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Today's Poll!Our Opinion: Intercept dysfunction before deadly acts
News Tribune editorial
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
In the struggle to explain the inexplicable, fingers of blame once again are being pointed in the aftermath of the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colo.
A lone gunman opened fire on the audience at a midnight movie Friday, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.
Targets of blame include:
• Gun availability. Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said: “This tragedy is another grim reminder that guns are the enablers of mass killers and that our nation pays an unacceptable price for our failure to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.”
• Violent images in movies, television and video games. Michael Nagler, in a column for PeaceVoice, wrote: “Psychologists have proved over and over again that — guess what — exposure to violent imagery produces disturbances in the mind that must, in course of time, take form in outward behavior.”
• Government. John Whitehead, in a commentary for the Rutherford Institute, blamed a range of factors. Among them, he wrote: “Violence has become our government’s calling card, starting at the top and trickling down, from President Obama’s ‘kill list’ to the more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year on unsuspecting Americans by heavily armed, black-garbed commandos.”
Broader targets extend to society, popular culture and the media.
Blaming someone or something helps avoid facing the grim reality that mass killings by deranged loners can and will happen.
“There’s no way you can prevent it. There’s absolutely no way,” said Peter Ahearn, a former FBI agent. “It was random. It happened.”
Perhaps the best defense — and by no means a fool-proof one — is to intercept troubled people and address mental health issues.
Self-reliance is a worthy aspiration, but mental disorders and disabilities must not be overlooked or ignored.
We help ourselves when we become more attuned to recognizing and reporting aberrant behavior.
Equally important, we must establish a network of mental health professionals who, when called on, are able to intercede.
Marry Me
Comments
Graceful 10 months ago
There are the more than 80,000 SWAT team raids carried out every year? That would mean there are 219 a day. I know this is a big country but that doesn't seem like it could be accurate.
dokeus6 10 months ago
So Rush didn't do the math for you. Grace you are a story of an American tragedy caused by the failure of our Upper Education System if you carry the degree that you say you have.
If you would take the time to look for the information it looks like on the avg there are over 100 per day. I don't know where you got your degree from but they should have taught you how to research a subject.
Sequoia 10 months ago
And, certainly, the people who might be in the best position to see and recognize suspicious behavior are the gun dealers themselves.
Which brings me back to a point I made in an earlier thread. If you deal guns, you have a moral responsibility to do what you can to avoid selling your product to psychopaths. It doesn't matter what the law says. YOU, as an individual, have a moral duty to be careful and aware. This comes into play especially in internet transactions.
In the Aurora case, the killer raised red flags for a gun range owner who refused to allow the killer to join his range.
Since the NRA has purchased our democratic process, it will be almost impossible for the people to restrict the sales of military technology. This absence of legal accountibility puts all the more moral responsibility on the business owners who make a profit from these weapons.
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