felt a suspicion about him. The teacher might end up shooting him. Also, some teachers can one day hit their breaking point in the classroom and start committing a crime themselves. If school is suppose to be a safe place why does trump think that is okay to involve guns?
I believe we as humans all have the capability to be violent, it just takes one thing to set us off. Like, take for example the LA riot. Many people were outraged when the police officer was not guilty. Instead of pushing for a improvement of laws, they felt hopeless. This caused people to attack people in their cars, burned buildings, and steal. Half the people who was stealing did it because the opportunity was there. Even the movie the Purge demonstrate that we all can be violent.
What I find is that many people blame the acts of violence as something that happen in the person’s past or even a low IQ. If that is the reason why. Why does those in the same position never produce one act of violence? I think, not all therapist can fully determine whether we will one day kill someone or reach our break point. But,we will always want to know why and what made the person do it. Because we yearn for the feeling of closure to an unanswered question.
But, we are too scared to accept that we all can be violent. It all depends on the way we evaluate the situation and our morals.
You never know what a person is capable of. You see them as a happy individual everyday that goes by, but all it takes is that one thought to trigger some sort of aggression; Overloading your mind.
That thought roaming in you head causes you to go insane.
I agree with professor Urban’s statement about our Constitutional rights are not producing the solution because there will be people that will be looking at it as a sense of limitations and they wont feel comfortable abiding to all the rules, that is where violence to form in my opinion.
The concept of humanity and the purpose of life is no longer important in our society. Every lives matter, whether they are white or black, upper class or lower class, and whether they are rich or poor, but it seems to me that whenever there is a mass shooting done by a white person and the victims are also white that is when the majority of society decides it is time to speak out on gun violence and gun control. Would the majority still be speaking up if a mass shooting was done in a poor black community by a black person, I think not. Gun violence is also associated with sociocultural, which describes the social interaction and the cultural determinants of behavior and mental processes. Ethnicity is a factor of sociocultural and plays a role in mass gun violence and how that mass shooter is portrayed. A white shooter is often described as a loner, smart, a social misfit, and a victim of mental illness who should have gotten treatment. Every other race is portrayed as having numerous run-ins with the law, evil, hateful, are instantly judged and sentenced for their crime. Cognitive perspective which relates to thinking, perceiving, problem solving, memory, language, and information processing can be show that allowing teachers to bear arms is not the solution. Like every other individual teacher’s have personalities which consist of the three levels of consciousness: the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious. The unconscious classroom with students making reality his/her unconscious thoughts and feelings. As anyone thought about a teacher with a gun in a classroom with students making reality his/her unconscious thoughts and motives. Sending prayers to victim families is not enough, and only speaking out more loudly for victims of certain ethnicity is morally wrong. I think a lot of us are in denial that there is a gun violence problem, and until we universally come together and acknowledge the severity of gun violence and gun control on a whole we will surely continue down this same path. “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” Henry Ford.
It is extremely sad that it has been happening so many mass school shooting in the United States. The most recently one was in Florida where 17 people were killed. The killer did not have any problem to buy a gun in a store. In some states It is very easy to buy a gun, you just need to be 18 years-old or older, however; there are states that it is necessary to take many shooting classes before someone can buy a gun.
After these most recently mass shootings, there are many people complaining about the use of guns and how It is easy to get them. I do not think that these people are completely wrong, however; there are other things that we have to worry about also if we want to reduce the number of mass shootings. We need to see if people with mental problems are having the right treatment. We have to analyze if technology is making us less “human-beings.” And how children are being raised by their parents or relatives. I know many people would like an answer for the question, “why are we having so many mass school shooting?” Unfortunately, I believe there are many complex and different answers to this question.
An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. In order to achieve less violence, reduction of the national murder rate and to achieve greater personal security, we must go back to our initial state: to our beginning, to where it all started. The root of violence is jealousy; when Cain murdered Abel, because God favored Abel’s sacrifice instead of Cain’s. Violence roar over the earth ever since. Good Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding may be the solution to all acts of violence and may defeat the purpose of increasing security. Learning from our past also by correcting our mistakes will ultimately shed love over all generation. It is inevitable that we were born without knowledge of who we are and where we came from. We grew to know that we came from the vine of Love. Instead, we deliberately turned ourselves into a killing machines; and for most of us, false teachings and lack of knowledge was the fault of it. Moving forward, we must eliminate violent music, movies, and video games and replace them all with Love. This way violence may be extinct, and peace will finally have dominion over all.
