re: How one can even start to discuss this shooting w/o accepting the following FACTS?

But mentally unhinged used to be institutionalized at a far greater rate than they are today. I don’t know when that changed though

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IMO, high profile murders have shifted from serial killers to mass shooters. Serial killers are having a bad time right now because everyone is connected...and can be tracked pretty easily. And since serial killers don't want to get caught, they are turning into unicorns. Mass shooters now have the limelight. Instant gratification coupled with mental disorders and relative anonymity up until the act makes for the perfect time bomb

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Interesting take.

Not one that I'd thought much about.

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But mentally unhinged used to be institutionalized at a far greater rate than they are today. I don’t know when that changed though

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Mental health reform occurred in the 1980s, partly as a result of the improvement in treatments. The number of acutely ill people who are admitted to psychiatric hospitals has actually increased. What has changed is that more patients become stabilized much faster and are able to avoid relapse for longer periods of time. As I explained in another thread, people with acute psychosis or major depression or mania are not committing most of these acts.

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You’re right in that younger kids are no longer acceptable latchkey but once they hit 12-13,

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I've been violating modern latchkey silliness for quite some time.

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that to me is the crucial age as they grow into their teens.. I see it with my own kids and their friends as they begin to grow into adulthood and don’t understand the world around them because it’s so vast thanks to our technology.. when I grew up it was more insular and community based.. Kids today can get lost so easily behind their tech.. I don’t know, so many variables to this that need to be discussed and researched..

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I would argue that a fundamental break in parenting philosophy revolves around the whole "they're not ready for X" thinking.

People raise children as if there are some fricking magic moments instead of just linear development.

I'm always like, "oh, you can punish them for that when they are 4, but, boy, when they're 5 they're gonna get it huh!!!".

There's an old aphorism that is very true. It's got variations. The original is "Give me the child for the first seven years and I will give you the man."

I prefer "Give me a child until he's seven and anyone else may have them thereafter".

Those teens who aren't equipped? Yeah. They aren't equipped because by the time someone thought, "oh, they're old enough to START X"......it was too fricking late.

I think that's a great point, but look at what is eroding the family, parenting etc. The increase in "mental health" disorders, the increase in mass killings, all started in the 90s. The rise of the internet started in the 90s.

The internet is one of the best and worst things to ever happen to humanity. It has given us access to things that we have never had before. It has provided shared ideas, and advancements in Science and Technology.

But it is unregualated and unfettered. Every single person has a voice now. Parents are parenting through social media. You go to a restaurant and you have mom and dad on their phones, and kids on ipads. No one communicates anymore. I am a teacher. My students can't write, can't communicate effectively.

The problem with this is there is no solution. I hate guns and don't own one. Gun regulation isn't the answer. We are treating mental health more effectively than ever before. What is the common theme. The internet, the ability to parent through computers, the popularity/fame factor that the internet can provide, and the unfettered access that anyone can have. If a 9 year old wants to get on an adult site, they click a link that says they are over 18. SHould the parent be watching them and checkign on them? Sure. But the parent is too busy checking his/her instagram account.

It is a complete breakdown in how we operate as a society. We don't talk or interact. We don't have family dinners. We put kids on Ipads so we don't have to parent or teach or converse. And unless the internet goes bye-bye, every other solution is just a talking point. The family unit isn't going to improve; it will continue to erode.

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Guess you don't watch the news where people are taking vehicles and running people over in large crowds.

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Yes, that does happen (it's actually weird that the terrorists seem to have only recent caught on to the concept.) But I think it's silly to think there would be an equal number of vehicle mass slaughters in schools or anywhere if there were magically no guns. The prevalence of so many guns is at least PART of the equation. It's the NRA's complete unwillingness to acknowledge that that makes them unreasonable. I don't see why they can't just say it. It doesn't really give anything away.

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The gun may be the means to the end but isn’t the reason why

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Well we could start by asking why congress lets nutjobs buy guns?

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President Donald Trump quietly signed a bill into law Tuesday rolling back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun.

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Oh wait. Donald. Does no wrong.

You don't want to have a conversation.

Just bury the dead, say a few prayers. The next mass shooting is just weeks away.

I can remember never really seeing any type of death until later in high school when someone got a copy of Faces of Death on vhs.. that shite is tame compared to what my 8 year old could dig up on an ipad even with parental controls.. It’s an odd time to grow up and while certainly the good outweighs the bad IMO, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at the bad..

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It’s an odd time to grow up and while certainly the good outweighs the bad IMO, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at the bad..

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Oh I'm not trying to discredit anything believe me. We are living in an amazing time where technology is changing us by the day...good and bad.

I just find it fascinating how this shift has taken place