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Gibson writes: "Since we're the only country in all the world that has the unique problem of four mass shootings in just two weeks, there's very clearly something we can do that needs to be done. Here are 5 basic solutions that will cut down on the underlying, cultural causes of mass shootings in America."

A student writes in as a memorial book Emilio Hoffman the victim of Tuesday's school shooting at a candle-light vigil on June 10, 2014 in Troutdale, Oregon.  (photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
A student writes in as a memorial book Emilio Hoffman the victim of Tuesday's school shooting at a candle-light vigil on June 10, 2014 in Troutdale, Oregon. (photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images)


5 Ways to Stop Mass Shootings In America

By Carl Gibson, Reader Supported News

11 June 14

 

"Every time we have intense saturation coverage of a mass murder, we expect to see one or two more within a week.”
– Dr. Park Dietz, forensic psychiatrist

 

"Enjoy the rest of your day, and rest assured this will all happen again very soon."
– Michael Moore, after the Santa Barbara shooting

anta Barbara. Seattle Pacific University. Las Vegas. Portland, Oregon. These four mass shootings happened all in the span of roughly two weeks, and the last two happened within three days of each other. The gun nuts are still relying on the same “Now is not the appropriate time to talk about gun reform,” “There’s nothing we can do about it anyway,” and “If only the victims were armed” arguments. But all of those have been made null and void in the latest round of mass shootings.

Mass shootings are happening so often now, there will never be an “appropriate time” to talk about gun reform. More guns won’t solve the problem, since all of those killed in the Las Vegas shooting were armed – two police officers and one civilian. And since we’re the only country in all the world that has the unique problem of four mass shootings in just two weeks, there’s very clearly something we can do that needs to be done. Here are 5 basic solutions that will cut down on the underlying, cultural causes of mass shootings in America.

1. Make School Suck Less

A lot of mass shootings that happen in schools are committed by current or former students who feel slighted by the school system and feel the need to take revenge on the cliques of people who resemble their bullies. For most school shooters, the targets are jocks, cheerleaders, teachers, and administrators. But the biggest bully that provokes school shootings is the school system itself.

Having grown up in public schools and also having spent a night in county jail, I can say with certainty that the two are very similar. In both school and jail, you’re confined to an intensely structured routine, everyone is your superior, you can’t go anywhere without forming a line against the wall, you’re forbidden from speaking without first asking permission, there are very few windows, the food is nutritionally deficient, and you’re expected to sit perfectly still while being lectured or be punished. The only difference is it doesn’t cost money to leave the school.

Is it any wonder that when we treat all students like prisoners, some of them are compelled to commit violent crimes? We could easily make school much more pleasant by including curriculum that’s more hands-on and visual, and less eyes-front and aural. We could feed our kids breakfasts and lunches made of fresh, local, organic food rich in the vitamins and minerals that kids need to recharge their bodies and develop their brains. We could make recess and outdoor activity as vital to education as math and science. We could redesign school buildings to let in more light and make school seem like less of a dark, ominous place. And, most important, we could make it a policy to consistently remind kids that life gets SO much better after graduation, and to just stick with it.

If we were to radically transform our schools in small ways like this, it would greatly lessen the chances a student snapped and brought a gun to school.

2. Cover Victims, Not Shooters

The aftermath of the mass shooting in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater was both saddening and uplifting in that the media focused a lot of their coverage on the circumstances and lives of the victims. Johnathan Blunk was a Navy veteran and father of two who threw himself on top of his girlfriend, sacrificing himself to save his partner. Gordon Cowden was a 51-year-old Texas man who owned a small business, traveled the world, and took bullets for his children so they could escape the theater unharmed. 24-year-old Jessica Ghawi was a sports journalist who eerily had dodged a mass shooting in a Toronto mall just a month earlier.

Unfortunately, there was also the story of James Holmes, a profoundly creepy recluse who had booby-trapped his apartment prior to loading up his car for the act of mass murder he committed against a group of innocent, unarmed moviegoers. And we heard far more about James Holmes than any of the victims. British satirist and broadcaster Charlie Brooker made a video summing up everything the media does wrong in the wake of a mass shooting. Thinking back to the Aurora shooting, the US media played out the entirety of that same predictable script.

