Finding and Fixing the root causes of Mass Shootings

The problem is ultimately the human race itself. Out of every other species to be found on the planet, only the human race is obsessed with facilitating its own destruction through any means possible, be through the usage of weapons against one another, or through destroying the environment in order to render the planet uninhabitable by the species. The species demonstrates no survival instinct, only an instinct to destroy itself. The actions of various humans suggests the species is hardwired and designed on the cellular, physical, and spiritual levels, to wipe itself out of existence. Nearly every scientific development has, in some way, been connected to facilitating the killings of more and more members of the human species. Supposedly clear nuclear energy lead to the creation of nuclear weapons to wipe out huge numbers of individuals with merely the press of a single button.

More than the obsession with killing itself, is the fixation with looking for excuses to justify that desire to kill. If there was no division of races, if there was only one homogeneous race of humans, they will justify killing one another on the basis of matters as trivial as height and eye color. It is all the species knows, and it is all the species can focus on.

 

While I'm not going to deny that there are certain experiences that only some people will have, that doesn't really make sense. Because gay people. By the extension of your logic, boys raised by lesbians don't understand what it means to be a man. And that sounds weird to argue for.

I am literally doing the scientific method. The second step is to come up with a coherent theory to make sense of the phenomena. Of course I'm going to be assuming the answer before I have the results. I'm going to use a specific dataset because it's what the literature tells me to focus on. I'm focusing on the need for violence in civil society. So I'm going to use an example of it. Because if it works in an extreme, then it works for lesser extremes too.

 

So why fear them? What's to be scared of?

 

Glad you joined this topic. I am sure you will explain some excellent ideas.

My own belief as just a normal citizen is we are in peril if we think we can enter the minds of the crazy killers and understand them at all. I am not crazy enough to enter the mind of the Crazy.

As the door lock was the local solution for breaking and entering and still we have breaking and entering, even those who break and enter are crazy to me. So i can't solve this myself. Lee brings forth a good discussion but really it discusses crazy people. I am not qualified to handle crazy people.

 

Because every now and then, one of them decides to shoot a bunch of people (for example) and the rest of them are stereotyped by 'normals' as 'dangerous.'

Its a self fullfilling prophecy imo. By treating the mentally ill as dangerous (by trying to control them) we make it so.

 

Look, this is how it went...

In the third post of this thread, you made the claim that most mass shooters are right wing. You did not clarify that claim, you did not say it was a specific subset of mass shooters that you were speaking of. Then later you said it was a subset that you were looking at. You should have said that in your very first post instead of being misleading. At least it is now known where you are coming from at this point. I do thank you for the clarification.

Now, we are bogging down this thread. I defer to you to put in the final word, then I will return to the topic of this thread.

 

Thank you. I will look at the data and reply later.

Edit: I agree about the taboos.

 

I don't see how one can completely rule out the influence of firearms on this society.

Where on earth did you get this "fact"?

 

You asked for an explanation for a particular "presumption" about the need of a father figure, and that is what you were given.

There will always be outliers, but that is a discussion for a different thread

I don't believe most of the killers fall outside of the more traditional sexual identities and sexualities.

 

Yeh, it isn’t just binary. I agree it’s more complicated than that. I’d be interested in more information on extended families etc. The only thing specific outside of two parent biological being the best scenario is some study I read once indicating lesbian households had disproportionately high rates of domestic violence.

Daniel Light brought up earlier today how having violent or abusive parents would be worse than an absent one. So your idea of a good grandfather or uncle being better than a crappy father at home. Still, no amount of substitution covers the feelings of abandonment and or guilt in the child when the biological father is gone. And blended families can be hell for children as well.

Bottom line is adults make a lot of lousy decisions that can really screw a kid up.

 

I found this in another thread, posted by Smartmouthwoman:



Can anyone verify the veracity?

 

That one remains a troubling outlier. So much wrong with the picture.

 

Doesn't explain why he managed a relatively stable and solid life for almost 60 years. The 'bad dad' thing will almost always tell before the age of 25.

 

Perhaps a first question might be; 'are these shootings a big deal that requires a solution'? Yes they are horrific and tragic! But in the grand scheme of things are they a big deal? For example, approximately 35,000 people are killed each year, needlessly killed, in automobile accidents but there's no national dialogue about 'solving' this problem? The use of automobiles is more lethal than the use of guns but no dialogue? Just as there are people who should not be allowed to own a gun, there are people who should not be allowed to drive a car, since a majority of the 35,000 annual deaths can be attributed to reckless driving. 273 mass shooting fatalities in 2019 with 1067 injured. Comparing this to 35,000 deaths per year in automobile accidents, most of which can be resolved with better laws and enforcement, better training and retraining, a reduction in speed limits, not allowing people to drive who are deemed not capable, etc. and yet there is NO public dialogue and nothing being done to improve? Actually, most people are not interested in discussing these 'solutions' because of the perceived effects on their personal lives...kind of like NIMBY. So, strictly focusing on the issue, without emotion, without bias, is mass-shooting in the US actually a problem?

Once this can be rationalized, IMO the chances of finding 'solution' are the same as finding solutions to the 35,000 people killed each year in automobile accidents. The root solution lies WITHIN ALL OF US! We must change our way of thinking, our behavior, our righteousness, our entitlement, our decision making, etc. The second question might be; are all of us capable of doing this? The answer to this determines the future of mass-shootings and automobile deaths and all other horrific behaviors in our culture today...

 

He does, but he assuredly does not fit the profile for a 'victim' of such. Far too old and established.

 

1) that's shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. pointless, costly, and in fact often worsens the causes becaues it legitimises them.

2) exactly. and 'help' should be in the form of prevention, not band aids after the fact.

 

Opioids are just a tool.

The internet is just a tool.

Cars are just a tool.

No influence on society?

Where in that paper does it say anything about man hating?

How do you explain all the people who have bitter man hating mothers or bitter woman hating fathers who don't ever kill anyone ever? I'm going to guess that the amount who do not ever kill anyone outnumbers those who do by the millions.

 

That's a very interesting overview. Really doesn't help the cause of those bleating about White Supremacists.

 

Right and that's not surprising. I know that first hand. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that I will understand that better.

Then the question is do we need to make talk of father figures, or do we need to make talk of parents. If we're talking about parents, does that mean we have to talk about society at large instead? It's not just the parents we could talk about. It's other adult figures. Kind of like how it takes a village to raise a child.

 

How do we explain all the right wingers who never kill anyone ever? How do we explain all the left wingers that never kill anybody? Who do we explain all the people who were bullied in childhood that never kill anybody? We could continue with this line of thinking for a long, long time....

 

Right, but notice that it changes the dynamics from talk of one particular parent to talk of parents and guardians. That might be the more topic to focus on.

 

But again, I don't know the source, was hoping someone could verify.