I have not come across any single person promoting more school violence but the path to arrive at safer environments for students is massively heated.  The path that leads to safe schools is complicated and multifaceted.  If there were any easy answers that guaranteed our children’s safe return from school each day, we’d surely have done it a long time ago.

My first argument is that we will not get anywhere on this issue without facing the serious mental health care crisis in this nation.  You can regulate guns, lock doors, install cameras, and arm more people with guns but that will never change the fact that massive numbers of mentally ill children, teens, and young adults are faced with a health care system whose primary focus is on prescribing medication and getting them out the door as quickly as possible, sometimes in worse shape than they were when they arrived on the steps for help.  Addressing gun control without facing this health care crisis leaves us with mentally ill individuals who are resourceful enough to create this kind of destruction despite our efforts to limit gun access and secure schools.  It would be a band-aid on a wound that will continue to bleed and bleed and bleed.

Let’s back up a bit.  If we are going to look at the root causes of this crisis, we must pay attention to the causes of mental illness in these young adults.  The profiles of many mass shooters include childhoods filled with bullying, isolation, and rejection.  Rarely do we find mass murderers with backgrounds filled with loving and supportive friendships.  In some cases, nature has much to do with the mental health of the children born into this world.  Parents, despite their loving efforts to support their struggling children, still find themselves in situations with their own children that are dangerous and potentially lethal.  What is their recourse?  Who and what is available to help them?  Not much…. unless the interest is purely in administering medication that may or may not have an impact.  Access to cognitive and/or behavioral therapy is expensive and often times only accessible to upper middle class families.

I don’t have all the answers and I don’t pretend to, but I do know that if we want to focus on our children and the educational environment, we need to address the root issues and should really consider placing more counselors and psychologists in these environments to help teachers and other school personnel identify children who are risk for violent behaviors.  Of course, the cut in funding for education in recent years has forced cuts of counselors and psychologists in most school buildings across the nation (aside from the counselors in junior highs and high schools whose primary job description is scheduling courses for students, a FAR cry from utilizing them in areas for which they were trained and could potentially have a positive impact on the perceived self worth of children).  Let’s allocate some much needed funding investing in children whose circumstances increase their risk for mental issues.

In conjunction with an overhaul of mental health care, gun laws absolutely need to be changed.  Many people arguing against changes in the law, sadly seem to care more about how the law would impact their own personal life (be it financial or recreational) instead of the potential for a decrease in unnecessary violence and deaths.  The suggestions to put more guns in schools to avoid violence is nothing shy of ludicrous.  I understand that there are armed officers roaming junior high and high school hallways in many parts of the nation BUT the image of guards standing at the doors of every public school in the nation is absolutely NOT the same thing as having district police officers available to schools in times of need.  In my mind, the warmth and care of a school environment immediately becomes cold and scary at the sight of an armed guard standing at the front door.

In violence we forget who we are.  ~Mary McCarthy

My second thought here is that the “Adams” of the world are resourceful enough to find ways around the guard.  We can’t ignore the intelligence of these individuals… just because they are deemed ‘mentally ill’ does not mean that they are stupid in any sense of the word.  One or two armed guard in a building will do absolutely nothing if the shooter doesn’t happen to come across the guard in the process of shooting people and/or the shooter researches and/or observes the behaviors and schedules of the armed guards.  He can kill massive numbers of people by the time a guard gets to him and he doesn’t care if the guard kills him because he planned on killing himself anyway, right?  So, this brings me BACK to the original argument…. identification, support, and respect for individuals who exhibit symptoms of mental illness (in conjunction with a change in gun laws, of course).

More guns in schools means just that… MORE guns in schools.  Great idea proposed by the NRA and surely a huge money maker for them too ((rolling eyes)).  Making efforts to decrease violence by increasing the number of weapons is, well, counter-intuitive.   Quite frankly, I actually think it would create a sort of appeal that might entice shooters due to the extra challenge involved… surely gives the media something else to talk about.  I can hear it now, “despite extra armed guards in every school in the nation, Mr. Disturbed managed to kill a large number of people in School X.”  Let’s face it, we’re talking about people who already know they will get caught and don’t care about dying themselves.

Aside from the need to overhaul mental health care access and revisit gun laws, there are a myriad of other issues that need to be considered including but not limited to human’s exposure to violence in the media, movies, television, and games.   Our society drools over movies that glamorize violence and chomps at the bit to get their hands on the newest violent video games.  There are a number of research studies which show a strong correlation between engaging in violent behaviors and spending hours sitting in front of violent media.  Could part of the puzzle also be about educating parents and other caretakers in the effects of exposure to violent media?  There is a recommendation to put a higher tax on violent video games and movies.  The effectiveness of this approach may come more from the principle and message that this sends to adults who purchase them as opposed to the increase in cost.  We might as well throw in a pamphlet with their sales receipt that summarizes the research on the effects of this type of exposure to violence.  If it gives pause to the purchaser of the media and encourages them to think about the ‘why’ behind the hike in taxes or the research on violence, even for a second, that alone makes it an effective intervention.

The bottom line is that our nation is in trouble.  People with mental health issues should be entitled to care that addresses their needs. Instead of armed guards, schools should be filled with trained mental health care professionals, and teachers who know how to identify and refer students who display warning signs BEFORE they ever even entertain the idea of killing people.  Respect and kindness towards EVERYONE must be a first priority, for adults and children alike.  Sadly, adults are not the best models for respectful behavior in many instances, our last presidential election being a perfect example.

We need to take a long, hard look at ourselves as adults and ask if, in our daily interactions with others, we are contributing to spreading love and light.  I do think that adults engage in an exorbitant amount of low vibration, petty behaviors, which also desensitize children and promote negativity.

What are you doing to promote resolution and healing?

“What Would Love Do?” – A favorite quote among some of my favorite people