Roman culture had a system we should adopt for mass shooters, which was called “Damnatio Memoriae.” It literally translates to “Damnation of Memory.” Roman society made it a habit to erase the names, images, and memories of traitors and others who brought shame to Rome. If our 24-hour news media instead focused its coverage on the backgrounds, interests, and circumstances of each victim in a mass shooting while completely omitting the name and history of the shooter, it would stigmatize perpetrators of mass shootings as traitors to the country whose names don’t deserve to be remembered.

The Sun News Network in New Brunswick, Canada, set this example recently by publishing an op-ed declaring that, after a shooting that killed several police officers, they would devote their coverage to the grieving families of the victims and celebrate the lives of those lost rather than publishing the name of the killer or posting his photo. Major American media networks should follow this example of responsible news coverage and encourage the damnation of memory of mass murderers.

3: Mass Shootings Are Now Terrorist Attacks, Shooters Are Now Terrorists

After the recent shooting at Seattle Pacific University, comedian Michael Ian Black tweeted:

“Seattle shooting. Here's the rules:
1. Muslim shooter = terrorist
2. White shooter = mental illness
3. Black shooter = culture of violence.”
– @michaelianblack

The word “terrorist” has unfairly been connected only to acts of violence committed by radical Muslims, even though any violent act committed with a preconceived political agenda is an act of terrorism. The Las Vegas shooting in which a Tea Party flag and a swastika were placed over corpses? Terrorism. The Santa Barbara shooting in which a distraught man delivered a misogynist manifesto on YouTube before killing women? Terrorism. The Virginia Tech shooting in which a student mailed his own manifesto to the media? Terrorism.

The media could do a great service to everyone by discontinuing the practice of turning mass murderers into cultural icons. There is, however, a universal dislike in our culture for terrorists. Potential would-be mass murderers may rethink their idea of a final grand revenge plot if they’re guaranteed to be a universally-loathed terrorist rather than a misunderstood anti-hero striking back against a perceived injustice.

4. Empower Gun Owners Not Affiliated with the NRA to Speak Out Against Them

It’s more obvious than ever that we need a basic policy of enhanced background checks for people buying guns. It’s perfectly reasonable to require a gun buyer wait 3 days while merchants make sure the person buying the gun hasn’t committed any prior violent crimes, been institutionalized, or been diagnosed or prescribed medication for paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or chronic depression. It won’t stop all gun deaths, but according to recent research by ProPublica, keeping guns away from those with mental illness would have reduced gun deaths over the last decade by 100,000. 95 percent of the reduction would be from suicide prevention.

Unfortunately, the National Rifle Association successfully led the charge against a bill in Congress that would have established these background checks, despite vast public support. It could be argued that blood from a large number of gun-related deaths since the defeat of the background checks bill is on the hands of the NRA. Due to their immense reserves, the NRA was able to lobby the shit out of Congress and scare members into voting down even the most watered-down background checks bill. They even had the balls to robocall homes in Newtown, Connecticut, to support the defeat of the background checks bill, despite the the fact that community was still reeling from losing 20 young children in a senseless mass shooting.

If responsible gun owners who support common sense reform like background checks were to collectively speak out against the NRA, and if NRA members withdrew their membership over the NRA’s extreme positions, it would significantly reduce the NRA’s clout on Congress.

5. Divest from Gun Manufacturers

Divestment is an easy and effective way for regular people to fight back against the gun manufacturers who largely make up a large part of the NRA’s funding base. It’s worked well in the fight against climate change as students are pressuring universities to divest their endowments from the fossil fuel industry, as Stanford recently did. And there are easy ways to get involved.

The Campaign to Unload, which began in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, is successfully getting organizations on board in their effort to “unload” money from 401(k) retirement plans currently invested in owners of gun manufacturers like the Cerberus investment group. By getting large investors like pension funds to divest their millions from gun manufacturers refusing to adopt even the simplest of reforms like universal background checks and smarter gun technology, gun manufacturers are then persuaded into supporting these reforms. Everyone starts to listen when you hit them in the wallet.

Will we prevent every mass shooting from happening in the future? No. Is it reasonable to knock on the doors of gun owners and demand they turn their weapons over to the government? Of course not. But with some simple reforms addressing our culture of violence, we can significantly reduce the occurrence of mass shootings and make our streets and schools a little bit safer.

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