I am growing weary of the facile questions from news anchors that suggest somehow we could stop killers like Elliot Rodger if the police did more investigation or we invested more in mental health. The problem is that we have lots of people with varying degrees of mental illness or odd behavior who have a tenuous hold on reality and no good way to tell how dangerous they are or how to fix them. Oh, yes, we evaluate them, but professional opinion is often worse than a coin flip. Even if you find the troubled soul owns three guns and 400 rounds of ammo, theres nothing illegal in that - even if they are seeing a therapist. This young man had enjoyed years of mental health services. But people are not faulty cars where a diagnosis leads to a simple fix. Unless or until we can create a society where policy reflects the best thinking of grown-ups, we are doomed. I, for one, find myself weary of living among self-righteous guys with guns and a bad attitude toward women who think they have all the answers. These are often the same ill-educated yahoos who deny climate change and think the government is coddling folks on welfare. When will we stop letting these guys bully us?
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 21:28:57 +0000
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