The Florida Shooting
The issue and management of mass shootings is not monolithic. People are not monolithic. Crime is not monolithic. Controversial issues are not monolithic. If they were, then there wouldn’t be much controversy. My point is this: there are multiple factors that contribute to mass shootings, so the management is multifactorial. Hindsight is 2020. It is common for “experts” to analyze these shooters and make statements and recommendations about what SHOULD have been done and point fingers at groups/people/phenomena/disorders to blame. Instead of looking at things retroactively, we need to be more proactive in addressing this and many other issues. This is not just a left/right/Democrat/Republican/liberal/conservative issue. It goes beyond that and is deeper than that. The problem with politics/politicians is that they are often greatly influenced and financially supported/sponsored by organizations (such as the NRA). The medical and mental health industries are influenced and financially sponsored and supported as well by organizations (such as pharmaceutical companies). Let me break down some of the multitude of factors that are spouted to be causes/reasons/solutions to mass shootings. This is my opinion and I understand and accept that there are people who will disagree with my views. I appreciate those who take the time to read this post all the way through.
1) Gun control: First let me address the 2nd amendment rights argument. In my opinion, some people use documents and publications to push/support their own agendas. The Bible and evangelicals are good examples of this. The constitution is an antiquated document written by “our forefathers” who also had slaves. Yet people want to protect the freedom/right to bear arms and won’t agree to listen to any proposal to regulate and limit access to guns. People should be able to protect themselves. People should not, however, be able to have access to assault rifles without any kind of screening or regulation. So there is a proposed solution to not allow ANYONE with a mental illness to have a gun. The problem with that is that just because someone has a mental illness doesn’t mean he/she is prone to be violent. The focus should be on whether the mental illness is actively being treated. I’ll address that later. If you are going to have a person who is purchasing a gun to go through a mental health screening (which I think is appropriate), the focus should be on impairment and treatment. The way that the mental health field is today, many people would be diagnosed with mental illness and would be prevented from getting a gun. Lastly, keep in mind that there are people that don’t get their guns from gun shops.
2) Mental illness: Let me reiterate that a small percentage of people that are mentally ill have a propensity to be violent. It is UNTREATED mental illness that has a higher probability to lead to negative outcomes. There is the argument that all of these mass shooters were mentally ill, so that is what caused them to shoot to commit these acts. How about looking at it from the perspective that the individuals that committed these acts happened to have a history of mentall illness and give that just as much weight as other factors that contribute to the act such as trauma, poor resources, poverty, abandonment, lack of treatment, environmental influences, exposure to violence, etc. There are also people who are blaming psychiatric drugs saying that they cause people to engage in impulsive and violent acts. As a psychiatrist, I definitely agree that there is overdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, and overprescribing of medications in the mental health field. I also am aware of the role that pharmaceutical companies play in this. Some regulation and reform definitely needs to happen. I am also aware of the benefits that medications have had when treating what they are designed to treat in individuals who have mental illness that impairs them significantly and/or interferes with their ability to function. Yes medications have side effects in ALL fields and specialities. They are toxins (foreign to the body) and synthetic. The same applies to foods that are processed or have additives or are injected with hormones, over the counter medications (Tylenol, cough medicine, allergy medicine, etc), certain “supplements”, alcohol/other illicit substances, etc. You must weigh the risks versus the benefits. The suspect in the recent Florida shootings had a history of mental illness and had not been to treatment in at least a year. There also remains to be a major stigma with mental illness, which is a major barrier to treatment, which can lead to negative outcomes. Our “leadership” says that more resources need to be put into mental health yet in looking at his budget, money has been taken away from mental health. Looks to be contradictory to me.
3) School resources: More resources need to be put into our schools so that they are better equipped to deal with children with behavioral/emotional/mental health issues. Again, instead of working on things retroactively, start being more proactive. Teachers are not trained in how to handle these children. They learn through experience or in response to an adverse event (retroactively). They are often in overcrowded classrooms with few to no resources. Also, as a child psychiatrist, I have heard parents not wanting to send their kids to “urban schools” with metal detectors and/or public schools due to safety reasons. I’m sure a metal detector is not such a bad thing at this point.
4) Blame social media: While I agree that social media has increased access to negativity and dangerous/harmful things, it is not the only factor. Also, if it weren’t for social media, then people would not be alerted to many potential threats. Focus should be on responsible use of social media and limiting access to vulnerable populations. Social media is not responsible for the lack of mental health treatment, trauma, psychosocial, environmental contributors.
5) Blame FBI: Again, hindsight is 2020. Of course after a negative event happens, it is easy to find flaws and “red flags” and the mishandling/ignoring of these “red flags”. Retroactive (there goes that word again). Hopefully, the FBI will use this unfortunate tragedy to work on increasing awareness of and responsiveness to these alarming signs.
6) Blame the parents/caretakers: From what I have heard, the suspect in the recent Florida shootings had lost his adoptive mother months earlier. This shows that he already had a traumatic history. The people that took him in were the parents of his friend. They did not know him well. As much as parents/caretakers try to provide a stable environment, there are many outside negative influences, so to just blame parents/caretakers for the actions of the children they are taking care of is not fair. Parents/caretakers definitely play a role in the molding of their children.
7) Blame Trump: Look at the influence and not the man. This gives him more power than he is deserved. The focus should be on changing/instituting/modifying policies. Stop politicizing things.
People are quick to place blame on all of these factors without knowing all of these facts. We need to learn how to effectively communicate and work with each other instead of just trying to push our own personal agenda or try to capitalize on tragic events and those affected by them. We must back our words with action. May those who are affected by this horrific tragedy find peace and serenity.
Thank you for your time.