Mass Shootings: When Are We going to Address the Problem?

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you were able to enjoy your holiday with family and friends. The Holiday season has begun and I’ve already started my Christmas Shopping.

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But enough about that. In the last week before Thanksgiving, we’ve had two mass shootings. One in Colorado and one in Virginia. This saddens me. What is going on in our country?

The shooting in Colorado is being investigated as a hate crime because the gunmen opened fire on a LGBTQ night club. The one in Virginia was an employee of Walmart who opened fire on fellow employees. Both incidents are under investigation, but like I’ve said before, I feel the root of all these shootings is disconnection. The shooter has lost his connection with family, friends, and community. No one wakes up one day and says, “I’m going to shoot up Walmart today.”

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There are signs something’s wrong. The shooters may have a history of violence in their past. In fact, The New York Times conducted a study and found that seven out of ten mass shooters have a history of domestic violence. Either they are the abuser, or they grew up in an abusive household. This is where we need to start. Let’s take a hard look at domestic violence.

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We have to stop sweeping it under the rug. Did you know that a woman is five times more likely to be murdered if her partner has a gun? So, if you combine the disconnection the shooter feels and add domestic violence to the mix, you’ve got a bomb ready to go off, and there’s no telling when it’s about to explode.

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But what can we do? That’s a pertinent question. There’s no way to predict when someone’s going off the deep end. We need to educate people and where there’s a disconnect create a connection. We can do this by community outreach programs and through our schools. I hate to put any more responsibility on our schools, but it is a place where kids come together and a place of connection for them.

We need to study other countries that don’t have a mass shooting problem and emulate them, then go above and beyond to create avenues where victims of domestic violence can go and be safe. Next we have to take a hard look at domestic violence and stop tolerating it as a society. It has to be punished and not swept under the rug.

I don’t like to get political on my blog, but there is another reason the United States has so many mass shootings and that is we have an astronomical number of guns. In a study conducted by The New York Times, Americans make up 4.4 percent of the population but own 42 percent of the total number of guns. We need to change this. Kids don’t need assault weapons and neither do adults. The only people who really need this type of weapon is someone in the military. I know there are some second amendment people out there, and I agree with you. We do have the right to bear arms, but the constitution was written a long time ago, and I can guarantee you, they weren’t even thinking about assault rifles when they wrote that amendment.

So there you have my action steps to the problem.

1. Create connection through our communities
2. Stop tolerating Domestic Violence as a Society
3. Limit access to guns and assault weapons
4. Emulate other countries who don’t have a mass shooter problem

What are your thoughts on Mass Shootings? What would you do to stop them? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

For more information on Mass Shootings, check out these links:

Another School Shooting…when will they stop?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of work and editing. I’m editing my second manuscript and I’m excited about this one too. But enough about that. We had a sad event happen this week. There was another school shooting in Texas.

This breaks my heart. I think about those innocent children cowering in corners and how scared they must’ve been. My heart goes out to them. Then I think of the shooter and wonder how wounded he must’ve been to go to that extreme. He must’ve felt he had nothing left to live for.

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I think of my own kids and wonder how I can protect them. I wonder if online school isn’t the solution, but also an exasperation of the problem at the same time. I mean keeping large groups from getting together will make them less likely to be victims, but and this is a big but, isolation and disconnection are huge factors that drive these kids to do the unthinkable.

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I was chatting with my husband, and he asked the mind-boggling question, where did this eighteen-year-old get the money to buy an assault weapon? These guns are not cheap. I read a little bit of background about the shooter. He was a loner who had quit his job a week prior to the shooting.

This supports my theory that disconnection is a major factor in these events. Disconnection from family, their community, and society. We all need to be vigilant. As parents we can do our part and make sure our kids feel connected to their family. Family traditions are a big part of that.

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According to another newspaper article, the shooter made threats to girls online when they rebuffed his sexual advances and claimed he’d come to their school and shoot it up. These are signs that we need to take seriously. No one believed he would carry out his threats. They all thought he was kidding.

Now we know better. Now we must do better.

We need to take better care of our kids. Pure and simple. The teen years are the hardest years of our lives, and they’re harder now than when we were teens decades ago. When they withdraw, make sure they’re not dealing with anxiety or depression. I know this is hard. They won’t like your intrusion, but they’ll appreciate it when they’re older. And the fact that they made it to “older” will be a blessing in itself.

We need stronger gun laws for young kids. I am a believer in the second amendment, but I’m also a believer in keeping our kids alive. Both can be true. Young kids don’t need assault rifles. Period.

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We need to train our police officers how to manage situations like this. It’s my understanding that they stood around the school for an hour, not knowing what to do. It was a border patrol officer who got into the school and shot the shooter.

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We need to do more for through our mental health programs. Mental health issues start in the teen years. If your teen or a friend of your teen’s is showing mental health issues, try and get them help in any way you can.

Is there a way to prevent mass shootings? I believe we can. Maybe not prevent every one, but we can bring these numbers down. How about you? Do you have any ideas? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you.

Can We prevent Mass Shootings?

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today talking about mass shootings. Just the other day, I saw a video on social media demonstrating a product that will lock doors during a shooting.  It’s called the Barracuda Intruder Defense System. Here’s a video demonstrating how it works.

Barracuda Intruder Defense System

It’s depressing that we even have to have this type of product on the market, but we need it. Mass shootings are on the rise. Most shootings happen in schools or businesses where people feel safe.  On February 20^th of this year there was a mass shooting in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A lone gunman stalked random victims, killing six of them.

How do we stop these shootings?

No one has the answer to that question. They do know many of these acts are committed by young men who are mentally ill and have access to guns. Unfortunately, such broad traits do little to help determine who will actually attack.  In fact, most mentally ill people are usually the victims of violence as opposed to the perpetrators.

