Last week, a Virginia Tech/Northern Illinois memorial service was dedicated to the victims at the University’s EMU.
It seems that when a shooting occurs, people first wonder who did it, and was the shooter killed. Once they get that comfort back, their next concern becomes WHY he did it, but even then, it seems that they want to blame everything on the young shooter, ignoring many bigger, deeper factors. As a result, we always end up dealing with this phenomenon through healing rather than prevention.
A better question is: Why do THEY do it? The obvious commonalties among the shooters are that they’re mentally ill, and they exercised their Second Amendment right. The first commonality is very hard to diagnose, and the second is a civil right, which makes the combo very deadly and unpredictable.
One of the two factors has to be eliminated, obviously the second one, since mental illnesses will always exist. The first step will be for Americans to recognize that the Constitution was written by humans in a different era and society, that it was not perfect back then, and is even less so today. It takes a lot to approve a Constitutional Amendment, especially when it involves so much money and fear, for so long. Even then, the change will not happen overnight, and it will take decades before we can notice real improvement. Should those be reasons to give up, or does the horror have to become a daily phenomenon (in schools) before we decide to really do something about it? Solutions and successful models are available, if we want to look outside our borders, instead of pretending we’re the best. Guns are like everything else: In a few decades, they get rusty and “die.”
The phenomenon is already daily on American streets, but how did it spread to our innocent young children’s minds and into our schools? Why are they becoming depressed, violent and suicidal? Is it because they’re given hard drugs in high school? Is it because they come from broken families? Is it because both parents work full-time? Is it because of malnutrition (non-organic food)? Is it because of the air they breathe (also full of chemicals)? Is it because of our mental health system (designed for imprisonment rather than healing)? Is it because of our punishment system (harsh laws and overcrowded prisons)? How about all of the above! After all, we are what we eat, drink, breathe, see, hear and feel. America is a world champion in each of these categories, but parents and politicians alike point the finger at someone else, including at children, accusing them of looking for fame.
The answers are not easy, and the solutions are even more complicated, but still possible, if we’re willing to accept some blame and focus on prevention. But until we recognize that our children are hurting, desperate for some love and attention, and hopeless for a better future, we can only expect the situation to get worse.
I believe that fear and individualism are the factors that are driving this country backwards. When I look at these young killers, I don’t feel hate and anger, but rather pain and sadness, because they were born innocent and peaceful, but couldn’t handle all the problems they face everyday in our increasingly overwhelming society, and few people (if any) tried to reach out to help them. When a human being is suffering, everyone should feel their pain; otherwise we’re not worth being called human beings.
Mohamed Jemmali is a member of the UO Arabic Faculty.
Shooters’ motives are hard to pinpoint, but harder to fix
Daily Emerald
April 24, 2008
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