Finding the Root of Mass Shootings and Violence

As sad as it is, the reality is that on any given day anymore, we can wake up to hear about yet another mass shooting somewhere in the United States. While everyone of sound mind and any level of decency can agree that these events are tragic and senseless, what many cannot agree on is what to do about them.

It’s easy to simply point fingers at the guns themselves and our political counterparts and those types of common talking points. It’s much harder to really dig in and figure out what the heck is going on.

While I am absolutely for sensible restrictions on guns like requiring background checks for ANY purchase, not allowing those with a violent criminal record to own guns and not allowing the general public to purchase military-style weapons, blaming guns is not the answer. The irresponsible and malicious handling of firearms is simply a symptom of the underlying problem and not the problem itself.

If guns were banned completely or never existed in the first place, those who intended to carry out these acts would have simply found another vehicle to do so. Some would use explosives. Others might use automobiles to mow down people in the streets. We’ve seen this occur in places like the Middle East and Europe. The fact is, they would find a way.

Treating the symptom and not the disease is not going to work, period.

Now, what is the disease that is this mass shooting epidemic? The problem is that no matter how many pundits, researchers and theorists present a view on this matter, the reality is that we honestly don’t know. Or at least, we don’t know completely.

As for placing the blame, one can just as easily say that while a gun was the tool used to kill and wound they have the power to protect and stop incidents like these from happening if law-abiding people are permitted to carry them publicity.

The first major mass shooting that much of the public can remember took place at Columbine High School in 1999. This one, as have some others that usually took place in schools, was clearly the result of bullying, an issue largely ignored by schools for generations. Some are driven by specific factors like prejudice and bigotry. Others have a root in things like a firing from work. But in many cases, and in some ways even in these ones, the behavior is much more complex.

My view is that perhaps there are multiple factors that cross every part of society that build into these terrible occurrences. Maybe a culture that largely lacks the value or life from the start is part of it all. Or maybe the lack of respect for authority and others in general is a contributing factor. In some ways, the news media, the majority of which no longer credibly deserve the title of journalist, can be a part of it given that they tend to focus on division and frequently follow the old theory “if it bleed it leads.” In some ways, or tech-consumed culture may be involved. When we would rather text or play on our phones than engage with someone in real conversation, maybe it crushes our collective empathy. Or maybe it is a deep need for approval and celebrity of some sort brought on by piling up the number of likes and the number of follows on our social media accounts. Everybody wants to feel important and some will do anything to get it, the ultimate in narcissistic tendencies.

A two-inch bandage isn’t going to fix a severed limb. Perhaps what we really need to do is find the root of the problem and work on that.