In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in the United States, the internet and broadcast news alike are inundated with commentary about why this keeps happening in America. Some blame guns, others blame mental health, and still others confidently blame false flag events and crisis actors.
But one commonality among numerous mass killings in the United States remains absent from these conversations. It is always reported when details of the shooter are published, but the widespread connection is rarely acknowledged: A mounting number of mass shooters have ties to the military, including Nikolas Cruz, who was a member of his school’s military prep organization, JROTC (Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps).
The United States has indulged in a culture of ‘patriotic’ militarism for decades, glorifying this institutionalized violence as a sign of strength and morality. As Anti-Media observed last week shortly after the Florida shooting, “We memorialize those who commit violence for the government and hold them in the highest esteem — throwing tantrums when others express dissenting opinions or fail to bow to the people who serve these institutions.”
Indeed, this glorification of violence bleeds over into the United States’ unique problem of individuals committing acts of mass violence. Here is a brief sampling of perpetrators of some of the most high-profile mass shootings in recent years. Many were either members of the military at some point, were rejected by the military (but clearly wanted to join), or came from a military family:
- Chris Harper Mercer, who shot up a school in Oregon, was kicked out of the army and often wore military fatigue pants as a regular outfit. He was described as “militant.”
- The Navy Yard shooter, Aaron Alexis, was a Navy reservist before he became a contractor and conducted his rampage on military grounds.
- Nidal Hassan, the Fort Hood shooter, was a psychiatrist in the military and committed his shooting on military grounds.
- Wade Michael Page, who opened fire on a Sikh temple, was kicked out of the military.
- Devin Patrick Kelly, who killed 26 people in a chapel in Texas last year, was also kicked out of the military.
- Esteban Santiago-Ruiz, who shot up the Ft. Lauderdale airport, was a member of the National Guard.
- Chris Dorner, who notoriously began murdering police officers over deeply-rooted frustrations over racism and injustice within the Los Angeles Police Department, was a Marine before he became a cop.
- Micah Javier Johnson, who went on a cop-killing spree in Dallas in 2016, was a member of the Army Reserves and fought in Afghanistan.
- At least one member of a foiled plot to blow up a mosque in Kansas had served in the military and then continued in the National Guard.
- Eric Frein, who ambushed Pennsylvania state troopers in 2014, came from a military family, reenacted military battles, and carried military gear and camouflage face paint. Police found an Army sniper handbook in his bedroom.
- One of the infamous Columbine High School shooters, Eric Harris, came from a military family and was rejected by the Marines over his use of antidepressants.
None of this is to claim that simply being a member of or supporting the military creates mass shooters (although admittedly, many members of the military are mass shooters, they just kill innocent foreigners abroad rather than those in the U.S.).
However, it is to say that the military is an inherently violent institution, and it should come as no surprise that individuals drawn to violent institutions believe using violence is acceptable.
As journalist Justin King wrote in a piece highlighting the experience of an average American teenage boy and how much violence pervades the fabric of our culture:
“In homeroom, they watch the news. A bunch of brown kids in some far away land have been ripped in half by warheads from a drone. Oops. Just collateral damage. Life is cheap. He’ll watch the live footage of the dead kids as detached as any trained killer. He knows we’re ready to go to war in Syria and knows we should kill them, but neither he nor his parents could tell you why.”
Despite outrage from many Americans over the consistent stream of mass shootings, a tiny fraction of the population makes so much as a peep about the relentless destruction of innocent life abroad — destruction they pay for and that seeps back into American society. This is no more evident than in the repeated tendency of mass shooters to revere or participate in the military machine (though some corners of the internet claim these events are “false flags,” the reality remains that even if that were the case, those “selected” to perpetrate them are still drawn to the characteristically violent military).
While an inability to contain anger and mental health problems and the use of psychiatric drugs are certainly linked to horrific violence the difference between this phenomenon and that of military connections among shooters is simple: taking antidepressants is not inherently violent, and those who take them are not inherently endorsing a violent activity. The military, on the other hand, is intrinsically violent and would cease to exist without the “moral” authority to use this violence.
As Americans continue to rage at each other over solutions to gun violence, some insisting the government confiscate guns and others insisting the government ramp up the militarization of schools, it is clear that nothing will change until the American people confront the deeply-rooted foundation of violent militarism that continues to plague the United States and the world.
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I dunno, I stopped paying attention to the details a while ago because it's all the same to me, part of the one big scam being run on the world for complete domination of everything and everyone. I do not consent. I do what I can to create a world that the children can thrive in, and refuse to play any part in the corporate fiction that I can possibly refuse.
I realize a lot of people still need to have their eyes opened though so I applaud any work doing the questioning of the narratives. The fact that anyone is still consenting to being governed by pedophiles and sociopaths is mind boggling to me.
we have the same opinion. i had to stop looking at the negativity, i had to stop engaging, supporting really, the insanity. now I see it and remember peaceful, loving thoughts.. because anything else is adding to the fire of insanity.
My main concern is that I have to live with people who all think it's for real.
David Hogg Prince of crisis actors?
Here's the OTHER THING that "nobody wants to talk about" - but I have, here...
https://steemit.com/populationreduction/@gloryb/ssri-s-pysch-drugs-the-1-cause-of-all-suicides-murders-and-school-shootings
Check out Julian Knight who shot up Hoddle Street in Melbourne in one of Australia's worst mass shootings. Dropped out of Duntroon Military College, was having a beer and thought he had to go and get a rifle and shoot up the place to assist squad mates under fire. Strange.
