Copeland's Corner: January 25, 2023
A deadly situation that literally threatens all of us at work, school, in the grocery store, at a ballroom dance hall or anyplace we go in an attempt to just live our lives.
Another year, another spate of mass gun violence. As we reel from the mass shootings in the California towns of Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay and Oakland, I ask the question that I always ask in these situations: When will Americans say ENOUGH? When will we stand up to the gun lobby and enact reasonable, sensible gun control laws? Things like background checks, keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and banning assault weapons to start with? When will we do something to reduce the number of firearms in this country? We are a nation of about 330,000,000 people and over 400,000,000 guns. That’s more than one gun for every man woman and child in America. That’s just ridiculous.
The three previously mentioned mass shootings are currently getting wide media attention, but they aren’t the only ones that have occurred this year. Defining a mass shooting as an incident where three or more people are injured or killed, there have been 33 mass shootings in the United States in 2023. We’re only 25 days into the new year and we’ve already had 33 acts of senseless mass violence. I’ll say it again, this is just ridiculous.
The Secret Service released a report on mass shootings today that gives a little insight into what we’re dealing with here. The 72-page report is the result of the analysis of 173 mass casualty attacks between 2016 and 2020 in businesses, schools and churches, covering 37 states. What the report gives us is a roadmap for stopping at least some of the violence. It provides a means of identifying those who are the at the highest risk of committing these atrocities.
The study found that:
1/3 of mass killers have had unstable housing in the last 20 years.
1/4 left final messages such as blog posts and suicide notes prior to the attacks.
All killers had “significant stressors” in the previous five years such as health problems, divorce, financial problems, school expulsions, bullying and disciplinary actions at work.
58% had mental health symptoms prior to the attacks such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and psychotic symptoms. The report makes it clear that the overwhelming majority of people who suffer from mental health issues in this country NEVER engage in crime or violence.
Over half were trying to get retribution for perceived wrongs.
1/4 believed in conspiracy theories or hateful ideologies such as Jewish people are trying to take over the world, the moon landing was faked, and people of Chinese descent are responsible for the Covid pandemic.
2/3 had an online presence of some kind such as a blog, website, or social media on which they post disturbing rants and rhetoric.
Most disturbingly, 3/4 exhibited concerning behavior that caught the attention of family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. Behavior that is described in the report as things “that should have been met with an immediate response.” This includes stockpiling weapons and ammunition and talking about acts of violence.
The signs are all there before most of these killers strike. If we’re alert and DO something about the alarming and disturbing behavior when we witness it, we can stop at least some of the carnage.
In my humble opinion, the solution to what is strictly an American phenomenon can be ended in two ways. First, report your observation of suspicious behaviors to someone in authority, such as the police. In other words, it goes back to, “If you see something, say something.” Secondly, stop supporting politicians who are in the pocket of the NRA. If the NRA gives them an A rating, YOU need to give then an F. Until we change our representation in Washington, we’ll never fully get a handle on this deadly situation. A deadly situation that literally threatens all of us at work, school, in the grocery store, at a ballroom dance hall or anyplace we go in an attempt to just live our lives. The Secret Service report makes it clear that no one is safe anywhere.