What is the REAL CAUSE of mass shootings?

[Big-Blue]

What do you believe is the REAL CAUSE of mass shootings? Select the option you think our politicians should focus on if they are truly interested in stopping these terrible episodes.

I thought this poll might provide some sense of what we in the gun community believe is the real problem.

 

[sam colt]

crazy people and psychos

 

[Big-Blue]

Our press voluntarily withholds the identity of a rape victim as a protection of that person's privacy and to foster an increase in rape reporting.

Why couldn't the press do the same with shooters? Withholding the identity of shooters would reduce the incentive for troubled people to go out in a blaze of glory.

Take it one step further and desensationalize the tragedy by under reporting it--take it off the front page. The reduced attention would also provide a gentler environment within which the victim's families and the survivors could begin to heal and recover from the tragedy.

 

[Evan Thomas]

It's way too simplistic to think that there's a single cause. There are different types of mass shootings: workplace shootings, school shootings, shootings in public places; and we've become so callused by these events that it hardly counts any more when someone shoots half a dozen family members in the privacy of his own home. It would be foolish to think that these are all committed for the same reason.

Saying "crazy people and psychos" doesn't really explain anything, or offer much in the way of prevention. There are many kinds of mental illness, for one thing. For another, the mentally ill are far more likely to be the victims of violence than they are to commit them. So then you have to ask, why did this mentally ill person over here become violent, while the several thousand over there did not?

One can say the same thing about psychoactive drugs, about alcohol, or about video games -- you'll always run up against the fact that for every incident in which one of these seems relevant, you have to account for the thousands, or millions, of people who use them and are never violent.

The best predictor of violence is a violent history, and that's no use for predicting first incidents... the kind where everyone says after the fact: "Oh, he was such a nice, quiet young man."

And here's a question: Assuming you could find the one common trait that's almost universal among mass shooters, would you really want politicians to try to fix it? (Hint: there is such a trait... )

 

[TXAZ]

You left out people who have given up on "the system" for a variety of reasons, wanted to settle a score then go out in a blaze of glory / be remembered as someone who finally had had enough and fought back.

If they didn't have a gun they would acquire and use a car, anthrax, gasoline or a 747.

 

[Evan Thomas]

You left out people who have given up on "the system" for a variety of reasons, wanted to settle a score then go out in a blaze of glory / be remembered as someone who finally had had enough and fought back.

I wasn't trying to make an exhaustive list of possible causes/reasons -- just to point out that there are too many to identify just one as the cause.

That said, I agree with you. I think that's a very real pattern, and one that doesn't imply mental illness, just overwhelming rage at what life has or hasn't brought. And it's easy to overlook that, because we don't always want to admit that life can be really, really unfair.

 

[Frank Ettin]

In any case, a poll is not a useful way to try to achieve any sort of useful understanding of the situation/issues.

This is not really a proper subject for a "vote." It is, rather, a proper subject for solid, scientific, objective study by people who are qualified to do that.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

I'd offer Madness as one explanation.


Many of the most recent shooters were by no means disadvantaged.

Life was not "unfair" to them.

They simply lost touch with reality, either incrementally over a prolonged period of time, or suddenly.

Then there was Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter from Virginia Tech, whose own family described him as having been a warped unit from a relatively young age. He was recognized as prone to being belligerent, mean, randomly aggressive, and mentally unstable over a number of years by a number of different people who came into contact with him. There just wasn't much anyone could do about it, because it wasn't against the law to be belligerent, mean, aggressive, or difficult to be around. But even he was not 'disadvantaged' - he was being provided a college education paid for by his family when he committed the crimes for which he became infamous.

The two shooters at Columbine High School were similarly described (variously) as being loners, randomly aggressive, and mean - withdrawn and difficult, and resistant to any efforts to confront or control them. But they did not exhibit any signs of mental instability - most court documents and their own journals paint a picture of two individuals who simply thought it would be cool to kill a bunch of kids and commit suicide.


So whether you want to call it "madness" or mental illness, the root cause of many of the mass shootings over the past decade is shooters who have had some sort of break from reality, and who are acting out some role that they have created in their own minds.

And given the fact that many of them were not recognized as mentally unstable until after they committed the crimes,....I'm not sure how additional laws are going to put a stop to that sort of activity.

(Defensive designs and upgrades? Yes. But it's difficult to prevent a crime from occurring when the person who will ultimately commit the crime is undergoing some sort of mental metamorphosis and has not yet reached the end stage...)

YMMV.

 

[BarryLee]

In any case, a poll is not a useful way to try to achieve any sort of useful understanding of the situation/issues.

I agree and was curious if anyone could recommend a good study or paper dealing with the subject? I have always been interested to see if anyone has gained any level of understanding on the subject from previous shooters.

 

[Nine the Ranger]

I don't think there can be a clean cut, one size fits all answer to this.

People are different, some are angry and neglected, some may simply be bored or maybe suicidal, some may really have mental issues.

Some say it's violent Video Games (I'm looking at you LaPierre), as a Gamer myself I can reject that ideo, in fact, games turned me on to the idea of owning Firearms, that being said if someone has mental issues and plays games it might ingrain the idea that hurting others is okay into their mind, but that is purely speculation.

 

[Pond James Pond]

I voted something else.

In truth, I think it is a myriad of factors and no two incidents will be quite the same, some poles apart (Compare the Sandy Hook incident and Oslo).

However my gut instinct, thinking back to the cases I can remember, tells me that they might would fall into two loose categories.

Political and the marginalised looking for a means to extract the respect from the world that they felt the'd never received.

