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Gun Control (Sick Society)
Oct. 9th, 2015 11:52 pmToday I spent a little bit of time bickering back and forth with some gun nuts on Reddit...yep...highlight of the day (not.) Just had a few thoughts I wanted to write down.
First of all I really think the whole "mental illness is the real problem" thing is a huge cop out. This seems to reflect that thought: http://depts.washington.edu/mhreport/facts_violence.php
In fact, I'll go as far to say that it's a diversion tactic used by both sides of the gun control debate. I'm willing to bet money that many of the mass shooters in this country would not have been diagnosed with a mental illness via DSM-V criteria, besides maybe depression or anxiety (since these are so incredibly common anyway) At the time of the shooting and leading shortly up to it, maybe. But as a whole? I doubt it. Some of these individuals may have suffered from a very recent psychotic episode, but that's hardly something changing the mental health industry can alleviate.
As a whole, I don't think retrospectively looking at these people trying to find indications of how insane they are/were is useful, and I actually think if you were to pick through the history of just about anyone, you can find whatever it is you are looking for (confirmation bias?) Moving on...
Gun control proponents use the mental health talking point to edge in tighter restrictions because they don't want to outright attack the gun ownership camp. They don't have a lot of luck directly attacking, and I mean, I can't blame them for trying something different - nothing seems to work on people convinced they need to own assault weapons - but it's objectively wrong to say mental illness is the biggest contributor to these shootings and gun violence in general.
Gun owner proponents use it to deflect blame from gun ownership itself, because they don't actually have rational reasons for owning assault weapons and large capacity magazines. They know, whether consciously or subconsciously, that there's no good excuse for needing to have such weapons, and they avoid at all costs arguing about that specifically. They have to concoct elaborate theoretical scenarios to justify owning assault weapons, up to and including the government coming to throw them in concentration camps, an occupying army that (apparently?) defeats our military, or post-apocalyptic lawlessness. Even if you specify just assault weapons needing to be banned, they will latch onto you like a blood-thirsty tiger, and claim you're supporting the slippery slope that leads to complete disarmament, etc.
The more I dig into this sector of our society, the more afraid I get. Many of these people advocate for open carry laws everywhere, and I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of children growing up in a world where most people walk around with AK-47s strapped to their backs...nor do I personally want to live in a world like that. Furthermore, a country like that looks more akin to a third world anarchic state than a first world democracy. Open carry laws are a step backwards as far as I'm concerned, and I'm fairly frightened that's the direction we're going.
Then there's this little thought experiment I discovered:
In stand your ground states, you have the right to fire on anyone who you feel is threatening you. So if I see someone with an AK-47 wearing kevlar stalking around a public park, and I feel threatened, then technically I have a right to open fire on them. See where this is going?
What kind of a world is that? I remember sitting in a bar once and a fight broke out to the left of me - a couple punches were exchanged and finally the instigator was escorted to the door...but not before he turned around and flashed his holstered pistol, while looking menacingly at the other guy and everyone else. Would you feel safe after seeing that? The gun ownership camp would probably say something like, "I wouldn't be scared because I have a concealed pistol myself" but of course if that guy rattles a few shots off from the doorway five minutes later, you aren't going to have much time to react...are you?
This whole gun ownership paradigm is just one of many severe ideological problems in this nation. Government can't...and won't...fix it. It is a problem with the people, not the government, and I am beginning to wonder if in the greater scheme of things, that's the root issue with almost all of the political and economic problems we face today. It's the people...not the government.
So how do you fix a sick society?
Also worthwhile reading: http://www.salon.com/2015/06/18/its_not_about_mental_illness_the_big_lie_that_always_follows_mass_shootings_by_white_males/
First of all I really think the whole "mental illness is the real problem" thing is a huge cop out. This seems to reflect that thought: http://depts.washington.edu/mhreport/facts_violence.php
In fact, I'll go as far to say that it's a diversion tactic used by both sides of the gun control debate. I'm willing to bet money that many of the mass shooters in this country would not have been diagnosed with a mental illness via DSM-V criteria, besides maybe depression or anxiety (since these are so incredibly common anyway) At the time of the shooting and leading shortly up to it, maybe. But as a whole? I doubt it. Some of these individuals may have suffered from a very recent psychotic episode, but that's hardly something changing the mental health industry can alleviate.
As a whole, I don't think retrospectively looking at these people trying to find indications of how insane they are/were is useful, and I actually think if you were to pick through the history of just about anyone, you can find whatever it is you are looking for (confirmation bias?) Moving on...
Gun control proponents use the mental health talking point to edge in tighter restrictions because they don't want to outright attack the gun ownership camp. They don't have a lot of luck directly attacking, and I mean, I can't blame them for trying something different - nothing seems to work on people convinced they need to own assault weapons - but it's objectively wrong to say mental illness is the biggest contributor to these shootings and gun violence in general.
Gun owner proponents use it to deflect blame from gun ownership itself, because they don't actually have rational reasons for owning assault weapons and large capacity magazines. They know, whether consciously or subconsciously, that there's no good excuse for needing to have such weapons, and they avoid at all costs arguing about that specifically. They have to concoct elaborate theoretical scenarios to justify owning assault weapons, up to and including the government coming to throw them in concentration camps, an occupying army that (apparently?) defeats our military, or post-apocalyptic lawlessness. Even if you specify just assault weapons needing to be banned, they will latch onto you like a blood-thirsty tiger, and claim you're supporting the slippery slope that leads to complete disarmament, etc.
The more I dig into this sector of our society, the more afraid I get. Many of these people advocate for open carry laws everywhere, and I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of children growing up in a world where most people walk around with AK-47s strapped to their backs...nor do I personally want to live in a world like that. Furthermore, a country like that looks more akin to a third world anarchic state than a first world democracy. Open carry laws are a step backwards as far as I'm concerned, and I'm fairly frightened that's the direction we're going.
Then there's this little thought experiment I discovered:
In stand your ground states, you have the right to fire on anyone who you feel is threatening you. So if I see someone with an AK-47 wearing kevlar stalking around a public park, and I feel threatened, then technically I have a right to open fire on them. See where this is going?
What kind of a world is that? I remember sitting in a bar once and a fight broke out to the left of me - a couple punches were exchanged and finally the instigator was escorted to the door...but not before he turned around and flashed his holstered pistol, while looking menacingly at the other guy and everyone else. Would you feel safe after seeing that? The gun ownership camp would probably say something like, "I wouldn't be scared because I have a concealed pistol myself" but of course if that guy rattles a few shots off from the doorway five minutes later, you aren't going to have much time to react...are you?
This whole gun ownership paradigm is just one of many severe ideological problems in this nation. Government can't...and won't...fix it. It is a problem with the people, not the government, and I am beginning to wonder if in the greater scheme of things, that's the root issue with almost all of the political and economic problems we face today. It's the people...not the government.
So how do you fix a sick society?
Also worthwhile reading: http://www.salon.com/2015/06/18/its_not_about_mental_illness_the_big_lie_that_always_follows_mass_shootings_by_white_males/