I’m sorry but literally just profiled all of those groups of people and over what, ignorance?
Violent music and violent video games absolutely do not cause people to kill HAHAHAHA!!!
How do I know this because I grew up playing those video games and listening AND STILL DO LISTEN to heavy metal music and no I DO NO, DO NOT DO NOT want to go around killing people…
That’s statement you just made is absolutely hilarious. That’s like saying all white people like countey music and all black people like rap/hip hop…
Ignorance is amazing
We as a nation are not at war with ourselves so why should individuals be allowed to carry guns? It is only the armed forces and other security agencies like the police service, prison service, national and coast guards that should be allowed to bear arms. The right to bear arms as enshrined in the Constitution should be amended and all citizens who have guns and other firearms should return them to the nearest police station. I mean the government should withdraw all guns from the system and a law should also be made that no person or group of persons should have access to guns except the institutions as mentioned above and I belive the problem of mass shooting in our schools, churches and other public places will be a thing of the past.
Funny how almost all of the mass shootings happened WHEN A CRIMINAL HAD AN ILLEGAL GUN!!!
Read that a few times for that to actually sink in.
CRIMINALS don’t care about laws and or law a bidding citizens. Are you really going to tell yourself that turning in guns will stop shootings? These soo called buy back programs don’t even make a dent into the criminal gun possession at all..
So YES we all deserve the right to defend OURSELVES!!!
Regardless what the weapon we use, INCLUDING hands; Because at the end of the day I will make sure my life and my family’s lives are safe and secure!!!
I want you to think about this right here, GOD FORBID this to happen but if someone broke into your home armed with a gun and tried to cause harm in anyway to you or your family, wouldn’t you want to defend yourself in anyway possible……..
Personally, I want to solve the real problem – the issues, whether personal or societal, that drive someone to commit a crime. I do not deny the need for self-defense, but I know that for many people, dealing with hurting or killing someone else – even in the case of self-defense – leaves a lasting toll on them.
That is very true….
Alot of these shooters have absolutely left signs of being mentally ill or have shown some kind of evidence leading up to them snapping and leading to whatever they do…
Too many people turn a blind eye to it because it’s not their problem but then yet these things happen….
Too many people don’t speak up when they see something or hear something….
Example, I was standing next to a doctor who told a PT that we’re not giving you percocet because last time your heart stopped, later on I heard another doctor say give him percocet, that triggered something in me to say something so I did… The doctor double checked and said thanks Dan your were right….
SEE/HEAR SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING could help and stop a lot of things
I completely agree with this article and how other questions are to answered then just why? I feel like the last devastating shooting in Florida could have somewhat been prevented. I keep reading articles about how the kid was showing signs and practically even said he wanted to do it and i guess people didn’t take it seriously. It shouldn’t be so easy for people to get hands on these weapons. I don’t believe that weapons is the case because for self protection who wouldn’t want to have one? But its more who gets their hands on the weapons. The person behind it .
I do believe that this generation and society is just becoming more cruel as the years go by and something has to be changed.
I only remember having fire drills to practice when I was a little in school and now kids have to practice a shooter drill? its just sad and outrageous.
I couldn’t agree more!!!
I’m 36yrs old and remembering the fire drills and thank God no one to that opportunity to gun down everyone, like fish in a pound… I remember when people would call in bomb threats/bomb scares from local pay phones. We had 1 person make a hit list going around 3 different high-schools and thank God it was caught and stopped because a certain someone was told by police he was #1 on the list. That’s the closest we ever had to that…
Too many kids these days aren’t truly parented, they have parents that are more worried about being friends with their kids than being actual parents!!! Teaching the truth about the real world and actually setting standards, goals and discipline!!!
Without those things happening this generation and the next are useless
Did you happen to go to high school in NY, John Jay?
Because this sounds extremely familiar…
The was one person who was actually stopped by security at this high-school for having a rifle in the back of his minivan.. I would say that’s the closest…
I agree with this post so much because their has been a lot of mass school shootings and their is nothing being done about it. Parents shouldn’t be afraid to send their children to school, students shouldn’t have to wonder if they are safe in their own school. School is a place for learning and feeling safe, not being afraid and having to watch if one of their class mate is going to shoot up the school. This blog really hits home because we’ve seen so many innocent lives being taken away because of gun violence, it’s time we start speaking up and stop ignoring these tragic shootings. Minors under the age of eighteen shouldn’t be allowed to buy guns or any deadly weapons and we should start banding these weapons or putting more restrictions on them. Our lives should be taken seriously and we as a society and community should find a way to stop these tragic accidents from happening again! Not every student who decides to shoot up a school has a mental problem and if they do, we should also help and find more resources for them so these tragedies stop happening over and over again.
