By: judycar

judycar — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 17:08:42 +0000

This is not an attempt to put down any comments that anyone has made about these shootings. I’m not responding to their comments. I couldn’t help but notice that in almost every one of these school shootings, someone has noticed something they describe as “strange” about the shooter. Even though this is noticed before the shooting, it is not mentioned until it is too late. After the shootings, we find out from the police or other authorities that the shooter has a mental disorder. Isn’t this important? Shouldn’t we do more about people who have a mental disorder and discover those who need help? If we notice that a person is “strange” or “different” or doesn’t say things in a way others think of as “normal,” why do we turn our backs on those persons? Maybe we should think it our responsibility to look after each other. If we see that someone needs our attention with strange behavior or strange comments, couldn’t we talk to the person, find out if we can help them in any way, turn them over to a specialist for more help? We just say they’re strange and feel no sense of responsibility toward these people at all? Sometimes it sounds as if those who are reporting this “peculiar behavior” are proud that they have noticed it. Maybe if we gave these people attention, treated them with dignity and respect and made them feel loved and like they are a person, rather than as “peculiar” and include them in whatever we do (especially in schools where they can be included in study groups and group work), we could stop some of this violence. If we could stop waiting for someone else to do something and begin with ourselves, we could possibly see a little difference.
The other thing that has been discussed is background checks. To discover what? In the Oregon shooting, police found an arsenal of guns and Mercer’s mother also had twenty-six guns in her home. How many guns does a person need? Her son was 26 years old. How many guns would he need? At 26, if he continued buying them, by 50, how many guns would he have accumulated? Why does a person need that many guns? Do soldiers even have that many? Or police officers? In most all of these school shootings, the shooter had a car full of guns and when the police went to their homes, they found a room full of guns. Aside from a complete psychological report on each person requesting to purchase a gun, the requester needs to give a written explanation as to why they need a gun. In addition, each state should include an age requirement for anyone who wants to buy a gun, limit the number of guns a person can buy and limit the variety of guns a person can own. No one needs as many guns as these people who have misused them. This may not be the complete answer to this problem, but it could be a start.

Comments on: Editorial: Campus Shooting Points to Necessary Change

By: judycar