Mass Killings in the US. No Simple Solutions

 https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/its-the-system-stupid/

I am disappointed that an erudite scholar as Mr. Golding is would write such simplistic stuff. Mexico and Jamaica have some of the most strict gun control laws in the world. If gun control laws are so effective, why are those countries awash with crime? Fifty years ago, America was awash with guns and there were very few mass shootings. California has the most strict gun laws in the US and yet they have one of the highest rates (17%) of mass shootings! Although Mr. Golding, the anti NRA and anti-gun lobby would like you to believe the problem is the easy availability of guns in the US, the causes of crime and mass shootings are much more complex than that. As illustrated in strict gun control states such as Mexico and Jamaica, gun control alone will not reduce people killing people with guns. The availability of guns are just one of many factors. Mr. Golding knows that politics is the art of the possible. Since serious gun control is not politically feasible in the US at this time, we have to look for other solutions. There are things that can be done right now. In Jamaica and Mexico, gun controls have left an unarmed citizenry at the mercy of robbers, rapists and murderers. That is what scares American gun owners.

In America, there is a generation of men suffering from rampant depression and pathological narcissism. A major contributing factor to depression and personality issues in children, particularly in males, is single motherhood and broken families. This is also what is contributing to crime in Ja. These, mostly angry young white men are broken - socially and psychologically. Black communities also have broken young men but for some reason, broken men from black communities mostly turn to gangs and crime killing many more than mass shooters. According to some experts such as Pete Hatemi professor of political science at Penn State University who studies violence, narcissism and the psychology of active shooters and terrorism, the causes of mass shootings include: drugs (even legal psychotropic drugs), some mental illnesses such as narcissism, depression and PTSD, the consumption of violent media, poor parenting, Americans desperate desire for fame (especially on social media) and the copycat phenomenon (the Columbine effect). Adam Lankford, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama says that Americans are obsessed with fame. In the latest killing in Texas the perp was pretty much abandoned by his parents and kind of raised by a grandmother. Very often, these perps were abused or traumatized as children or witnessed violence in their families. The perp at Robb Elementary showed all the signs, he was cutting himself and he was a withdrawn, self isolating social outcast from he was in high school. 'Most mass shooters grow up to utterly hate themselves as people and then blame those around them for their self-loathing. Ever the egotistical and paranoid sort, the aspiring mass shooter then finds personal empowerment through an indiscriminate hatred of all humanity; everyone is responsible for their failures except them. With their universally directed resentment taking over their lives, they decide to withdraw socially, becoming more invested in their own vengeance-filled thoughts' (The Real Reason The US Has So Many Mass Shootings By James Swift, May 26th 2014). All they need is some event to trigger them. In the case of the Robb Elementary school shooter, for some reason, he quit his minimum wage job at Wendy's, had an argument with his grandmother, shot her in the face and then went on the rampage.

Most mass shootings could be prevented. In this most recent case, the shooter stated his intent online well in advance - a kind of cry for help but no one listened. The Robb Elementary school killer had a history of behavioral and psychological issues.

Violence is also becoming normalized as an appropriate response if you feel aggrieved. The grievance culture is alive and well in America and Jamaica and leads to many killings. America Reality TV shows and talk shows reward people for violent behavior by giving them the limelight. Mass shooters are so promoted on social media as celebrities that those who are narcissistic use their mass killing events to salve their inner rage. Mass shooters are sending us a message - by body counts.

Schools, places of worship and workplaces are the places most targeted by mass shooters. These soft targets need to be hardened. You can't go on a plane or into a US court without being searched. The same should apply for schools, places of worship and workplaces. Despite the highly publicized mass shootings, the US still remains one of the most prosperous and safe countries in the world - certainly safer than Mexico or Jamaica with their strict gun control laws! I can't speak for all states but when I lived in Arizona, an FBI background check was needed when I bought a gun at a store but you can buy guns at gun shows without a background check. That is a loophole that needs to be closed. In Australia, a 28 day waiting period from purchase to acquisition seems to have had an effect on mass shootings. But, Australia is not America. The United States gun culture of redemption through gun violence is way stronger.

Raymond D. Grant