Great article. I think Its the deep states doing. Creating chaos and division to erode more of our rights till we have none. So they can truly feel that master/slave power that they desire.
This is a really compelling argument.
The media (and those who pull the strings of) has worked hard to create an ignorant and fearful people, desensitized to violence. They are told to praise and thank their brave heroic military, but any talk of the victims of their violent and often criminal acts is "unpatriotic".
It is a far cry from the Vietnam days, where conscripts (who had no choice) were treated as outcasts for the atrocities they committed.
Good article. Crazy about all of it. Keep up the good work!
Powerful piece and well researched @careywedler I like how you skirted off the hot topic of false flags and went straight to the point in an unavoidable parallel in their militarization. Deep & thank you.
hmm what about the other thing nobody wants to talk about.. that they are all male..
You've put into words so much of what I'm thinking too, very well written! The problem with most military complexes is that the self-defense mechanism is completely abused. The military should only be used and on standby for self-defense purposes, but most large militaries (esp. the US military) are the aggressors instead of defenders. I think it's very hard for some military personnel to come to terms with, but they have to if anything is ever going to change. They should ask themselves what their motivation to join was and if they really believe a tiny percentage of people at the top have the right to tell other people what to do.
In a world where profit determines the solution to every problem and violence is used as a tool to achieve profit whether it is Hollywood films, gaming or military aggression on foreign soil, what we need is a strong populous to "confront deeply-rooted foundations" and hold governments to account. This needs coordination, which needs communication channels and here at the heart of Capitalism sits the media, silent on some issues and touting the government line on other issues, manufacturing consent for violence. Difficult to see how things are going to change until the majority of people use alternative media for their information and then we have to hope that the alternative media sources don't become corrupted by their power and influence ......
Nobody cried, nobody died.
Also, it wasn't a "false flag" (which is "politically correct" to say – you won't get banned / censored / striked for using this term), but it was a staged event. Like all of them in recent history. There is no such thing as a "lone shooter" or "islamic terrorists". If you buy into the official narrative, you are letting yourself being terrorized & traumatized.
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Thanks for your article, Carey. I agree entirely with you and as an educator think there's also a connection to violent video games such as Call of Duty. Perhaps, a planned way to socialize our youth? Might not appear to be an issue or related to some, but there are so many more students today who when asked what they're going to do when they grow up state that they're going into some branch of military service. Several years ago, a woman I considered sort of extreme in her thinking told me she thought this would be the future--jobs become more scarce, education costs more than one can expect to earn and military and policing jobs continue to be well funded when others struggle to stay alive. Complex, but the way I see it, if you're growing up in this system (especially low-income schools) you experience a lot of people telling you serving your country is noble, it is a career when there are few other options and you've already been desensitized through hours of killing via x-box.
I agree with your main assertions, and I do believe we have glorified centuries of mass murder abroad behind a guise of patriotism and American exceptionalism. I agree that change is necessary, but that change is unlikely. With serious, imminent military threats abroad, dismantling the very idea of national defense is unthinkable. In a perfect world, of course, widespread peace is the answer, but in an America that was built on the freedom of self-defense and boasts a rampant "patriotic" exceptionalism, that won't happen. I do, however, believe that significant cuts to federal defense spending in order to make way for spending that promotes peace and assists the needy would be beneficial to America and our impact on the rest of the world.
Thank you for the excellent post. Very thorough and I will say that you make a compelling argument, but I'm not sure I agree with this...
I think the lack of proper mental health care for our military and our citizens in general is the real problem. The stigma attached to mental health is another.
The brave men in women in our military risk life and limb on a daily basis. They see sights that most of us can't even imagine and do things they would never do outside of combat... things most human beings would never do. And then, they come home to a health care system that does not prioritize them as patients nor their mental health.
Plus there seems to be an unrealistic expectation for them to be OK after all they've endured. Then they're told to "man up" or "get over it" when they struggle to cope with all they've seen and done. Any sickness left untreated has the propensity to get worse and mental illness is no different.
Violence is a problem, for sure, but the lack of proper mental health care in this country and the stigma attached to mental illness is a core issue behind these horrific mass shootings.
Wow....I don't think too many people realize this.
What I'm seem to be missing in these mass shooting reports are the victims.
Who died, and how. Who was shot FIRST, and why.
But mainstream only seems to focus on whoever got arrested, and advertising gun brands and types, injecting the weapon industry with new interest in those killing machines. Make the words 'duffel bag' cool again.
All of this lures kids into the military. This is how you make it cool to become a soldier.
And those kids only discover how crap it is once they had to do their first kill, but then it is too late, then they have a trauma for the rest of their lives. One that is made cool AGAIN by Hollywood.
This is how the USA makes it's own 'image' the image of brainless 'cool' killers. Silly actors that behave like cool Hollywood action 'heroes' in REAL real warzones.
This is how innocent people get killed.
I just upvoted You! (Reply "STOP" to stop automatic upvotes)
sudo START
;P
Time to get real about what is really going on Carey.
Extensive Post Reveals Drills, Anomalies and Child Actors Involved With Parkland School Shooting in Florida on February 14, 2018
https://steemit.com/news/@clarityofsignal/extensive-post-reveals-anomalies-and-child-actors-involved-with-parkland-school-shooting-in-florida-on-february-14-2018