Sunday, January 06, 2013

THOU SHALT NOT KILL, BUT DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO MENTION THAT.


 Whatever happened to proactive concern for safety and well being in this country? Or, to be realistic, has proactive concern for safety and well being of the nation as a whole ever really existed?

American Establishment society, especially through its various organs of communication, almost seems to enjoy the opportunity to gnash teeth and wax philosophical whenever a mass murder occurs. Well, at least when it happens domestically. There's this inherent paradox which consists of the expression of shock and sorrow whenever these shootings occur, as if these incidents shouldn't happen in America, despite how many times they occur in relatively short periods.

I don't have any sympathy, and certainly no level of empathy, for anyone who would go and kill others as these mass shooters have done. Still, with the emphasis on concern to keep people safe and unharmed, it can't hurt to send out a message to anyone considering such a pointless and destructive action. Suicide prevention is presented in public service announcements as a general call to anyone considering harming themselves, or knowing of someone who might, to avoid allowing harm to happen and seeking help. If that approach is used to deter people from hurting themselves, why can't a similar tactic be deployed to keep people from hurting others?

No one in the public arena stands up and says to the faceless ones who may kill in the future: “You must reconsider your plans. You must not allow these selfish destructive plans to consume you and destroy the lives of others. You must stand down.” Instead, they just stick to the usual pointless diatribes about gun control and indoctrination to media influence. Folks with a cynical streak in their thinking may feel like a proactive message of that nature may be a waste of time. Can anyone show me a suggested “solution” that has worked at all so far?

The focus on looking at improvements in mental health treatment is interesting but doesn't seem to come even close to doing anything to making any real impact on future violence from happening again. Most people diagnosed with mental illness aren't violent anyway, and are actually more likely to be victims of violence than their fellow citizens in the the allegedly sane population. You know, those folks who pass the Personal Firearms Eligibility Check and then stock up on umpteen guns and thousands of rounds of ammo.

Instead of treating this problem as an afterthought, waiting until the next batch of funerals to engage in broadcasting the hand wringing and useless diatribes from all of the usual talking heads, why not at least make a serious effort to affect the sensibility and attitude of an entire population? Perhaps Mr. Lennon was on the right track with that “War Is Over” stuff after all.