Interesting the issue of school shootings is brought up. My thoughts on that are a little different. I happen to believe the availability of guns is not the reason why school shootings are happening. Instead, it is a confluence of several issues.

Issue 1a: 24-hour news cycle/internet. We're in a place where any small happening can make the national news, and when it does, it gets cycled through all the major news channels throughout the night and into the next day. Then, the major network TV channels get in on the reporting, but of course they have to bring something new, so they find a victim's mother or school friend, and then that sets off a whole new cycle of reporting. So, this one act enters an echo chamber that gets perpetuated for days. This gets remembered by kids who feel unheard or feel as though they have no power.

Issue 1b: Social media/internet. We've seen this on our own forums ever since the early SF days. All it takes is one stupid post and suddenly, a reputation starts going down hill. Unlike in reality, online posts stay online. Comments about others stay online as well, meaning a person can't live down a moment of stupidity because someone else tweeted about it or posted it on instragram or blah blah.

Issue 2: Fear of the Gun. Modern society has driven such a fear of guns that I've read of people seeing someone else open carry in a store, and they literally dropped everything they had in their arms and ran out of the front door. Now, I'm not saying that is the typical response, but it is illustrative of the fear being driven. I remember a time when the response was, "huh, nice piece. Where did you get that?" At the very least, it was simply ignored. Hold on to this issue for a second.

Issue 3: Dehumanization in society. While I completely agree with Dwins concerning abortion, I won't even go there for this point because I believe it can be made without the abortion discussion. In our national media, it is almost sport to dehumanize the opponent now. Tea-Party members were "Tea-baggers," a belittling term that equals a slap to the scrotum. It was a way to label and dismiss an entire group. Liberals are "libtards." The same is true here. Don't forget the inevitable Hitler! and Fascist! that gets thrown around every election cycle and a million times a month in between. These are just the tip of the iceberg, just words that demean and help a person think of another as a little less than human. They're part of a "group" now and that group does not have all the positive aspects of the group "I" belong to. At the other end of this spectrum is what brought about slavery or the holocaust, where a group of people are so labeled for so long that they are no longer thought of as human. Now, I'm not saying we are at slavery or holocaust status here. I am saying, however, that dehumanizing anyone we disagree with in public debate is adding to the problem.

The Confluence: So some kid feels like he's on the outside. Perhaps he did something stupid and couldn't live it down. Maybe he just didn't feel like he was accepted. Or, perhaps, he truly wasn't. Whatever the case, (could be she, but I'm just using he here) he is now in a position where he feels left out, unheard, and wants to strike back. But, what if he does? Well, what about it? Those blankety-blanks are only blankety blanks anyway. And hey, it's okay to think of them as lesser humans because I see everyone doing to every else all day on TV and in the news and wherever else. Now, I really! want gain control back. What will cause the most fear in the shortest amount of time?! A gun! Because people run away screaming. AND, when that happens, I will get on TV and they'll talk about me for hours and hours and hours and I will no longer be ignored and my voice not heard.

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Now, do I believe that is the exact logic pattern every time? No. They probably don't think those thoughts at all. I do believe, however, that their actions and what drives their actions can be linked back to this pattern for all but those who act out under debilitating mental illness (Paranoid Schizophrenia, PTSD, etc. is what I'm putting in this group).

So, how to stop it? IMO

1. Stop with the gun fear. Introduce guns into school in a controlled environment where familiarity breeds complacency. Teach highschoolers what guns are, the proper way to handle them, and why they are just another piece of machinery like a car or a jackhammer. Take the WOW! factor out of it. They are not mythic pieces of retributive justice or slug-splitting weapons of death. They're just another tool that when used stupidly, causes problems like any other tool used stupidly.

2. Stop playing shootings on TV over and over and over. I know freedom of the press will disallow what I say here, but I truly believe something that will help put an end to all of this is for the media to stop reporting on school shootings. It takes away a strong impetus; providing a way for a voice to be heard.

3. Ratchet back the rhetoric about "enemies" and "Republikkkans" and "Libtards" and whatever else is out there. Moreover (and this doesn't have to be done in a religious way), start teaching kids about how special human life is again. Stop teaching humans are simply animals (again, secular humanism, which is an athiest-based belief, teaches this very thing. So it doesn't have to be religious in nature).

For me, that's a start. I think we'd have a massive drop in school shootings within a year, two at the most. Once that gun stopped being an instant "I can make everyone piss their pants" magic wand, and the results of which stop giving some voiceless teenager the biggest stage and loudest voice he can ever hope for at his age, there's literally no reason to go down that path because the rewards for doing so are not there.