Super Lockdown

Okay, in my previous post I talked about the various different things people have pointed to as the cause of the most recent shooting. In my opinion, they're all bull. Now, upon thinking of it and seeing various comments online, I might have a sensible solution. However, I want to go over a few things first.

Recently the NRA made a press conference. So, I figured I might reiterate so of my previous points and make some new ones, addressing somethings the NRA said:

"And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to 
conceal: There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting
shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people. 
Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, 
Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here’s one: 
it’s called Kindergarten Killers." Violent video games and/or media didn't cause this. Seriously, violence is imbedded in us already. We don't need a medium to push us, we've been killing each other for millions of years.

It reminds me of the crusade against comic books in the 1950s. A psychiatrist named Fredric Wertham did a study that showed that the majority of kids who were sent to juvenile hall all read comic books. After doing some research, he concluded that comics were a horrible influence on children (he said Batman & Robin were gay, Wonder Woman was a lesbian, and Superman was an Un-American fascist) Because of this, Comics Code Authority was created by the comics industry in order to avoid government regulation by self regulating. This resorted in many books having to be canceled (monsters and horror books were a no-no). It even stood in the way of an anti-drug story arc in Spider-Man (they couldn't show or reference drugs at all, even to say they're bad).

What of games, you ask? Well, they've got a rating system. If you look on the box, you know what you're in for (EC= Early Childhood, E= Everyone, E10= Everyone 10+, T= Teen, M= Mature, AO= Adults Only) There are some games that don't have a rating, such as Kindergarten Killers there. However, the reason for this isn't devious, it was made by one guy and uploaded online. It's sort of like the shitty youtube video to the other, multimillion dollar blockbuster title games on that list, if that makes any sense.

Of course, the recent shooter was over 18, so what's the plan? Ban all games you deem too violent? Spare the second amendment while taking a dump on the first? And let's look at one of the game series on that list: Grand Theft Auto. The series has sold 125 million copies. Don't you think if it was corrupting everyone who plays it, we'd have a lot more violence than what's currently out there? This would be Mad Max levels of unrest. That's not the case, as violent crimes have been dropping for years. But don't take my word for it.



"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of 
fame — from a national media machine that rewards them with the 
wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave — while 
provoking others to try to make their mark?3
A dozen more killers? A hundred? More? How can we possibly even 
guess how many, given our nation's refusal to create an active 
national database of the mentally ill?" How would forcing the mentally ill to register themselves solve anything? You do that, next thing you know Senator Kelly is getting a bill passed to have giant robots in purple Onesies hunting down those dirty, stinking mutants...er...mentally ill persons. Seriously, you're just pushing us towards the horrifyingly awesome world of the X-Men with those words.

Not everyone with a mental illness is a threat to society. OCD or Agoraphobia? Those are listed as mental disorders. What about people who are undiagnosed? Are we going to have to have mandatory testing for everyone? Would they have to go door to door and tell everyone that they have a disorder and what it is? How about if any of you fine folks at the NRA were found to have a mental illness, would you register or allow your name to be put in this database? And why is it okay for us to register people but not guns?

Obviously there is a huge stigma with mental illnesses. We need to find a way to get these people the help they need. If we treat them like criminals from the start, then some might just try and fill that role that we've cast them in.

Sensible Solution

So, how would I solve the problem of safety in our schools? Easy: SUPER LOCKDOWN! I think we need to reinforce our school's lockdown system with:

1. Bullet resistant glass.
2. Concealed metal security shutters (only activated when lockdown is initiated)
3. Bullet resistant steel doors everywhere with simulated wood covers
4. Combination electronic locks and bolts at the tops and bottoms of the doors (only activated when lockdown is initiated)
5. Emergency equipment (walkie talkies, first aid, etc) for all staff.

I know what you're thinking, "but that sounds like a prison." Only when everything is activated. Otherwise, it just looks like a normal school. That's what I'm going for, extra security without that feeling of being locked up or trapped constantly. Not only that, but it would help lessen that false sense of security that people can easily get, allowing them to stay vigilant in case something happens.