An error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. In order to achieve less violence, reduction of the national murder rate and to achieve greater personal security, we must go back to our initial state: to our beginning, to where it all started. The root of violence is jealousy; when Cain murdered Abel, because God favored Abel’s sacrifice instead of Cain’s. Violence roar over the earth ever since. Good Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding may be the solution to all acts of violence and may defeat the purpose of increasing security. Learning from our past also by correcting our mistakes will ultimately shed love over all generation. It is inevitable that we were born without knowledge of who we are and where we came from. We grew to know that we came from the vine of Love. Instead, we deliberately turned ourselves into a killing machines; and for most of us, false teachings and lack of knowledge was the fault of it. Moving forward, we must eliminate violent music, movies, and video games and replace them all with Love. This way violence may be extinct, and peace will finally have dominion over all.
I love the questions asked in this article. I grew up with a father whom was a NRA lifetime member. His hobby was collecting guns. I can recall attending gun shows, going to the shooting range, cleaning guns, and even making bullets with my dad. More importantly I can remember being taught the safety of guns.
While I can understand the debate over gun laws, in contrast I think of my dad and his hobby. From my knowledge I do not recall so many mass shootings. The question I would pose is, what changed? In my opinion the direction should be heavily focused on psychiatric drug side effects. I am unaware of the percentage of mass shooters on such drugs however I know from various articles a majority of them are.
So why this emergence? I feel prescriptions are given to easily now. While a drug can suppress the main issue, the major side effects are not being considered. When I see my doctor and tell her about an issue I may have, she usually shakes her head in agreement and offers a prescription to me. To me, this is not solving anything. I hope in the very near future the issue of psychiatric drug side effects can be focused on. While it is not a complete solution to end mass shootings it is an important start.
I completely agree with your points professor. Mass shootings have become too common in todays society and more should be done to prevent further occurrences. There are many ways to prevent these unfortunate incidents, however if those measures cannot be taken there needs to be a greater plan of action and extensive trainings on how to deal with the situation if it were to occur. It is so devastating that innocent kids are losing their lives in a place where they are supposed to feel safe and are going to learn. It is scary to know how easy it is for people to have access to guns and use them freely. There should definitely be more restrictions on who has the right to bear arms. As you stated, for us to get the right answers we must start by asking the right questions and understanding the manner of the problem.
I appreciate you writing about this topic,The truth about people who go bear arms and kill people are because they are products of failed society which entails failed parents who focus more on making money than caring about the welfare of their kids, bullying either from their peers or siblings when you constantly tell people they are not good around you they start to withdraw into a shell and in that process starts building up anger which in turn leads to rage and one day they will want to release such anger.Am sadden by the fact that now instead of the government to do something about guns permanently they raise the age limit to 21,why?if a sixteen year old can’t get a cigarette from the grocery store without an ID or go to a club until 21 why then will they allow a sixteen year old to get an assault weapon.It’s so easy how they quickly point finger at them being mentally ill, lets assume they all are ,were are such people suppose to be a mental institution and not in the streets.I came across an interview and the where the physician said most mental institution lacks man power so when they bring in sick people sometimes they are released after two weeks because of lack of resources and now the burden of protecting our kids when they go to school is now assigned to the teachers, how convenient !parents who can’t control their kids leave it to the teachers now government has concluded they can’t control gun laws and has push the responsiblity to the teachers whose duty is to help our kids learn academically and not be law enforcement agent.Not until the government and those whose responsibility it is to look into such laws these killings will not stop.
This topic is one that is close to my family and I , my uncle was murdered two months after his wife delivered there baby boy. My family was shock to learn of his cause of death because he was such a kind free hearted man. The act of violence was committed over something that could have been resolves with an simple conversation. the guns were no registered and the suspects was let go due to lack of evidence. I believe that crime rate has gone up because it has become so easy for teenagers to gain access to weapons and most young adults do not think things through they do thing in the heat of the moment out of emotions. I will love for the city to put there foot down more when it comes to gun violence, my hope would be to throw a lengthy sentence of anyone carrying an unregister gun . I feel the lengthy jail time will make teenagers and criminals who carry guns very aware and nervous and it will start to lessen over time. I do believe in mental detectors in schools now because I’m a mother and id rather my child walk throw a metal detectors than to be hurt. This is an issue I feel that will continue to grow unfortunately but I pray things change for the sake of the future of our youth.
