People Kill People
After another high-profile shooting death in the US, there is obviously going to be more discussion about gun ownership. Especially since the person killed was a proponent for guns and had apparently previously said defended gun violence. I get it though, because guns aren't the problem.
People are.
Guns are inanimate objects by themselves, the same as a knife, a stick, or a rock. They are mindless, which is why "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is so pervasive. Yet, this inevitably should lead to the question about people themselves, and their capabilities to manage themselves. At least to me it is pretty obvious that the mental health of society has been degrading for a long time, so more "normal" people are more prone to kill people than they were earlier, because the new normal in terms of mental health, is unhealthy.
Banning guns doesn't improve mental health, because as we have unfortunately seen, knives or cars can be used as weapons also. Having said that, shouldn't there be an attempt to keep obvious weapons out of the hands of mentally unhealthy people anyway? Still, it is not a solution to the problem, because if mental health keeps degrading, those healthy people already with guns will eventually be pulled into the unhealthy category anyway.
Society is sick.
I would posit that compared to forty years ago, the average health of people in most western countries at least has fallen, across all the factors that matter. Physical health has fallen with more obesity and chronic illness now prevalent. Mental health has fallen with the likes of more anxiety, depression and schizophrenia nowadays. Emotional health has decreased which ties in with mental health, but can also include other factors like self-management and patience. And of course, social health has been ravaged, with less sense of community and more disconnection as people hide behind their screens and under headphones.
If we want to make any inroads into reducing violence in society, we are going to have to improve wellbeing across the board. The focus has to shift from economic wellbeing for the few, to human wellbeing for the many. And of course, the economy will have to shift in order to incentivise the activities that support wellbeing, rather than profits at the expense of wellbeing.
This is the largest obstacle.
Because the reason that profits keep climbing and the wealthier get wealthier, has been the economic model that has led society into this continual and accelerating decline of human health. There have always been sick people in society, but now the centre of the distribution has shifted pushing more people into the volatile ranges, where there is higher risk of more extreme behaviours.
Are you willing to give up your profits?
All of the corporations looking to make profits do so because of the investors in the company, from the largest funds and institutions, to the retirement funds and private people. Everyone wants to maximise their wealth, so the investment goes into the corporations with the highest returns, even if they are a net cost to wellbeing.
We are all sick, aren't we?
The decline is rapidly approaching a point of no return, so if there isn't a reversal in how we organise ourselves in this world, few, if any, are going to survive what is to come. And the way down is going to be increasingly difficult for us all - and our health will suffer even more.
We are people, and we are killing ourselves.
Taraz
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Social problems are not a cause, but a consequence. Factors such as poverty, high inflation, economic problems, chronic problems in healthcare and education, and limited government support reduce the level of well-being in society. As well-being decreases, people's propensity to commit crime increases. As people acquire something, they experience the fear of losing it. Someone with a fear of losing it doesn't tend to commit crime. Conversely, someone who has nothing is more likely to become a potential criminal.
And this is what we have been seeing for a long time, and doing nothing about. It is going to get worse, isn't it?
Direct and to the point. The things causing obesity and chronic illness are the same as what's causing mental health problems. We literally are slowly killing ourselves. Then add social media and loss of meatspace connection and no wonder we're losing our minds. I guarantee there will be people online applauding Charlie being shot as well, which shows how far we're falling.
It is systemic extinction.
For sure. Just as there would be if someone on ethe left got shot. Few seem to recognise how sick we are.
The decline in mental and emotional health is evident everywhere, even in my country. I think it can't be overlooked anymore. If we want to make a difference, we need to focus on improving our wellbeing rather than just treating symptoms with policy changes.
What kinds of things are you seeing there that indicate the decline? It is a bit of a different culture than here, so it is interesting to get your thoughts.
I see people in my country have become insensitive against the social events in the country, they get used to every new abnormal. As for mental health, they seem to have lost tolerance with each other, ready to show violence.
Has there been a change in things like open drug usage?
Crime under 18, mostly killing.
It is clear that social violence has spread not only to Western countries but also to many countries. The behavior of the Nepalese protesters is also an example. I think that the values of people today have deteriorated greatly due to the depression created by the economic model. There is a lack of tolerance in society to respect and listen to the opinions of others. A program to enhance human values is needed to reduce social violence.
I don't know if tolerance is ever going to be enough. Acceptance might be.
Gun violence is still a thing in the US, because the authorities haven't taken it seriously as they should. Until it affects them directly they don't care, even if half the population dies from gun violence. That's the problem, the people that are supposed to care about us are only interested in themselves. So far they book their profits through our sweat and blood they are okay. It's so pathetic.
The majority of the government will defend guns, because they don't want to upset their constituents.
As long as we focus more on economic and financial health than the well-being of the people, then the problem will keep on escalating. People don't care if you're living well and grow through one or two problem as long as they get what they want, they don't care.
