I think whether mass shooters are mentally ill is debatable on a case by case basis, some obviously yes, some less obviously.
But what I’m saying is this point is moot because even if 100% of mass shooters are “mentally ill” and that is the driving force behind their culpability the individuals saying “we need better mental health care in this country” in the wake of gun violence are so full of shit and obviously using the topic for misdirection with no intention for meaningful change. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that mental health services have been systematically defunded year after year for decades, very often by the same individuals who clamor the same.
Mental health facilities and systems losing funding is an absolute travesty. I still don’t believe the mental health side of these horrific crimes is a moot point though. With more dedication to early intervention and treatment a decline would have to happen. Its not the tools fault its the individual using it. Remember that guy who drove through a crowd a few Christmas back? He had a slew of mental health issues that were never addressed properly. He perpetrated a mass casualty event without issue. Almost half of mass shooters tell SOMEONE some part of their plan before carrying it out. If we did as many “warning signs” trainings as we do “active shooter” trainings I’d be willing to bet we’d prevent many of these incidents. I say this because even though I work in an isolated power plant, we have an annual online training and in person drill for active shooter situations (run,hide,fight). At the same time, I’ve never seen an early warning sign type training.
I think whether mass shooters are mentally ill is debatable on a case by case basis, some obviously yes, some less obviously.
But what I’m saying is this point is moot because even if 100% of mass shooters are “mentally ill” and that is the driving force behind their culpability the individuals saying “we need better mental health care in this country” in the wake of gun violence are so full of shit and obviously using the topic for misdirection with no intention for meaningful change. This is clearly evidenced by the fact that mental health services have been systematically defunded year after year for decades, very often by the same individuals who clamor the same.
Mental health facilities and systems losing funding is an absolute travesty. I still don’t believe the mental health side of these horrific crimes is a moot point though. With more dedication to early intervention and treatment a decline would have to happen. Its not the tools fault its the individual using it. Remember that guy who drove through a crowd a few Christmas back? He had a slew of mental health issues that were never addressed properly. He perpetrated a mass casualty event without issue. Almost half of mass shooters tell SOMEONE some part of their plan before carrying it out. If we did as many “warning signs” trainings as we do “active shooter” trainings I’d be willing to bet we’d prevent many of these incidents. I say this because even though I work in an isolated power plant, we have an annual online training and in person drill for active shooter situations (run,hide,fight). At the same time, I’ve never seen an early warning sign type training.