In the wake of the shootings at El Paso and Dayton, as well as the numerous other shootings which have occurred throughout U.S. history, one thing has remained consistent throughout. Regardless of the circumstances, the shooting will inevitably be blamed on the fact that the shooter had some type of mental illness.
The term mental illness is rather broad in general and can be used to describe several different conditions, ranging from mild to severe. It can mean anything from having social anxiety to having schizophrenia. It is tricky to attribute mass shootings to mentally ill people, as the vast majority of mentally ill people are no more violent than the average citizen.
Especially in a society when many mental illnesses are lumped together. In Florida, at least, a teenager who expresses that they are depressed or potentially suicidal is Baker-Acted against their will and often placed in hospital confinement with people that have a large range of disorders, some of whom are potentially a danger to others, all under an umbrella of "mental illness."
Aside from this, the facts show that only around 3% – 4% of all violent acts committed in a year in the U.S. are by people who have been diagnosed with forms of mental illness, and mentally ill people are more likely to be victims of violent crimes.Not everyone who has a mental illness is diagnosed, but allowing for that, one can still assume that there are a good number of violent acts committed in this country by people who are not diagnosed as mentally ill. Not to mention that there are plenty of other countries with mentally ill people that do not have issues with mass shootings.
It is dangerous to assume that guns are only a problem and should only be restricted in the hands of mentally ill people, and not the general population. This stigma against those who are mentally ill is what causes people who may have problems with their mental health to not get treated in the first place.
Often, the motivation behind mass shootings is pure and simple hatred. The Walmart shooter in El Paso is said to have wanted to "kill as many Mexicans as possible." There are many other shootings which target specific races, religions, ethnicities, and groups of people. They are nothing short of hate crimes.
We need to stop assigning blame with the blanket term of "mental illness" and instead recognize shootings for what they are: acts of terrorism often fueled by intolerance and resentment.
There are other shootings, such as school shootings, which appear to have less discriminate targets where the shooter is often described as a troubled youth. While it is true that the shooter may have a mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, it is often the circumstances which surround the illness, such as social isolation and bullying.
It is always important to be kind to those around you, not because you're afraid that they may show up the next day with a gun, but because it's the civil thing to do.
In the end, there is no excuse for the kind of violence that takes the lives of others. Despite what one shooter's story was. It's a scary world we live in where someone is afraid to send their child to school, or even to go out in a public place for fear that they may be senselessly killed. It's something that needs to stop, and society shrugging its collective shoulders and blaming it on video games and the mentally ill isn't going to do.
