Let me point out where your fears and anger should be directed in order to make effective change. First, there are four things the cold-blooded murderers at Virginia Tech, Tuscon, Aurora, and Newtown all had in common that no one is talking about:
- They were all between the ages of 20 and 24 at the time of their crimes
- They are exhibited clear symptoms of severely disturbing behavior and mental illness
- They were all addicted to violent first person shooter video games
- The were NOT NRA members.
But I guess it is easier and less painful or more politically correct to blame the NRA even though there were those around these people who knew they were dangerous. They were all surrounded in various degrees by parents, other family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, employers, fellow-students, teachers and school administrators, and had all been seen by doctors. Not an NRA member in the bunch.
Now part of the problem is that this isn't being discussed and there is no effective, standard process for reporting and getting these broken individuals into the right treatment program but we have to start. Every doctor I have seen over the last several years here in MN asks at your first visit if you have been the victim of domestic abuse. This included visits to the dentist and the sleep apnea center. There are ways, let's get started. Tomorrow I will write about how the media misleads the public, the real meaning of the second amendment, and why people who buy rifles that look like the military weapons do so. So...more truth tomorrow.
It is much easier for the huddling masses to blame gun owners for our social problems than to accept the blame themselves for a permissive society that does not take care of their mentally ill.
ReplyDeleteWe know the reality, that these maniacs will attack with whatever means possible, even if no guns are available.
I've enjoyed your writing on the subject.
Psst Joe--its TuCSon not Tuscon (or even Tucan ;-))
ReplyDeleteMom, I thought I asked you not to post on my blog!
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