Another Mass Killing! What can we do?  

 

By Dr. Rolando M. Ochoa

After every mass killing voices come out the woodwork with the same rhetoric, but very little is done to prevent the next one. The liberal politicians and the main media hoist the banner of gun control. Some conservative politicians and some in the alternative media fly the flag of psychological profiling. Religious leaders call for prayers. Others advocate for more metal detectors and/or armed guards in schools. I think they are missing the root causes of all this violence.

Stricter gun control is not the only answer. Places like Chicago and New York with very strict gun control laws, experience gun violence every day. Of course, the public and the main media do not go into a panic mode like they do when a mass killing takes place. This small number of killings every month is “not news” because they normally don’t have the sensationalism

of a mass killing. Several persons get kill in a day and the end of a month or year there are a lot more than in mass killings. In 2021, 678 persons were murdered in Chicago according to the Chicago Police reports. The New York Post reported in its May 23, 2021 edition that the previous weekend, 30 people were shot. Of course, these statistics are shown not to diminish the tragedies involving small children, but to bring out the fact that gun control is not the only answer.

Psychological profiling is not the only answer either. Mandating a psychological test before someone is allowed to buy a gun might be problematic. Can a psychiatrist or psychologist make a diagnostic, with certainty, that a patient has the criminal propensity to commit a mass murder? It would be very difficult to be certain. If we were able to create a data base with all those that had been so diagnosed, then psychological professional could be suit for violating the right of privacy and client/doctor confidentiality. Also, in reverse, if the doctors give someone the okay to buy the gun and then this person commits a mass killing, they could lose their license. 

Prayers are always good to comfort those left behind. After the mass killing happened, prayers might be too late. Prayers help those who believe and stay close to God. Prayers could help a misguided person from committing a crime, if that person who is tempted, asked for divine help to delete those thoughts from his or her mind. Prayers are a habit. The more you pray, the more they work. Erroneously we eliminated prayers from schools with the misguided idea that they violate the constitution. Maybe if we had prayer back in schools, those who wanted to pray, would take advantage of its effects. Prayers are not the only answer.

Other measures such as metal detectors and armed guards are not the only answer. Schools will have a prison-like atmosphere not conducive to learning and socialization so much needed. Armed guards, unless they are highly trained, could cause more harm than good. Higher security costs mean higher taxes. Are we willing?

The vast majority of these individuals who commit mass murder, are young men who come from either a broken home or a dysfunctional family. His family members, for the most part, know that there is something wrong in his behavior, but do not act. They could be frightened of them or simply not able to apply what is called “tough love” and report them to the authorities. This reporting has other ramifications. Generally, authorities would not take someone into custody unless they have committed a crime. If this man is over 18 years-old, he cannot be forced to take a physiological test either.  

For the last 40 to 50 years, our society has changed for the worse. Many families have become dysfunctional due to lack of moral principles and religious practice. Early age sexual promiscuity, out-of-wedlock unions, sexual deviations, marital infidelity, easy divorce, single-parent homes, both parents’ partial absence due to excessive work outside the home, drug use, alcoholism, lack of good role models, egotism, and you name it. From dysfunctional homes come dysfunctional children and adults. Young men that come from these dysfunctional families could murder children and others who come from normal families. This is the root of the problem.

To complicate matters even further, each state in this our United States of America has its own laws around this problem. Thanks, God, for that! The Federal Government should not impose a national mandate.

Faced with all of this information one could be overwhelmed and desperate. I know, I am. I pray for the families of those killed in Texas. I pray that the men and women in charge of fixing this problem act without partisan agendas and come up with a comprehensive plan to try to minimize these mass killings and all the other killings that are going on. We as individuals must try to keep our families functioning right and raising our children imparting on them positive family values. Daily Praying for our authorities to do the right thing and daily praying for our families would also be a great idea.