Real reason for shootings.
Oct. 7th, 2015 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kengrAn item on the local news the other night caught my attention. Seems we had 145 shootings in Portland this year.
And most weren't gang related or while committing a crime (other than the shooting itself being a crime). And almost all were by young men in their teens and twenties.
What was the reason? According to the expert they interviewed it's because these young men have no skills in conflict resolution. They get upset with someone, and if they have a weapon, that's their idea of a solution.
This fits *so* well with a lot of stuff. Because if you think about it, guys that don't have guns will resort to some other weapon. To their fists if that's all they have.
If you are angry, you attack. No other possibility even *occurs* to them. And if you've lived thru that age range as a male, looking back you'll probably recognize that for a good chunk of it you were suffering from *major* anger issues. It's your body trying to adjust to all that testosterone.
The "macho culture" is another factor. It says that non-violent solutions mean you're a wimp, a weakling.
The macho culture is also responsible for the *real* motivation of mass shooters. They feel *entitled* (because they are white and male) to things like jobs, *unearned* respect, and girlfriends.
Add in the lack of skills in how to "resolve" issues other than violently, and guess what?
No, the problem is rarely mental illness. It's *culture*. The unrealistic expectation it instills in young men, and the way it discourages (practically forbids) males from even considering non-violent means of resolving problems.
We really *need* to break this cycle. We gotta get rid of this *stupid* "macho" BS.
Of course, just as with rape culture, we'll be fought tooth and nail by folks who've internalized it as normal.
BTW, I bet that a lot of bullying is related to this. As is the insane "sports team must win at all costs" attitudes in a lot of high school and some colleges. The stuff that lets jocks get away with (literally in some cases) with rape and murder.
And most weren't gang related or while committing a crime (other than the shooting itself being a crime). And almost all were by young men in their teens and twenties.
What was the reason? According to the expert they interviewed it's because these young men have no skills in conflict resolution. They get upset with someone, and if they have a weapon, that's their idea of a solution.
This fits *so* well with a lot of stuff. Because if you think about it, guys that don't have guns will resort to some other weapon. To their fists if that's all they have.
If you are angry, you attack. No other possibility even *occurs* to them. And if you've lived thru that age range as a male, looking back you'll probably recognize that for a good chunk of it you were suffering from *major* anger issues. It's your body trying to adjust to all that testosterone.
The "macho culture" is another factor. It says that non-violent solutions mean you're a wimp, a weakling.
The macho culture is also responsible for the *real* motivation of mass shooters. They feel *entitled* (because they are white and male) to things like jobs, *unearned* respect, and girlfriends.
Add in the lack of skills in how to "resolve" issues other than violently, and guess what?
No, the problem is rarely mental illness. It's *culture*. The unrealistic expectation it instills in young men, and the way it discourages (practically forbids) males from even considering non-violent means of resolving problems.
We really *need* to break this cycle. We gotta get rid of this *stupid* "macho" BS.
Of course, just as with rape culture, we'll be fought tooth and nail by folks who've internalized it as normal.
BTW, I bet that a lot of bullying is related to this. As is the insane "sports team must win at all costs" attitudes in a lot of high school and some colleges. The stuff that lets jocks get away with (literally in some cases) with rape and murder.
