by shadylady » Wed Aug 07, 2019 7:57 am
Extremism is not the root cause of mass shootings. The root cause is a feeling of hopelessness. Obviously different individuals perceive things differently and holding extremist views makes one hypersensitive to certain issues. Also extremists (almost by definition) hold views that the majority of people don't hold. As a result extremists find themselves in a situation where they feel that they must wake up the masses in order to bring about needed social change. However, individuals who don't adhere to extremist views can wind up becoming mass shooters as a result of circumstances just as easily. Someone who is bullied at work, unfairly reprimanded, or passed over several times for a promotion may come to view their situation as hopeless. A guy who experienced an especially difficult divorce, who can't see his children, and who must pay over half his salary to his wife, might view his situation as hopeless. Someone stuck with an inconsiderate and noisy neighbor can also be pushed into that mindset. Other stressors such as illness, lack of sleep, or just general stress can also contribute to feelings of hopelessness.
Notice that I don't use the term HELPLESSNESS because these people do not feel helpless since ultimately they decide to do something about their situation. They just come to the conclusion that the situation is hopeless. Sometimes people get to this point through no fault of their own. Other times they contribute to the problem and fail to realize what they've done to make things worse. In any case, they target innocent people because soft targets allow for a larger body count than hard targets. That would seem obvious, but you never hear anyone acknowledge that.
What can be done? First of all, open dialog on major social issues is necessary. Reasonable rhetoric is also needed. Above all don't deny the existence of a real problem. This includes not making up fake problems in order to distract from real problems. It's the elephant in the room that no one acknowledges the existence of which infuriates people prone towards extremely anti-social acts. Further, law enforcement must protect the rights of people being mistreated by neighbors. Employers must be held to a high standard when it comes to fair treatment of employees. It's difficult to be perfectly fair and perfectly reasonable, but to allow blatant unfairness to persist is a recipe for disaster.
The problem of extreme multiculturalism must also be acknowledged. When incompatible people are forced to interact and live together, conflict is inevitable. When hard working people are forced to pay for the care of people who come to the country uninvited, there is bound to be a problem there. When considerate people are forced to endure the behavior of inconsiderate people without efficient and swift legal recourse, there's another obvious issue. When employers blatantly treat employees in an unfair manner, it's impossible to deny that there's a problem there. The IQ crisis also plays an important role here. Just think of what it must be like to be a child with a low IQ who is being held to standards established many years ago while average IQs were considerably higher. Or put yourselves in the shoes of a teacher expected to bring these low IQ children up to those same standards. Impossible situations cause frustration and feelings of hopelessness. And then after all that, you still have tons of low IQ people who feel that they deserve jobs they aren't qualified for and scream discrimination when they don't get them as a result of unreasonable perceptions fostered by SJW types who are out of touch with reality.
The problems and issues go on and on and on, but In any case, some people are bound to act out as the result of their reasonable or unreasonable frustrations. We as a society can do better when it comes to preventing these issues. Gun control is pointless. Even blaming extremists is pointless. Mass shootings are a symptom of a dysfunctional society and no quick band-aid fix is going to do any good. It's a systemic problem and it must be dealt with as such.