"What about having armed police officers in the school?" Well, I'd like to think that that wouldn't be necessary with my plan. Though, I suppose it beats the alternative of arming the teachers.

Till Next Time, Space Monkeys!

Victim Blaming

Okay, let's stop this. "Too many guns" didn't cause this. "Not having enough guns" didn't cause this. "Taking God out of the classroom" didn't cause this. "Videogames and violent movies" didn't cause this. You know caused it? A crazy guy who had nothing to lose and wanted leave a mark on society. Simple as that. You could go around blaming things till you're blue in the face, but, at the end of day, there's no else and nothing to blame for his actions.

You see, humans are violent. We've been violent for as long as we've walked the Earth. As Colonel Hunter Gathers from The Venture Bros. said, "Minute God crapped out the third caveman, a conspiracy was hatched against one of them." This isn't something that just popped up one day, this is something we've been dealing with throughout our whole existence. Atrocities are woven in our history. The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, The Holocaust, 9/11, etc. That's just to name a few. We've had too many instances where a person or group of people have gotten together and said, "you know what will solve all of our problems and/or just make us feel better? Killing a bunch people. That seems logical, right?"

So, if people are naturally violent, how do we solve our crisis? How do we stop this from happening again? Now, I usually like to think of myself as somewhere between an optimist and a realist, but I'll be blunt here, I don't think we can. If someone has the will power and the resources, they'll probably do something like this again.

"What if we take away their guns?"

Unfortunately, that's not a viable option. There are way too many guns floating around at the moment. Plus, even if we were able to do this, they still have ways to kill. One man in Japan went on a rampage in his car, running over pedestrians. And of course, besides that, they could easily make an explosive device.

"What if we forced everyone to carry a gun?"

Well, this too is not a solution. Seriously, think about it for a second. Arming EVERYONE. Now tell me, have you ever come across someone who honestly has no business operating, let's say, a spoon? I have. Imagine them with a gun.

"What if we just armed the teachers?"

Again, same as above. I don't doubt that a majority of the teachers would be responsible, but I've had some that wouldn't make me feel safe if I knew they were packing heat. All it would take is a student to push them to far or for someone to steal the gun. Too many variables.

"Should we ban violent videogames and movies?"

No. There hasn't been solid link between violent media and violence in real life. Some say that it desensitizes us to the cruelties of the world, but if that were true, would we have had such a strong reaction to this most recent shooting? You see, they're like a catharsis. They give us a safe environment in which we can feel emotions they we couldn't in real without some jail time (you know, since stabbing people and chopping off their arms and legs in a videogame isn't illegal) We know it's fake and that's why we love it! Again, it's nothing new. Look at the stories the Greeks told. Violent as hell.

Look, I don't claim to have the answers. I don't who does. Maybe you agree with me on my points and maybe you don't. I just think this kind of knee jerk response to what happened is uncalled for. It feels a little like victim blaming, saying if they had done this or that that perhaps this all could've been prevented. To you, I say SHUT THE FUCK UP! Unfortunately, this is the way things unfolded, no matter how much we want to change the past or say, "if I was there, I'd have shown that guy." No, you wouldn't have. He had the element of surprise. Things, I'm sure, unfolded at lightning fast speeds and we humans aren't capable of dealing with it. As proof, here's footage from the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Bombing:

Did you notice something? Everyone in that crowd had Deer in headlights effect. No one ran away immediately. They just stood there, baffled by what just happened. Every animal does it. Something out of the norm happens and you need a little time to process it. For some, that time is faster than others, but it's still there. Putting yourself or trying to hypothetically change a situation that's already happened is futile. All you end up doing is making you self look like a cold hearted bastard while desecrating the memory of the fallen, implying they didn't do as much to survive as you would have or if the circumstances had somehow been different.

I think the point I'm trying to make is we all need a little time. More time than a day or two. We're all on edge and all of this is just a natural reaction to what happened. Even this post is reaction to all of it. What we need to do is not dwell on this. Mourn the victims. Forget the killer. Come together as a nation, no, as a species. Forget our differences and remember the things that unite us all.

Till Next Time, Space Monkeys.