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Zonie63 -> RE: Why is it? (9/8/2013 6:58:42 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: brokendom111
All the major shooters of the last 15 years or so have been severely mentally ill but no-one on the left or in the govt. cares to address that fact it seems.
I would not agree that "no one" on the left or in the government cares to address the problem with mental illness in this country, although I'll concede that not enough is being done. Too much societal attention is being placed on guns and weapons, without addressing the real causes of mental illness, violence, or even terrorism and wars. It's a mentality which puts the cart before the horse, and I've seen it applied in other areas of governmental policy.
For example, during the Cold War, the big issue was arms limitation talks, as if that was the be all and end all of preventing war. The best way to prevent war is to reach out the hand of friendship and brotherhood, to reduce the tensions and points of disagreement so that our adversaries can become our friends. Reducing the supply of weapons doesn't do shit. As the old saying goes "Nobody forgets where they buried the hatchet."
The same mentality is operating today, as the big fear about Iran is that they might get WMDs. Nothing about trying to make peace with them or ameliorate the tensions in that region, probably because it doesn't suit the U.S. government or ruling class.
Many of the same misguided thought processes also take place in the debate on guns. Alluding to what you mentioned, not enough is being done for the mentally ill, poor, or disadvantaged in this country.
We also don't really take a good hard look at the causes of mental illness and the general level of stress and pressure which is put on people in their daily lives. The most society will try to do is medicate and/or warehouse the mentally ill, which isn't much of a solution, but even then, it's a low priority and budgets are tight these days. So, there just aren't enough resources to deal with the problem.
Face it, we have a society that just doesn't care about the sufferings of others UNTIL they do something violent, and then everyone starts wringing their hands wondering about why these things happen.
I've seen the mentality displayed in society quite frequently. Someone might be "whining" (a popular term used in this forum) and perhaps seem a bit off and clearly in emotional pain, yet how are they treated? People tend to be rather harsh and unfeeling, telling people to "man up" and that "shit happens, deal with it." Things like that. That is, until they're driven to the verge of suicide or murder, and then people suddenly do a 180 and start being nice and conciliatory: "Oh you have so much to live for" or "Please don't hurt anybody."
It's ironic that with some of these mass shooters who survive, the government magically finds the money to hire armies of psychiatrists and resources for mental health treatment after they commit murder, but before they committed murder, they couldn't get shit.
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