Some might say that these could be called mental illness. Brevik was deemed mentally sound. Similarly, "madness" could easily be called anyone who does not fit the norm, but most importantly, I like to remind myself that a large proportion of those in need of mental healthcare are no danger.

I would moot however, that one aspect links them all. Obsession. Somewhere along the line, these people became obsessed with the idea of what they were going to do.

Nonetheless, I don't believe that there will ever be a plausible, "on size fits all" answer to why this happens.

 

[dakota.potts]

I opted not to vote. I don't believe any of these are causes. It could be argued that the one about mental health is, but I think that's a lack of a preventative system rather than a cause

 

[Kreyzhorse]

There is no single cause. I do believe however that guns are not a reason these shootings happen. If it wasn't a gun, it would be some other type of weapon.

 

[Dwight55]

It is simply put, . . . people caught in the act of being people, . . . there is no mystical properties to man's belligerance and asinine beharior.

The one thing, . . . and the only thing, . . . that ever keeps it in check is a full, strong, hard nosed sense of morality, sense of ethics, and sense of justice.

Sadly, the world as we know it has "undiscovered" those traits: opting for a world where morality equals "if it feels good, do it", . . . ethical standards all turn on the pivot of the situational moment, . . . and justice is administered at the end of the gun barrel or from the drone overhead.

Only when the standards of "Thou shalt not..............." are brought back and put into full force, can we ever hope to see a lid on the killing, . . . raping, . . . maiming, . . . and intentional harm inflicted by man upon man.

The final straw which has been the bane of civilization for all time, is simply put in one word: permissiveness. Someone decides that his or her "rights" have been disrespected, . . . and a move is made to "correct" that wrong.

No, . . . no poll will ever have all the answers, . . . they are right out in front of us, . . . as blatantly obvious as the forest in front of the hunter, . . . but in too many cases, . . . the hunter fails to find the forest becasue all those pesky trees got in his way.

May God bless,
Dwight

 

[Robk]

In most mass shooting situations, the shooter gives up or guns himself once they are confronted by force. This shows to me that they are willing to take the consequences of their actions for their own gain. Theses people are unstable at best, completely insane at most. But the majority seem to want the exposure to the lime light. They want to leave their mark on the world. But, in most of these situations, these persons have had some doubt of their mental well being, or have been out right insane. Give us the ability to fight back without reprocussions. The world would be a safer place in my mind if they did.

 

[ScottRiqui]

The one thing, . . . and the only thing, . . . that ever keeps it in check is a full, strong, hard nosed sense of morality, sense of ethics, and sense of justice.

Sadly, the world as we know it has "undiscovered" those traits: opting for a world where morality equals "if it feels good, do it", . . . ethical standards all turn on the pivot of the situational moment, . . . and justice is administered at the end of the gun barrel or from the drone overhead.

Only when the standards of "Thou shalt not..............." are brought back and put into full force, can we ever hope to see a lid on the killing, . . . raping, . . . maiming, . . . and intentional harm inflicted by man upon man.

Except that society as a whole *isn't* going to hell. While these mass shootings are grabbing headlines, the country has been enjoying a steady decline in all types of violent crime for the last twenty or so years.

 

[JimPage]

While the mass shootings are senseless, brutal, and sensational, for all the publicity and comments they elicit -- they are relatively rare. While it would be a good idea not to give them so much publicity and notoriety, it's not likely that the press and especially politicians looking for an excuse to foray into their war on the Second Amendment will ignore the events with the intent of keeping them down.

 

[Slamfire]

The New York Times had a very good article on "Rampage Shootings". Reported incidents go back well into the 19th century. In fact, “Running Amok” is a Malaysian word describing rampage killing and it goes back centuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_amok

According to Malay culture, amok was rooted in a deep spiritual belief. They believed that amok was caused by the hantu belian,[6] which was an evil tiger spirit that entered one’s body and caused the heinous act.

Blaming evil tiger spirits is as good an explanation as gun banners blaming firearms.

What the Times did notice is that reporting of rampage killings increased the frequency. The commercialization of these rampage killings, by the media, increase the number of dead people. You have these seriously disturbed people who might have just killed themselves, but, they see the reporting of other rampage killings in the media. They see how the media keeps box scores of victims, glorifies the murderers in movies, or special reports, pictures of the high count killers, these pictures are posted often, and the light bulb goes off that just if they kill enough people, the media will glorify them too and additionally, they get to hurt all of society.

From a rampage killer’s viewpoint, it is all win-win.

From the media’s viewpoint, rampage killing is all win-win. They get more eyeballs to watch the screen, read the newpaper, grabbing the Nation’s attention allows them to charge more for commercials and make more profit. The media loves dead children and dead attractive women as that pushes ratings even higher.

 

[Jimboh247]

I "voted" mental illness...

But I think there are so many other things that lead up to an incident like this.

Media coverage glamorizing and making these killers "famous"..

Violent video games that allow the mentally degranged to blur the line between fantasy and reality.

Lack of Parental control of children. Give the kid what he wants just to shut him up.

This generation of kids that are so self absorbed and feel a sense of entitlement. The world owes them everything, and they'll do whatever it takes to get what they want.

I could go on and on. Conspiracy theories, New World Order, a hoax, governemt coverup.....

But would we have a debate if the killer had used one of his swords?

That would be a big NO!

 

[Nathan]

Mental illness is one.

Gun free(defenseless target) zones is another.

Civil unrest due to the majority of Americans not having real representation in Washington is a third. Whether we want to state it or hide from it, neither Obama or Romney was a good choice for most Americans, but the rich manipulate the elections by buying the media exposure, ads, etc to create the result they want.

New levels of intense stress put on people to make them perform for the group...