It is the same as a gun. People are fucked up, when someone value materials wealth above human then the problem will never cease. Like you said, humans are the problem. guns on their own like other harmful objects are inhumane and can do no harm without human wielding them.
The kind of society we have these days doesn't help as well. Each and every one to their parents. There is no communal relationship that puts people first. People in relationship too only care about themselves. As long as it is about 'me', then it only takes intentional action from us all to make the difference.
I was talking with clients about this today. Everyone has been taught that the most important person in the world is themselves and their main goal in life is to make themselves happy. No matter the cost to others.
Humans are broken, not fractured, broken; generally speaking of course and not every one. How did this happen? No clue. Is it reverseable? Yes. Will that happen? Nope.
Yeah, I don't see it happening unless something cataclysmic arrives.
Yep.
The burning Nepal is another example where the youth took on the system to overthrow the government. Being a small nation, we would have expected a peace and harmony but the corruption (wealthier getting wealtheir) took on the public and get agitated. May be there could be more to it. But for the time being this is what appears to other... if the recent shooting was the result of gun culture then why not others ? There could be more angles to it....the era is considered to be the most impatient one. They only see killing as a solution to all issue.
I suspect there will be more of it, but what tends to happen is that small groups use the masses as a way to push their own outlier agendas and get violent. It is going to be a terrible few years ahead.
My Facebook feed has been flooded with people shaming others for being happy this happened. While I am not happy it happened at all, I have a hard time appreciating the moral high ground from people who think mental health isn't real and who also continue to rationalize away gun violence. There was also another school shooting yesterday. Did that receive the same level of outrage? Based on what I am seeing... No.
School shootings are just a normal part of life there now it seems - they don't get enough eyes for the advertisers...
Ain't that the truth...
Yes, I read about Charlie Kirk just this morning. It was said that the very moment when he was talking about mass shootings was when he got shot.
I feel your thoughts. I understand the fact that people kills people but tools like guns and knives are the major things to do that.
Let’s think of it this way. Don’t you think when some people find themselves in possessions of gun, they change? I mean, they will see themselves as people who are now powerful and use their weapons to harm people.
If my say can be valid in this world, I’ll like them to place a ban on guns.
I know that will never change the mindset of people but may reduce killings.
Let’s take mass shootings as an example. If there is a ban placed on guns, people won’t have to die due to the cause of stray bullet. How about that?
Reality is quite a sad one, we keep circling the same debate about guns and keep ignoring the bigger picture, if society itself is crumbling, no ban or policy tweak will fix it. Health and community need to come first
But the key tenant of the Republican party in US is that when wealthy get wealthier then this wealth flows down to the rest of people... I guess you are not a believer in "Trickle - Down Economics" :)
It used to trickle down, when there were workers. But the AI and robots don't care about what they earn.....yet.
I don't think it really ever trickled down...
There was a mouse Utopia experiment, Universe 25, conducted by John B. Calhoun. Rats were allowed to live in a predator-free environment with all the resources they needed. As the rat population increased, they began to show social pathologies. Their environment was meant to hold more than 3,000 mice, yet the population peaked a bit over 2,000 as the mice started to exhibit social pathologies. Eventually, the population collapsed and was headed to extinction. Another experiment was conducted with Norwegian rats with similar results.
People are possibly more resilient than rats, one would hope. But there may be some social consequences to overcrowding that are inherent to large societies.
As you point out, we have developed coping mechanisms such as mental health therapy. I would argue that religion also falls into that category of coping mechanisms. It's hard to be dysfunctional or sin out in the desert alone. These things matter most in a social setting where unacceptable behavior affects others and then rebounds to the affected individual.
Human population has not yet peaked. However, it has been slowing down and is expected to eventually decline in a few decades. There is no telling if humans are mirroring the Universe 25 experiment. But if we were, we could expect an escalation of dysfunctional behaviors over the coming years.
Something that would mitigate such a doomsday scenario is that humans have ways of removing dysfunctional people from society, but this usually only occurs after they have caused harm to others, which in turn causes their victims to suffer their own dysfunctions.
yes.. guns are just tools. WE must fix the root problem.. mental/emotional health. If other countries can do it, usa can do it too..
A lot of comments about the irony of him claiming that some gun deaths are an unfortunate but necessary reality, and then being shot, himself.
There seems to be this idea that he had never contemplated that he might one day be shot, and that his end somehow disproves his position.
The real irony is that he knew saying that would increase the chances somebody would shoot him; but he said it anyway because he was brave and it's true.
People who aren't brave and have no appetite for truth are kicking an own goal here.
You would think so, but in reality, it hasn't happened this time around. Instead, it has been mostly finger-pointing and further division of US society. Of course, Trump and company immediately blamed the liberal left for the assassination without so much as a suspect. Then, once a suspect was found, it turned out he was from a gun-loving, conservative police household, where the sicko was SO FAR RIGHT that he thought the tone of the podcaster was not extreme enough. The whole situation is completely fucked!