My personal opinion on the matter is that guns are not the issue. If a person is determined to execute a mass shooting, they will find a gun even if it is harder to obtain. Technology is most definitely a major factor in the excessive occurrences of these shootings. Witnessing the violence that is broadcasted on our televisions and online gives more encouragement to those with mental illness and want to perform an act of violence that it is easy and they could do it too. Technology may make it easier to buy a gun online or give people ideas on how to perform an act of violence. It may also make it easier to connect with other people who share the same hatred and want to do the same. The real issue boils down to the source of anger for those acting out in violence and how their anger goes unnoticed by so many. Is there more hatred in the world then there was before or are people just turning to violence more? I think schools need to do a better job at keeping an eye on those with mental illness and history of violence. I have read recently that President Trump has proposed teachers be trained to carry firearms in case of an emergency and I feel that it is the teachers responsibility to teach students and not be in charge of defending their lives. This proposal doesn’t get to the root of the problem of why people feel the need to express themselves in such a violent matter. I think it is a matter of mental health that needs to be examined and addressed.
I completely agree with what you wrote, Doctor Urban. Individuals often question and wonder about the wrong things when a mass murder happens. Nobody truly has questions or suggestions that would make a difference and reduce the violence. It might be because everyone is very “sensitive”, that they make the topic about themselves? They wonder, “Are you trying to diminish my Constitutional rights?” instead of, “What structural changes can we make in society that might ease this anger and frustration?” when the topic of “guns” comes into question. Mass murders have become to common to us that it is no surprise when we turn on the news or go on social media and see a tragedy. It is heart breaking.
I really like this post a lot because it made me think a lot about this issue. After talking to my friends and family about this we all agreed that this is and has been an on going issue in America. If the proper actions does not take place to prevent this from happening in the first place the continuous suffering and devastation of one persons actions can keep on happening as it has done before. As we all know this issue does not only affect the people or family members that where impacted directly but the entire nation as a whole. We all feel empathy for these people affected by these devastating shootings and we all agree that we want to end these shootings from happening in the first place. Yet there is still this ongoing debate weather it is even necessary for people to still carry and purchase guns. After reading about both sides I can say, I agree that the constitution does state under the second amendment act that we are allowed to own these fire weapons and that we as a society should hold to great value to protect and honor the constitution that helped build our nation today. However the constitution is a living document that can be edited to fit the needs of society and the ongoing modernization of the nation. With that being said This rise of shootings should arise the question if being able to buy a gun and own several is necessary A lot of the people in these mass shooting had semi- automatic riffles meant for human killing out on war. The only reason this guns where made where for the taking of human life on the field. The need to own one or have it in America is not necessary and should not be illegal. The constitution once said that black people where less than human and as society grew and became wiser the constitution did too. This is very similar in that society has to learn from their mistakes and be wiser not to repeat the actions of the past. All in all we all do need to take a hard look on what needs to be done to end these shootings. Its something that affects all of us on a national level and should be taken more serious by the government and state officials.
violence is the problem. Today many people believe they have to “teach the other person a lesson”. When I was in high school you would hear that the reason why many got into fights was because they had a problem with another person for many reason but they would fight to solve the problem the one who won would be the one on top. They wouldn’t talk it out and try to get to an understanding they would just jump to violence and the other person couldn’t step down from the fight because then they were considered “weak”. You can see how problems are resolved with violence just like they did in high school with fight. The bigger issue is people continue to see that by violence they get results. In the fight, the person that lost does not bother the person that won ever again. It’s different when now we are faced with people shooting to get a solution. They might have a dislike over a group of people or want revenge for what a person did. This is just on a person taking out feeling of anger/disagreement/frustration/etc on others. The problem with guns can then expand to a whole new conversation on who has the right to have them and who is qualified to have one. Guns still tend to land in the hand of wrong people and that’s when stuff like mass shootings happen. There should be stronger qualifications and more in-depth background checks so that those who shouldn’t have it don’t
I am a member of the National Rifle Association and a big believer in the 2nd amendment with the right to bear arms. However I do not believe in using a firearm for intent to harm others. A major issue today in my opinion with these school shootings isn’t that the students are the ones normally who are able to buy the guns at gun shops as you must be 18 or older to own a gun. A major concern is the safety of others which is the primary concern but the parents who are the majority of the gun owners that are used in these shootings like recently in incident in the state of Texas was that they were not locked up properly around an unstable person, the son, who lived in their home. Mind you he also committed a federal offense amongst taking the guns underage but to saw at the barrel of the armorlite-15 aka ar-15 used during the shooting which is illegal in and of itself to saw off the barrel of a long barrel rifle. I also believe that background checks should be improved for those who are 18 and older as a side note and you should not be allowed to buy or be in passion of a firearm if you have any history of domestic violence. This policy was put into law in New York State and I believe that it should be a federal law as well.
