It means nothing to a lot of Americans either, except when it’s used for mythical Founding Fathers propaganda. This may not apply to anyone in particular in this thread, but I don’t think anyone will deny that there’s a big overlap of people who favor the second amendment and are desperately trying to get rid of the first (the separation of church and state, in particular), and who don’t seem to mind the disappearance of the fourth. Funny, the fourth amendment can be destroyed in the name of (arguably) increased security, but not the second. It really doesn’t make sense.
Anyway, I’ve said what I have to say about gun control/regulation. Maybe it won’t work, but I don’t see how it would be totally ineffective.
Everyone talking about mental health, ok. What should we do? GM wants to get awareness out there, which is a start. Hotlines, after school programs, church if that helps (and I’m atheist/agnostic, but I recognize there are a ton of good religious people - those badass nuns pissing off the Pope, for example), PSAs, etc. Not to sound like one of those “good old days” people, but kids and teenagers are under way too much unnecessary stress now. Little kids don’t have much free time to play creatively without their crazy parents signing them up for soccer and music lessons and ballet and whatever, which wouldn’t be so bad if the parents didn’t put so much pressure on the kids to excel. They’re like 11 and still aren’t coordinated enough to move like an adult, leave them alone. Did LeBron’s mom force him to play? He turned out ok.
Then there’s school, which is just awful. Standardized tests, before restricted to SATs/ACTs, etc, are now a huge part of the actual curriculum, with the clear message that the student’s future depends on it. With homework loads increasing, school days/years lengthening, decreasing importance of the humanities and recess/gym, science and math being thrown at them when they’re not ready (and usually by unqualified teachers), and just the intense boredom of school, no wonder some snap. The competition for college admissions is also insane, along with the crushing debt that comes with it. So maybe to the parents out there, these are things to keep in mind.
These are still mostly “rich white people” problems, so is that why the killers seem to fit into that category? Could that even be why they target schools? That might be reaching, but unfortunately there might now be enough data points to make a connection. I’m not minimizing inner-city Chicago shootings, but I don’t think they happen for the same reasons as this type (and while we’re raising awareness of killings not covered in the media, I remember hearing that there’s a pattern of gay/trans killings in Chicago that’s basically ignored. I’m sure it’s not limited to there either).
All of that and much more falls under the two words “mental health”.
