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I have no interest in owning a gun, not because of any strong feelings towards them, but because I just simply have no interest in them. I have about as much interest in guns as I do in motorcycles. I don’t own a motorcycle, or have any desire to own one, but I have no problem with other people owning motorcycles.
What I do have a strong interest in, are my rights; specifically, the rights given to you and me as outlined in the Constitution. One of which is the right to keep and bear arms. I am suspicious and leery of anyone trying to reign in or limit any of the rights I have guaranteed to me as a citizen.
Watching the news, or reading newspapers, one would easily get the impression that gun violence is out of control. Shootings and mass shootings are a common occurrence and guns need to be regulated as they pose an immediate public health and safety concern. But numbers suggest otherwise.
In 2014, guns killed a total of 33,599 Americans. At face value, this appears to be an immediate public health concern. However, suicide killed 42,773 Americans. Drug overdoses killed 51,966 Americans, and alcohol-related deaths killed 88,000 working age (20-64) Americans. That is 1 out of 10 Americans ages 20-64 died due to alcohol. With a total of 182,739 deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, and alcohol combined, compared to 33,599 from guns, I would argue that these issues deserve to be at the front and center of media coverage and political campaigns. So why aren’t they?
Well, that’s easy. Mental health awareness, substance abuse treatment, and the like don’t make good headlines. They don’t increase viewership or sell magazines and they don’t make you afraid of anything.
Fear is the best motivator. Fear gets people out to vote and spend money. There are a lot of people making a lot of money off of fear mongering these days.
The media is constantly feeding us things to be afraid of, and operates by creating a climate of fear. The truth is we live in one of the safest times in human history. There are no world wars, crusades, or empires conquering and pillaging each other. Violent crime in America is the lowest it’s been since the early 1960’s, and you are more likely to be killed by your television falling on you, than by a terrorist (yes, seriously.) Creating an aura of fear to push through legislation isn’t a viable solution to our problems. All it does is skew people’s perception on the world around them and limits their ability to think about issues logically and rationally.
Our problem isn’t so much the guns as it is a culture of violence, and lack of adequate mental health treatment.
We live in a violent society. Much of our music, films, and video games depict acts of indiscriminate, random, and unexplained violence. We taboo sex in our society more than most Western countries and replace it with violence. We’ve also become more isolated in the digital age. Opting for Facebook friends over real ones, virtual reality over actual reality, and texting over a conversation.
The issue of mental health is especially important for males. Men are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. Seven out of ten substance abuse treatment admissions are male. It’s also of note to point out that males carry out violent crimes by an overwhelming majority.
I don’t believe men are more violent by nature than women. But I can say we are conditioned differently by society in a way that makes us prone to carry out violent acts. We are taught we have to be tough and to never show weakness. Somewhere along the way asking for help and discussing our issues with someone became labeled as weakness. It is not a stretch to correlate the emotional isolation of men to behaviors like substance abuse or violence, one being a coping mechanism, the other a lashing out response.
For us as a society, the issues of gun violence and violent crime are better viewed through the lens of mental health treatment and a conversation on the values we instill in our young boys. But looking towards Washington D.C. or [insert State capital] for change can be disappointing. It’s been my observation that when people change the way they think and act, governments follow suit.
On a personal level, a small willingness to connect, interact, and try to understand one another is a step in the right direction toward a real solution. Peace and brotherly love sounds like a pipe dream, a big fat pie in the sky, but I’m more willing to set my sights there to enact change than to give up my constitutional rights based on a manufactured climate of fear. (All statistics taken from the CDC)
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quick update … one of our former clients is one of the men that was murdered in the City of Chicago on Christmas day.
“We live in a violent society. Much of our music, films, and video games depict acts of indiscriminate, random, and unexplained violence.” It’d be more accurate to not hide the facts; that our culture of violence is accepted more to male victims. It’s far more common to see men harmed in entertainment than women due to conditioned male disposability. It’s not entirely that however as most entertainment mediums have more men than women so violence happens more to them as their the most represented but when theirs a female Nero she’s never shown taking hits like the male heroes do.… Read more »
Well stated .. Go to a movie and watch the audience reaction when a women is hit by a man and you’ll here the use expletives against the man. Watch their reaction when a women hits a man and you get “you go girl.”