I definitely agree, changes do have to be made here in the United States. And I believe it starts at home with the parenting, I believe disciplinary actions should take place at a young age. But most importantly how you discipline them, we can’t be too passive or let anger build with children at a young age because then it becomes a normal routine with whatever life throws at them later in life. Once they’re older and have more access to certain things like the guns in the U.S. then it could potentially and unfortunately become a negative result. Simple conversations and acknowledgement could have a huge impact on a person’s life. I strongly feel that with the convenience of technology today and having access for these tools to learn how to use or where to get weapons destroys our communication skills. It’s as if you’re living in a bubble. The fact the laws would have to be placed to make a change is very sad, mass shootings are becoming more deadly and frequent.
I agree with the article. After a shooting occurs in several shootings after there is talk on ways to prevent another one from happening, but then there is conflict with people thinking there rights to bear arms will be taken away as a solution to prevent these shootings. There needs to be another way to solve this issue. People that commit these acts need to get the help they need and people shouldn’t be able to buy guns without have proper background checks. I think there needs to be tougher background checks on people and provide help to those who need it to prevent more shootings.
I agree Professor Urban, I think there needs to be more laws that can prohibit people who are not mentally stable to purchase fire arms because there is always people shooting out here for no type of reason and some people have guns to show off and think that is cool when it is really not cool because one shoot you will be dead
And how do we make those laws NOT break/violate HIPPA? That means big Government will be looking through everything little thing about your medical background and will red flag just about everyone that WAS and IS/ARE prescribed certain med’s. That I’m not comfortable with at all, having government looking into medical history BUT yes I also agree that something needs to be done about MENTAL ILLNESS/MENTAL HEALTH Issues….
I too believe that we tend to only look at the effect that the mass shootings and violence bring, but in doing so we tend to overlook the cause. Why did this happen? Was it spontaneous and out of the blue? Or was there a motive behind their actions? Time after time we only take into consideration the result of the individual(s) actions, instead of looking for solutions to prevent these problems from happening at all. I like how you mention “What is the source of the anger that allowed this mass shooting?”, without knowing both sides of the story, I don’t see how we can ever find a solution for all of this violence. We live in a very lonely world where people deal with a great deal of their own demons. People suffer from depression now more than ever. According to adaa.org, almost 75% of people with mental disorders don’t receive the help that they need and remain untreated. It’s no wonder why there’s still so much violence in the world, we never take into consideration the root of the problem at hand. So yes, I do agree with you Professor that we need to expand on the different possibilities and solutions in order to resolve this issue of mass violence across the country.
I can’t speak for those who aren’t mentally stable to think shooting someone at your school who called you stupid names on the internet is often justified, and I know this article isn’t a jab at the second amendment and that guns should be abolished which is good because I support the second amendment, it’s like an old saying I used to hear “Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.” When it comes down to stupid petty situations like that, yes I would agree violence doesn’t solve anything, but when it comes down to a more personal experience like having people break into your home at gun point meanwhile you and/or your family are in danger, of course the first thing to do would be dialing 911 but a lot can happen between the time you call the police and the time they finally arrive and in between that time you have to take matters into your own hands and it sucks yes but we don’t live in a perfect world full of sunshines and rainbows unfortunately. Again, when it comes down to petty arguments over the internet and some psycho thinks its justified to shoot that person from their school, I have no real comment on that, but in the past violence does tend to solve solutions, in all the wars of the world what would people have us do? Allow the Nazi’s to conquer all of Europe and eventually the western world? No of course not, and that’s just one example out of many throughout conflicts in human history.
I agree I think there should be more laws when purchasing firearms. People who are not mentally stable should never buy a firearm. Those people who are not mentally stable and have firearms with them always end up in a horrible situation that can cause trauma for other people. And I also agree that something needs to be done about mental health issues.
I agree Dr. Urban, We need to come together as a community to socialize and that way know how people feel about others so that we can identify who needs mental stability help. I am positive that the people who shoot others have signs and symptoms that they will do it but because the society is too busy to socialize and talk to know more about each other everyone misses to see those signs and symptoms. I am also wondering about your question,, Why does the solution of killing others seem appropriate to so many people?