Another Mass Killing! What can we do?
By Dr. Rolando M. Ochoa
After every mass killing voices come out the
woodwork with the same rhetoric, but very little is
done to prevent the next one. The liberal
politicians and the main media hoist the banner of
gun control. Some conservative politicians and some
in the alternative media fly the flag of
psychological
profiling.
Religious leaders call for prayers. Others advocate
for more metal detectors and/or armed guards in
schools. I think they are missing the root causes of
all this violence.
Stricter gun control is not the only answer. Places
like Chicago and New York with very strict gun
control laws, experience gun violence every day. Of
course, the public and the main media do not go into
a panic mode like they do when a mass killing takes
place. This small number of killings every month is
“not news” because they normally don’t have the
sensationalism
of a mass killing. Several persons get kill in a day
and the end of a month or year there are a lot more
than in mass killings. In 2021, 678 persons were
murdered in Chicago according to the Chicago Police
reports. The New York Post reported in its May 23,
2021 edition that the previous weekend, 30 people
were shot. Of course, these statistics are shown not
to diminish the tragedies involving small children,
but to bring out the fact that gun control is not
the only answer.
Psychological profiling is not the only answer
either. Mandating a psychological test before
someone is allowed to buy a gun might be
problematic. Can a
psychiatrist
or psychologist make a diagnostic, with certainty,
that a patient has the criminal propensity to commit
a mass murder? It would be very difficult to be
certain. If we were able to create a data base with
all those that had been so diagnosed, then
psychological professional could be suit for
violating the right of privacy and client/doctor
confidentiality. Also, in reverse, if the doctors
give someone the okay to buy the gun and then this
person commits a mass killing, they could lose their
license.
Prayers are always good to comfort those left
behind. After the mass killing happened, prayers
might be too late. Prayers help those who believe
and stay close to God. Prayers could help a
misguided person from committing a crime, if that
person who is tempted, asked for divine help to
delete those thoughts from his or her mind. Prayers
are a habit. The more you pray, the more they work.
Erroneously we eliminated prayers from schools with
the misguided idea that they violate the
constitution. Maybe if we had prayer back in
schools, those who wanted to pray, would take
advantage of its effects. Prayers are not the only
answer.
Other measures such as metal detectors and armed
guards are not the only answer. Schools will have a
prison-like atmosphere not conducive to learning and
socialization so much needed. Armed guards, unless
they are highly trained, could cause more harm than
good. Higher security costs mean higher taxes. Are
we willing?
The vast majority of these individuals who commit
mass murder, are young men who come from either a
broken home or a dysfunctional family. His family
members, for the most part, know that there is
something wrong in his behavior, but do not act.
They could be frightened of them or simply not able
to apply what is called “tough love” and report them
to the authorities. This reporting has other
ramifications. Generally, authorities would not take
someone into custody unless they have committed a
crime. If this man is over 18 years-old, he cannot
be forced to take a physiological test either.
For the last 40 to 50 years, our society has changed
for the worse. Many families have become
dysfunctional due to lack of moral principles and
religious practice. Early age sexual promiscuity,
out-of-wedlock unions, sexual deviations, marital
infidelity, easy divorce, single-parent homes, both
parents’ partial absence due to excessive work
outside the home, drug use, alcoholism, lack of good
role models, egotism, and you name it. From
dysfunctional homes come dysfunctional children and
adults. Young men that come from these dysfunctional
families could murder children and others who come
from normal families. This is the root of the
problem.
To complicate matters even further, each state in
this our United States of America has its own laws
around this problem. Thanks, God, for that! The
Federal Government should not impose a national
mandate.
Faced with all of this information one could be
overwhelmed and desperate. I know, I am. I pray for
the families of those killed in Texas. I pray that
the men and women in charge of fixing this problem
act without partisan agendas and come up with a
comprehensive plan to try to minimize these mass
killings and all the other killings that are going
on. We as individuals must try to keep our families
functioning right and raising our children imparting
on them positive family values. Daily Praying for
our authorities to do the right thing and daily
praying for our families would also be a great idea.