Imagine a child so fearful that news of school shootings would someday be something more, his reality... that he and a friend decide just in case, to comprise wills. They considered family and friends as they recorded final instructions and words of endearment in the event a school shooter were to ever take their lives...
How do we fix this? What needs to change?
People ARE talking, in fact, A LOT of people are talking...but they're talking about changing gun laws.
NOT NEARLY as many people are talking about mental illness, affordable insurance OR more accessible mental health centers/medications.
ALL of the above heavily influence the massacres in our country that are growing more frequent than anywhere in the world as we wait to take action.
They call the Parkland school shooter a "mentally unstable monster" yet no one implies MENTAL ILLNESS is actually the monster!!??
Taking the guns away WON'T FIX THIS. Jailing mentally ill offenders WILL NOT CHANGE THEM. People with uncontrolled mental illnesses will still hurt people and themselves.
Saving mentally ill people from the "monster" inside will change things...from school shootings, murder, road rage, addiction, domestic violence and so many other things that happen in THE FACE OF MENTAL ILLNESS.
"TWO MILLION people with mental illness are booked into jails each year...If individuals do come to the attention of law enforcement, communities should create options to divert them to treatment and services—before arrest", suggests the National Alliance for Mental Health. Unfortunately though, this is a far cry from how these situations are actually addressed. Had authorities followed this path of action in the case of Nikolas Cruz SEVENTEEN YOUNG LIVES could have been saved.
This country is facing a crisis alright but we're looking for the solution in the wrong place...
Resteem this post and start a conversation.
We can fix this together <3
For references and more information about mental illness please see here
Great post. I suggest creating organizations that support homesteading, caring for nature, animals and natural healing through herbs. Good people like church based charity projects could be a way to jump-start these projects to help rehab people with mental illness. At least they can learn something new and different from what they've been used to doing; or get close to nature to begin the healing process. Prison walls aren't going to cut the curse I'm afraid. Humanity needs to serve a higher cause in order to change any type of illness. We have to change our life-styles altogether. I agree with you though, tighter gun laws only serves the tyranny of government, not the people.
I LOVE this idea, thank you! This is even something that could start small, a community effort that leads to world wide change...
Start at the local level, I personally think church organizations are better because they know their congregation and what they can contribute individually or as families. They know who is good at what and how much time they can volunteer on a project. Could be a lot of fun too.
School shootings are no accident. The shooters prepared, aquired weapons and trained. At some point they made a decision to kill. The question about that decision is never asked. There has to be a reason or 100 reasons but there has to a reason. The problem is that these killers usually don't survive so asking them is not a option. But there are many murderers in prison including multiple murderers who could still be used to investigate why humans murder. It's easy to call people crazy and monsters and they may very well be but there is a foundation to their mindset.
I hypothesize that a lot of our not obviously mentally ill population are undiagnosed because they haven't asked for help not knowing they need it. Not to be argumentative but in my opinion anyways, anyone who commits an act of violence towards another human being or animal in any means other than self defense is not of the “right mind”. Perhaps they've talked their way out of mental health treatment because they don't hallucinate and tell people their violent thoughts are just for play...but persistent violent thoughts, and the ability to carry out violent actions without reacting certain ways are signs that neurons in the brain are not firing in an ‘average’ pattern. An individual who exhibits these brain patterns CERTAINLY are more likely to commit violent crimes when presented the right stimuli and environment without intervention.
In a study posted in ‘social cognitive and affective neuroscience’ they noted “whether you shoot someone on purpose or the gun goes off accidentally, the victim is still dead... it makes an enormous difference in how you later reckon with what you’ve done....among people who kill legally and those who kill criminally or promiscuously, the same brain regions are surely involved, even if they operate in different ways. In all of us it’s clear that murder’s neural roots and moral roots are deeply entangled. Learning to untangle them a bit could one day help psychologists and criminologists predict who will kill—and stop them before they do.”
In another article which discusses the psychology of anger, “...anger is a social emotion. You always have a target that your anger is directed against (even if that target is yourself). Feelings of pain, combined with anger-triggering thoughts motivate you to take action, face threats and defend yourself by striking out against the target you think is causing you pain.”
Perhaps requiring periodic mental health screenings or access to counseling for children much like their well child check ups required for their physical well-being could be a stepping stone to better getting to know and being able to protect our youth from triggers. With mental health observation required for every child and not just the “problem children” educators could pick up on signs such as not responding to emotional stimuli, poor coping skills when in the “red” or anger zone and an inability to empathize with others. Professionals who are required to interview children's mental health may pick up on environmental factors that put children at risk that otherwise may go unnoticed because of the presence of a parent. Any or all of these signs could signal an “angry youth” who, if you were to image their brains would likely show abnormalities. These brains CAN BE FIXED.
Combined with stricter gun laws I still see a ton of potential for stronger mental health funding, lessons and involvement.
Thank you so much for responding. I hope as a nation we found a way to make a difference sooner than later <3
You can thank the pharmaceutical companies and this drug culture for that.
people are oblivious. accountability seems to be absent in all this gun talk. a gun has no conscious. ppl need better mental evaluation before being sold weapons. they given weapons to undeveloped teens and then blame guns. then media has the nerve to label and shames offenders based off race and mental health. calling these kids monsters when the real monsters belong to the system we are forced to rely on. they stuff these suicidal meds down. these kids throats when theyre getting bullied instead of supporting and mediating the issues at hand. its a sad time for America. we need to educate
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