In considering the recent shooting in Santa Barbara and the debates on gun control I have the following consideration and a few thoughts on Bullying. Clearly this young man needed help and if he had not had access to guns or knives then maybe the carriage wouldnt have been as severe. But its not the gun makers fault. Its not the law enforcement missing clues. I think it comes down to that we, as a society, the United States in particular has allowed and in many cases admire being disrespectful and condescending toward anyone or anything that we neither understand or towards anything that is different from us or doesnt measure up to our standard. Clearly Elliot Rogers felt as if he was an outcast and that women didnt like him. And while I certainly dont agree with his tactics of dealing with his issues I can understand his possible frustration and anger. Tell me you cant picture an insecure young man trying to make conversation with a few sorority girls and getting the Simon Cowell treatment. It happens all the time and varying degrees and on all levels of our society. For some reason we have come to believe that we can do and say the most disrespectful things to others and that there will be no consequences. We think its funny and we somehow get a warped sense of enjoyment from it and the sick pleasure of making ourselves feel good by making someone else feel bad. And this is only amplified when we do it in the safety of our group, like some sort of perverse negative reinforcement therapy. I see it all the time. On the simplest of levels the parent commenting about another persons cloths or making a disrespectful comment about where that person came from noticing and pointing out color or of different origin from themselves in front of their children sets an example that its okay to do that to others. The kid on the playground calls another a fag or jokes about them being fat and that behavior is accepted and tolerated by others is where this all starts. The behavior is passed off as its just kids working things out and being kids. Its not. Its society allowing intolerance at the most basic of levels and supporting the idea that its okay to dehumanize a person because you think its okay. By the time the kids get to middle school they are vicious and operate in gangs to single out the ones who are different or weird. It used to be high school where the clicks formed to exclude all the unusual but now it happens much earlier. And the trend just continues and the parents, the teachers and the system allows it because no one wants to take responsibility for doing what is right and just. Its just too hard. And Well everyone else is doing it! Unfortunately once a person, who doesnt fit really believes that they dont fit then they are their own self fulfilling prophecy. I dont give Elliot Rogers a pass but I can understand how an unbalanced person who feels rejected for an extended period of time can loose hope and they become destructive. Consider How many suicides are a result of this? There are reasons we have become the most violent country in the world but its not because we have more guns or more than normal mentally off balanced people. Its because we create more mentally unbalanced people who have access to guns and with our intolerance for anyone who is different than us and banishment and belittling of anyone who doesnt go along with our beliefs. And the trend is not getting better. It penetrates every fiber of our nation from politics to social networking, religion and neighborhoods. It is in our homes and in what we say and how we act. We have pacifists on one end and right to carry on the other and someone is going to get hurt. I will not be surprised when there is a mass shooting at a Sonic between a gang of long riffle totting Right to open carry activists and some vigilante. And if you think you are immune to this trend take note next time you look at the guy cutting the grass across the street or the crew replacing the roof next door or the check out person at the grocery store. If you make a catty comment with your friends about that girl that just walked in the bar or feel distain when you see two men holding hands then you have been infected. You dont have to like or agree with how someone is or chooses to live there life but when you open your mouth and something negative comes out you help create the Elliots of our world. Be respectful. Be considerate. Lead with your actions and consider what you say before you say it. Stop being a gossip and try and find something redeeming in your fellow man instead of picking them apart. What eve happened to the saying, If you cant say something nice then dont say anything at all? I sometimes see our society as a pack of crows pecking at the carcass of dead carrion that we ourselves create. Its ugly. Stop doing it.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 13:28:31 +0000
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