Are Men to Blame For America’s Trend of Gun Violence?

There are about 32,000 deaths related to guns per year in the United States, and most of the shooters are men.

Of these, a relative minority are the result of mass shootings. Yet, somehow, conversations around gun violence seem to be central to these events, and are sparked in public discourse whenever a new incident occurs. Emotions are projected onto these events, politicians use them for personal gain and as a part of their rhetoric, we see policy altered in the days after, and obsess over them again and again in the media.

The reality is, the majority of these are suicides. Homicides. Accidents. Not mass shootings.

And yet, mass shootings gain the most attention. They are seemingly an American phenomenon and have become synonymous with the culture of America around the globe.

People point to relationships that they deem causal: between violence and mental illness, between violence and substance intoxication, between violence and the media, between violence and availability of guns, or between violence and loose firearms legislation. Few are viewing these incidents in a broader scope, and examining the underlying causes behind this series of devastating incidents. Are the fact of guns, their availability and their use in such a destructive manner, the cause of a problem or the symptom?

Guns are here to stay. It has been estimated that U.S. civilians own over 300 million firearms. It is unrealistic to think that these firearms—about 93 guns per 100 people – are going to disappear. Regardless of stricter gun laws, these numbers will only continue to grow. Firearms manufacturing and sales are a multi million dollar industry in the US with support from millions of Americans. Many people use them for hunting, while many others are collectors. In perspective, mass shootings are a rarity.

So this begs the question: is it human behavior related, or would policy and stricter gun control actually make a difference? It seems that the most common perpetrators have no regard for the law and nothing left to lose. And those who have nothing left to lose are the most dangerous.

Guns are embedded in the American identity. They are intrinsically linked with the US economically, but more importantly, they are linked culturally.  This culture was born out of the the advancement of the American frontier, and out of conquering the Wild West. Out of political independence. Personal independence. Firearms were a necessity for a civilian militia at the inception of what we know as the United States of America. They were a necessity for nourishment, for survival, and for protection. The gun is safety, it is a tool to provide food, and above all, it is a symbol of the idea of the right to self-government. It is a part of the American Dream; one which places the needs of the individual above the needs of the collective.

These embedded associations, the culture that surrounds the gun as an object, could lay the groundwork for someone who may want to use it to kill as many people as they can. To some, it can be the ultimate weapon to enact justice against whatever oppressive force perceived as acting against you – women, the workplace, your classmates, or society at large.

Analysis of mass killers have found common threads. They are typically men that feel some level of isolation. Many left behind writings expressing their distaste and resentment for the current social and political climate, as well as certain groups of people. Their greater philosophical reasons – control, race, religion – implicate a culture that perceives death of this nature as the ultimate form of social or collective punishment. They express it as reactionary, to whatever perceived external forces, and push back in a way that they know will be viewed as abhorrent and will get them widespread attention. Many make references to the fame and notoriety they will gain after these events.

The humanity of their victims and the gravity of their crimes isn’t mentioned. In this case, the value of the individual privileged over the collective is extremely harmful. Everything is reduced to rhetoric to fit the narrative of whoever is pleading their case.

A culture reflects a set of group values. America values the individual over the group, the legal right of freedom and autonomy in the face of all else. But the idea of “freedom” is so abstract that it’s hard to put a definition to it – is it freedom from laws that control guns? Or is it the freedom to live in a world where you are not afraid to send your child to school?

Discussions of policy and mental health take too narrow of a view on the issue of gun violence. Of course policy in many instances needs to be updated, and of course support for mental health services needs to be developed. But the conversation surrounding guns needs to open up, to be realistic and stop the comparison between countries, the hypothetical scenarios, and admit that these guns are here to stay, and a clear look at the relationship between culture and gun violence needs to happen. Men, need to stop the violence.

We need to protect our people from ourselves. We need to own up to this. We need to treat the cause, not the symptom.

Photo Credit: MDGovpics/Flickr