Either of you a fan of The Walking Dead? Think back to the opening of season 7 and imagine that either of the two victims beaten to death with a baseball bat covered in barbed wire in such graphic detail, was a woman.
The point is, you can’t. It will never be allowed to happen.
Nice to see it’s back up …
This blows my mind. Here we have an article that could clearly have potential for interaction/discussion and it’s already off the front page. How come?
What I do have a strong interest in, are my rights; specifically, the rights given to you and me as outlined in the Constitution. One of which is the right to keep and bear arms. I am suspicious and leery of anyone trying to reign in or limit any of the rights I have guaranteed to me as a citizen. Watching the news, or reading newspapers, one would easily get the impression that gun violence is out of control. Shootings and mass shootings are a common occurrence and guns need to be regulated as they pose an immediate public health… Read more »
Hi Tom Marry Christmas ! “Two words I like you to keep in mind when thinking about men in today’s society … “helplessness” and “hopelessness.” These are two common threads I’ve encountered while working with adult and adolescent addicts.” The other day I watched a YouTube video of a lecture made by a professor of psychology , a specialist in personally disorders . He said 70% of all addicts can also be diagnose with a personality disorder. The few addicts I have known in my life told me they started using as very very young. Some as really as 10-11… Read more »
Hello Iben … A Merry Christmas and happy Holidays to you. My wife and I are waiting for “the call” from my daughter to let us know the grandkids are up so we can head over. Generally speaking, personality disorders aren’t diagnosed in children but can be in late adolescents. In children, the symptoms are similar to other disorders. In so far as addictions and age ranges. When I started in the industry (15 years ago), I’d encounter clients start using drugs in 7th or 8th grade, but sadly in recent years I’m encountering clients who started using as young… Read more »
I am no professional – however I would like to comment on the idea that “in America people are quick to medicate, especially with boys.” Could it be because boys are not taught to deal with the myriad of HUMAN emotions, like fear, sadness, and anger? Also, since boys are not taught to express emotions, or cry when they feel like it, everything they feel is suppressed and pent up. All those emotions manifest themselves in ways that can be unpleasant, so rather than raising boys to deal with emotions, and stress that by doing so is okay, medication will… Read more »
Irma, good questions and observation on your part. It’s my personal opinion that although repression of some emotions may have some impact, I don’t believe it’s at the core. Boys simply act differently then girls. They’re rambunctious and love to take chances. Boys, by nature are more active and psychologically thrive on danger and excitement. As dangerous as stifling emotions is stifling their risk taking and physical activities. As I stated, I work with adolescent addicts in a residential setting. Part of these kids addictions are the behaviors surrounding their addiction. When they break down their feelings surrounding an event,… Read more »
Tom Can you tell us more about what you say here “As I stated, I work with adolescent addicts in a residential setting. Part of these kids addictions are the behaviors surrounding their addiction. When they break down their feelings surrounding an event, we find that they get as much out of performing the act (crime) as they do when they use.” Are they addicted to the excitement of crime,cruelty , rape , the feelings of power over a victim, ? Are they actually addicted to the fun of harming others and society ? I hope not ! That boys… Read more »
Are they addicted to the excitement of crime,cruelty , rape , the feelings of power over a victim, ? Are they actually addicted to the fun of harming others and society ? I hope not ! That boys and even many girl love the rush of feeling more alive when they take part in certain acts, that I can understand . But I do not understand what you mean when you say they are addicted to the act itself … Can you tell us more ? Clarification … They aren’t addicted to the “act” itself but the feeling (rush) that… Read more »
Hi Tom
“On a final personal note … sadly I will be retiring this year. I’ve been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and it’s time that I move on. ”
I admire the work you do,and the fact that you have such an unusual marriage . You have never complained about it here ,not once !
Be careful and take good care of both your health and your wife.
Well stated Ms. Bryant. Boys are not allowed to have a full range of emotions nor does society support them.