Photo credit: mjustinecorea via Visualhunt / CC BY

What are some common factors of these shooters?

That’s a good question. They are usually socially awkward, feel alone, and have access to guns. Many of them have been bullied, harassed, and ignored. It’s my opinion, bullying is the underlying cause of many mass shootings.

Most shooters have suffered some kind of loss such as a break up or the loss of a job. This loss puts a strain on an individual who’s already vulnerable. The majority of mass shooters don’t have a support system and when tragedy strikes they have no one to turn to.

What can we do?

Many people believe stricter gun control is the answer, and I tend to agree. When you get right down to it, no one needs an assault rifle. They shouldn’t be easy to get, but they are. You can buy them online.

Photo credit: GovWin a Deltek Network via Visual hunt / CC BY

I also believe communities should pull together and school administrators and teachers need to be aware of some of the traits that all mass shooters exhibit. Below is a list of the traits and the mental process a shooter goes through before he takes action.  For more information click on this article.

 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/spycatcher/201506/identifying-the-next-mass-murderer-it-s-too-late

 

Narcissistic Traits: They believe themselves to be special, they have the right to do and say as they wish. The right to act out, feeling omnipotent in their beliefs. They feel they alone have wisdom and therefore their solution is the correct one.

Paranoid Ideation: All of these individuals have an irrational fear of something. They call it hate, but its fear. Ted Kaczynski feared technology. Timothy McVey feared the militarization of the police.

Passionate Hatred: Paranoia, the irrational fear of something fuels a passionate hatred. The kind that drives these individuals to take action. It’s palpable. People can see it in the comments they make, in the way the dress, and tattooed on their bodies.

Wound Collectors:

These people are individuals that collect social or historical slights, procedural wrongs, and injustices real or wrong. They nurse these wounds and use them to fuel their hatred.

Communication:

Communication almost always happens before action. The wound collectors tell others of the slights they’ve received and it escalates from there.

Violence as Magic:

Violence becomes the magical solution as the wound collector keeps track of all the slights he’s received.  It’s at this point that the individual rejects any other form of dealing with his wounds and starts gathering weapons and devising plans.

Isolation:

Before the violence takes place the individual with self-isolate to ensure he’s not listening to outside forces that would derail his plan.

The Lethal Cocktail:

So there you have it. The combination of narcissistic traits, paranoia that fuels hatred, and wound collecting is a volatile combination, a ticking time bomb. The only problem is where and when are they going to strike?

 

Thanks for reading my post today. I’d love to here if you have any ideas how we can stop these individuals before there is a loss of life. Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

What are the underlying causes of Violence in our Schools?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today and I’m talking about something that is near and dear to all our hearts. I’m talking about violence in our schools. We’ve been back to school for about a month now and we’ve gotten back into the school year routine.

I have to confess I got the idea for this topic from this website. http://www.securitydegreehub.com/securing-schools/

It’s a great site to visit to learn about the history of violence in our schools, but it also shows the steps school and government administrations are taking to crack down on this violence.

However, it leaves me the question, what is the underlying cause of all this violence?  Of course, I started doing some research and according to this site. http://www.crf-usa.org/school-violence/causes-of-school-violence.html

Violent incidents in our schools have increased from seventy one percent to eighty-one percent over a five-year period. (1999-2004). This study was conducted in 2006.

This article also went further and stated some of the underlying causes of this violence.

Family Environment Even though society expects the family to model and reinforce positive behaviors, it makes it extremely difficult to do so. For example, both parents usually have to work, making it difficult for parents to spend quality time with their children. In addition, there are more single parent households now than ever before and more teen mothers. These two factors alone contribute to the fact that children are not getting their emotional needs met, which causes frustration and anxiety. And this can lead to violence.

Community Environment Studies show that most youth violence occurs between the hours of 3 PM and 7 PM. This is the time when many teens are unsupervised, especially if both parents work. If a community doesn’t offer any after school programs, this can lead to boredom, frustration, and violence as well.

Another interesting tidbit is school size also reflects violence. There are more incidences of violence in larger schools than in smaller ones. Again, for more information on this, click this link: http://www.crf-usa.org/school-violence/causes-of-school-violence.html

Cyber Abuse This occurs when bullies use electronic media to taunt, insult, or threaten their peers. With all the cyber bullying that occurs the result is more violence in our schools.

Access to Weapons Studies have shown that 35% of all homes with teens under the age of eighteen have a firearm and many teens can acquire a weapon illegally very easily.

So there you have it. Some of the underlying causes of School Violence. Now that we know the causes, is there anything we can do about it?

What I see as a solution is parental involvement. The more involved a parent is with their teens the more likely they’ll discuss things that are bothering them. The parent can help them deal with the frustration and anxiety that they may be feeling.  However, what can a single parent do when they’re strapped for time and cash? Especially when many single parents are responsible for more than one child. I would recommend reaching out to the Big Brother Big Sister organization. They are always willing to help a family in need. Here’s their link: http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962335/k.BE16/Home.htm

If a community doesn’t have an after school program and the teen isn’t interested in sports, maybe he or she could get an after school job or volunteer in some way. To check out volunteer opportunities in your area, click on this link. http://volunteennation.org/

As far as the access to weapons, the governmental agencies are trying to crack down on the illegal purchase of firearms and they are making strides in this area. Click this link to learn more:  http://www.securitydegreehub.com/securing-schools/

Thanks for reading my post today! If you have any ideas on how to end violence in our schools, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

****I’d like to thank the following websites for providing some of the information in this post.

http://www.securitydegreehub.com/securing-schools/

http://www.crf-usa.org/school-violence/causes-of-school-violence.html