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98 percent of mass shootings and 90 percent of all murders are committed by men. Statistics show that since 1982, the majority of mass shootings-54 percent- were committed by white men and 16 percent were black men, according to data from Mother Jones. (Newsweek, John Haltiwanger)
Unspoken rage kills. We are seeing this play out, more and more, as business as usual in our daily lives as we read the news or watch it on public television. Our President sends off angry tweets nightly and gives permission for the hidden anger to come out and rear its ugly head. It is time to put the anger on a leash.
Elliot Rodger, 22 year old student at Santa Barbara City College, killed six people and wounded 13 others in a stabbing and shooting spree before taking his own life.
Rodger, dead now, his work done now, fits so much of a profile of men gone wild. He did leave a diary- in his case- YouTube videos and his rants bare his resentments toward women who never found him attractive enough, as primal a kind of status loss as can possibly be imagined. (Time, author Jeffrey Kluger, May 25, 2014)
I know the acceptance of rage, having lived in a household where my mother accepted abuse from my father and after him, so many of her boyfriends who followed carried that same rage. It was a rage that was silent until the lever was pulled and then a train ride to hell began.
It can move from a silence into a storm.
I know the effect it has on the body and mind. I know what it does to the spirit when you as a child are stuck in the midst of a hurricane of emotions looking for a place to land and a place to brand, so your story can live long past the time you are gone.
Devin Patrick Kelly, 26 year old suspected gunman, was involved in a “domestic situation with his wife and her parents. He opened fire on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs during prayer service on Sunday. His mother-in-law is a member of the the church. Died of a self inflicted gunshot wound.
Statistics show that since 1982 the majority of mass shooting-34 percent- were committed by white men, according to data from Mother Jones. The average age of shooters was 35.
Stephen Paddock, 64, Las Vegas mass shooter. Over 50 dead. Died of self inflicted gunshot wound. (US News,article by Hegley Miller, Roque Planas,and Willa Trey)
It seems there is a burning rage of entitlement from white men in our society and America seems to be silently accepting their rage. This rage has a birth place. Lack of self worth, thinking you should have more power and prestige than you presently may have, not being able to see resolution in one’s daily problems and learned behavior of entitlement from their personal upbringing are some of the suspected themes of our gunmen.
James Holmes, for example, had failed out of his PhD program when he opened fire in a theater in Aurora Colorado. Dylann Roof was unemployed when he gunned down nine people at the end of a prayer service in a Charleston, South Carolina church. (Newsweek, author John Haltiwanger)
It would seem we would want to examine the core reasons for the explosion of silent rage. Whether we are black or white, the male rage exist. Yet even in the midst of our sense of entitlement, we are coming home hungry. Again, it becomes an issue of power. Men have not been taught to utilize compassionate power. Our society only teaches them to conquer or be conquered, to win at any cost.
It is time for men to learn to be disciplined in the art of being their own personal heroes, utilizing courage to be selflessness, being an active person in the development of humility, practicing the power of patience and caring. We men have the capacity to be the facilitators of “fair business,” doing the business of life, in the home and in the business world, conducting all relationships within a humane manner. I believe this is how we become powerful as men. Because when we feel powerless we become silently angry and the world suffers because of our rage. We are more powerful when we speak our truths in compassion. When we treat every relationship as sacred, we honor all of life, including ourselves. It is time we speak of equality.
We have to change how we raise our boys, how we teach them the importance and value of human lives, even their own. We have to teach them the art of connectivity and intimacy in relationships or we will continue to produce results such as these:
Sandy Hook Massacre
2012
27 dead
Adam Lanza on his 20th birthday killed his mother as she slept, killed 26 more, to then kill himself.
Virginia Tech Massacre
2007
32 dead
His violent rage rooted in feeling rejected caused him kill 27 students and 5 teachers, then kill himself.
Orlando Nightclub Shooting
2016
49 dead
Walked into the club Pulse at 2 am and started shooting. Rumors of rejection from gay men in the club and possible association with ISIS.
One of the main symptoms of their rage was the death wish for themselves while taking other lives with them. Also it seems these are men who lack communication skills which can create a sense of helplessness. There is a lack of understanding of the consequences of their behavior will have on their families and communities, as well as themselves.
The rage also includes a sense of entitlement, believing their personal statements of rage are more important than any human lives.
There is a sense of madness our society has created and it is a reflection of the isolation and ego based mindsets that have corrupted the soul and spirit of our society. Our society is crying to be heard, crying for its shared power base.
The lack they feel
as the unspoken voice of a man of power
not feeling empowered is a lack
laced in the rebellious nature
of a fresh wind moving
across a field of wheat pushing
the stocks down to the ground
so they may learn to kiss the ground.
In the midst of their rebellion.
I wonder do they see the blood on the leaves…
the blood at the root.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images