I’m finishing my sixteenth year as an academic and criminologist and I’ve got to say I’m getting pretty tired of blogging about mass shootings. I mean we’ve got to do something about this issue. We’ve got to do something significant in order to create big change. This is a societal (USA) problem that requires us to make sacrifices as a nation in order to protect lives. It shouldn’t be a red or blue thing. It’s a quality-of-life thing. It’s a concern for life.
This week’s ARTICLE focuses on last week’s diluge of mass shootings that took place in multiple states and resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. Like I said, it’s exhausting to think about the number of years we’ve been experiencing these travesties.
Thoughts?
Rachel Sluga says: I agree, on Easter morning one of my friends texted me and told me about a mass shooting that just happened. I looked it up and low-and-behold he was right. Its really sad, but also really repetitive.
Abigail Hendrix says: The numbers alone should be enough to convince people that something more needs to be done. There is no reason for the mass shooting count to be at 144 in the fourth month of the year. I like that the article mentions that there have been rises in places with both strict and not so strict gun laws. While restrictions on gun access may be helpful it should not be the only factor considered, yet it seems to be the one people default too. As many shootings are results of arguments a big factor to consider in this is mental health. Another factor that may be important to consider is how mass shootings are portrayed in the media. Overall looking at all the factors that may affect and contribute to the situation can help inspire the most effective intervention.
Emma Ciriacks says: It is terrifying listening and seeing the constant new feeds of mass shooting. It is so sad. These shootings happen randomly at random time, it’s scary not knowing if anyone of us will be next. It’s hard to think that the US is the only country with this many mass shootings like what are we doing wrong that allows this to happen so frequently. The fact that there has been 144 mass shooting and it is only the 4th month is mind-blowing!
Lindsay Paulus says: I agree that it is devastating to hear the amount of mass shootings there have been so far into this year. 144 is a ridiculous number. It is sad to think about how the U.S. is the only country that has these kinds of problems with mass shootings. It is crazy to me that we have not found a way to prevent these shootings and look into ways to stop this from happening. It is saddening and scary to think about how it can happen whenever and to whomever.
Jenna Roesler says: This article is the first that I’m hearing of this. It’s crazy to think that this wasn’t headlines everywhere; and it’s because we’ve gotten desensitized almost to mass shootings. Like you said, they’ve occurred over the last few decades an insane amount. 144 in a year?! I honestly don’t know how I feel about gun rights in America, I know some people feel very strongly about the subject. I understand the right to protect yourself and how people feel that having guns is a part of that right. But why aren’t we doing more mental health screening before people are allowed to purchase guns? More thorough background checks? I feel like if I wanted to obtain a gun I could easily do it in a day- that needs to change.
Logan Braasch says: First, congrats on your 17th year anniversary ahead of time. Second, I agree—it is very exhausting to think about how long these mass shootings have endured and we do need to act on it. Let’s consider for a moment how 98% of mass shooters are male. While we debate whether movies, videos games, or gun control are more to blame for mass shootings, America makes oversights how these industries themselves have glorified something called “violent masculinity” and how cultural ideas about manhood can lead to interpersonal and relationship violence. For example, psychologist William Pollack formed the idea of a “boy code” in which boys are taught from a very early age to “act tough” and not show their feelings. The result is that boys are put into a box that becomes the perfect breeding ground for violence: “We can’t show any emotion except anger; we can’t think too much or seem too intellectual; we can’t ‘back down’ when someone disrespects us; we have to show we’re ‘tough enough’ to inflict physical pain.” Then they’re taught—if they step out of the box—they risk being seen as “soft,” “weak,” “feminine,” or “gay.” Anything short of full-scale emotional shutdown becomes a source of humiliation and shame, and, in response, young men learn to adopt a “tough” front that so many males put up to shield their vulnerabilities and avoid being ridiculed as “wussies” or “fags” and an endless list of sexist and homophobic put-downs. I, myself, have experienced this from grade school and on. The daily humiliation boys suffer in school (and out) is symptomatic of how peers take it upon themselves to serve as “gender cops” and scrutinize even a whiff of femininity. Qualities like compassion, caring, intellectual, curiosity, fear, vulnerability, even love—basic human qualities that boys have inside of them as much as girls do—get methodically driven out of them by a sexist and homophonic culture that labels these things “unmanly” or “womanly” or “gay” and teaches boys to avoid these labels at all costs. Most importantly, they’re taught that real men turn to violence—not as a last resort—but as a “go to method” for resolving disputes and also as the primary means of winning respect and establishing masculine credibility. These boys are socialized to embrace a set of behaviors designed to prove or assert their masculinity, and taught to use violence (especially in response to threats against their manhood). Therefore, in my opinion, we need to focus more on how societal norms of violent masculinity, mental health stigma, and bullying may lead to or provoke these mass shooting because when we talk about “a culture of violence” in America, we are almost always talking about a culture of “violent masculinity.”
Cailey Russell says: I agree that this is a major problem in the US. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how we should change this. I think that the problem is the people using the guns, not the guns one hundred percent. It’s hard to know if we should target mental health and the reasoning and statics around these mass shooting, or if we should target guns.
Jenna Onley says: I think it is very upsetting that this type of stuff goes on in our country, especially over Easter weekend. That is one weekend that we are supposed to spend time with our families and have a fun time. But I guess not this year. Guns are a huge problem in our world and its very upsetting seeing that so many people were shot and even some were killed. We really need to figure something out for this to not happen anymore.