School Shootings

The topic here is school shootings. The shooter usually facing alienation from society; after shootings like these the natural response seems to be “he was not one of us” meaning not normal, not American, or both. It is societies unwillingness to accept its role in failing to prevent these tragic moments that make them even more tragic. I mean to say that because these individuals get pushed to the outer skirts of society that nobody (as there is nobody or very few) can see the turmoil that is being built-up within these individuals. Often the issue of mental heath is brought up.

A large problem with the mental health system is not with the system itself, but with getting those that need the help in the system. To get access to the mental health system it is often the case that a person needs a referral from a professional. There are two issues here. The first being the professional becoming aware of the person, and the second is an accurate diagnosis. The problem is how someone behaves under professional observation and how they act in the community can be very to different things; as such, when society pushes these individuals to the edge of society then often the realization that intervention is needed goes unnoticed: similar to how people look away when they see something they know they should report, but do not want to get involved. These behavioral differences are often the result because the person faces different challenges than they would if they are in their community (as compared to the challenges they are faced when being observed) as well as because the person is fully aware that they are being observed (and just like the rest of us when under observation they are on their best behavior, so to speak). In short, it is in the best interest of communities to look after those with mental illness. Tied to this is how the public views those with mental illness.

We also need to realize that the media reports of school shootings are both sensational (including consisting of a misrepresentation of mental illness) as well as that school shootings are not a new phenomenon. What these media reports do not report is that most people with mental illness are not violent, that their is a whole spectrum of mental illnesses, and those with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violent acts than to be offenders of those acts.