Sandy Hook

I’m not really sure what to say about the massacre on Friday except that no one should be shot and killed regardless of age, gender, sex, race, class, sexuality, etc. Yeah, the list can go on and on. A few things did strike me particularly the discussions around mental illness and disbelieve that something like this could happen. I don’t plan on diving into either topic at length.

We should have accessible mental health services for everyone. The End. But everyone with a mental illness doesn’t kill people. Actually the mentally ill are more likely to be the victims of violent crime; we see it all the time with the homeless.

Secondly, the idea that something like this shouldn’t have happened here implies that there are places where this is acceptable. I wonder where? Intimate partnerships where one partner plays for the NFL? Poor black communities? Pakistan? This shouldn’t happen anywhere. It shouldn’t be perpetrated by white teenage boys (who may be mentally ill), intimate partners, gangs, or the US military (or CIA).

This is unacceptable behavior. Personally, I think this is the time we address the lack of fire-arm regulations in this country. I think we should also make mental health services available, and take a good hard look at the culture where these acts of violence have become commonplace. That means dismantling masculinity that promotes violence, ceasing violent foreign policy, and perhaps even pulling back the unquestioned funding of military weaponry.

This link takes you to information about Sandy Hook heroes, those who were murdered protecting children.