sunnykerr

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Kali, Mandie & Sunny

sunnykerr

Even if they had flagged him: Trump Overturns a Mental Health Regulation on Gun Purchases That was published a year ago today.

I've heard a lot of nonsense about him being deranged or mentally ill. Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. What does that have to do with anything? Did his mental illness buy him that assault riffle? Did mental illness buy the same assault riffle (an AR-15, the mass shooter's firearm of choice, apparently) for the guy who shot up that concert in Las Vegas? What about the guy who shot up the church in Texas? Did mental illness give him a AR-15?

As someone with a long and diverse history of mental illness and who struggles with it on a daily basis, I am incredibly appalled, outraged and downright insulted that mental illness is blamed. They're either terrorists or they're mentally ill. Does the fact that this guy attended white-supremacist rallyes make his mentally ill? Is this all because he got a big sad because his girlfriend dumped, so why not shot up his old school on Valentine's Day?

Stop blaming mental illness. I mean, feel free to give the mentally ill the support and ressources we need, but stop blaming it on mental illness. If mental illness was the cause, there would be no one alive on this planet since that's how prevalent mental illness is.

I understand the reflex to dismiss it as a sign of mental illness. An action like that is so bewildering, the civilian mind can't grasp at it. No wonder soldiers, and I'm guessing particularly drone operators or snipers, have a hard time re-adjusting to civilian life. Does their "kill rate" make them mentally ill, too?

It's not mental illness. And, even if it was, it wouldn't change anything, because your President walked back the laws put in place by his predecessor to try and make sure the mentally ill don't have access to freaking assault riffles. (To be fair, your gun enforcement system is so screwy that I have no idea how effective those laws were, but the fact remains that Trump struck them down.)

There You'll Be

Sunny, yep, that's what I was talking about-about POTUS overturning that law that Obama put in place.

I was just reading your post, and it's true-I was just bringing this to post...

It points out one thing you were saying, giving the example of other countries, saying that mental illness is just as prevalent there as here, but our death rate is thousands higher. He pointed out exactly the things you are saying.

I guess I didn't take the label of mental illness the same way you did, but I see exactly what you're saying-about being appalled by it, and also furious about it. I think because there was a time my head was so unable to realize that I was risking lives (driving insanely) and feeling like only my anger mattered, that I risked it, and didn't consider anything else. I know it's not the same as buying a gun-but from my teens on, I knew it would be dangerous for me to own a gun. I knew that because I was completely impulsive through my teens and 20's, until I got actual help.

Since then though, since I've gotten help, and gotten medication regularly, I've known better, and been better.

POTUS has also taken away mental health care for millions, so that kind of help isn't available, the way it used to be.

I completely understand what you're saying, and your anger over it. I think this is just one of those topics where you're very sure about this, and me being not so sure mental illness doesn't play a part in it. I know he was trained in a neo-Nazi training camp/school. I just don't know if he was trained to hate, or if he was predispositioned to.

As you can tell, I'm very conflicted by the two sides, and unsure of what I believe, so I see both sides. Anyway, the thumbnail I posted says the same things you are saying, so I did search out the other view on my own, befor reading your post.

sunnykerr

Kim, I think it's different.

I don't at all question what you were going through when you were driving like that. But the difference is you weren't hitting anyone or any pets. It would be the same as a mass shooting if you were hitting living things and you kept going like you were.

At least, that's how I see it. It's one thing to think you don't care about the consequences. It's another to have clear consequences and you keep doing the thing.

And, again, it would be the same if you were hitting people and pets, were arrested and then let go without being stripped of your driver's licence in any way.

There You'll Be

OH! That was just a lightbulb coming on for me-do you mean like if I was intentionally trying to run people down? Like that? Or, did I misunderstand? (Which is quite possible. I just got up from a late nap).

I see what you mean about not having my license taken away after conviction.

There were at least 39 instances where police were called to his home, on abusing his family, and domestic violence. I can't remember where I read that, or I'd post a link.

Families are protesting outside the NRA office in Virginia, and not leaving. The kids really are the smarter ones when it comes to gun control. Too bad trump couldn't be bothered to meet with them (because he was bought by the NRA) because they really are the sensible ones here. Just found a link about a rally in Ft. Lauderdale. It's a really good insight to how much kids They just state the facts. Florida school shooting: Students demand tighter gun controls - BBC News

sunnykerr

What I meant is that I believe you when you say that you were driving like a mad person and not caring about who you might hit in doing so. I believe you when you say you were in that headspace.

At the same time, you clearly didn't hit anyone. To me, that's the difference. A mass shooter keeps shooting even after seeing person after person getting his by the bullets he's shooting.

That's not mental illness. It's inconceivable behaviour to just about anyone, so it's easy to dismiss as being deranged or being mentally ill. But that's not the behaviour of mental illness, in my experience anyway.

And, let's say it is, let's say I'm wrong and mass shooters must be mentally ill to commit their actions. Well, wouldn't it make more sense to keep laws in place to prevent them from buying automatic riffles? Because that's the exact opposite of what Trump's administration did a year ago.

Because, whether this guy is or isn't mentally ill. He wouldn't have been able to do what he did if there were laws in place that would have prevented him from getting his hands on that assault riffle.

The mental illness part is a separate issue to gun violence.

Always & Forever

EDUCATOR STEPPING ON MY SOAP BOX
So, we’re encouraging students to skip school? I get what happened was so sad & more needs to be done, but encouraging kids to leave school to make a statement is not right. Have these kids continue to be educated, so they can get an education to go to college & beyond to do the right thing and make these changes. If they want their voices to be heard, dismissing their education isn’t the way to do it. More does need to be done, but I am not a proponent/supporter of this at all. If this is becoming a national thing, the word is spreading & something could happen to these students as they walk out. Let’s keep these kids in school, but get more security at the schools. That’s what needs to be done. Don’t keep them away from schools, no matter how “unsafe” they feel. People can feel “unsafe” anywhere... End rant.

Please share your personal thoughts & opinions about this. What do you think? Do you agree with this?

sunnykerr

Get more security at the schools? How? Universities with armed guards have seen similar massacres. Turn schools into prisons where you have to go through a metal detector to get in and out and the second another armed person blasts their way in, everyone else is now a prisoner of their own making?

I'm a huge fan of education myself. I did a lot of it. If there was a way to make money going to school, I would still be there.

But, let's face it, we've been hearing for years that university graduates in your country are finding it extremely hard to find decent jobs in their chosen field because Baby Boomers are still saturating the job market and, as they retire, it hasn't led to the creation of jobs either. So it's not like society seems to be valuing education at the moment.

On the other hand, it's also been almost 20 years since Columbine and what has changed exactly? How many children have been prevented from pursuing their education because they've either been murdered or injured beyond repair? Yet your whole goverment is still acting like it's normal to allow guns to have free run of society.

So if kids saw what happened in Florida last week and think it's time for them to make their voices heard so that adults start holding their elected officials accountable... isn't about time the adults start listening to them?

There You'll Be

Okay Sunny, I see what you're saying now. Also, if I had ever hit an animal, or someone, I would have found it so hard to live with that, and I would know I deserved to be punished. I would change my way of thinking, and behaving as well.

I wouldn't blame it on, or accept it being blamed on, mental illness.

The students are also walking out a day in March. The 14th. Good for them for knowing something needs to be done by lawmakers around the country, especially in Washington. Also for using their sadness and rage to make a statement and difference. Not accepting that that those bought by the NRA can't do anything.

I think it should absolutely be done nationally-to give a voice, and make a difference, because the next shooting could happen in any school around the country, and again, I say good for them. If the adults aren't going to behave like adults and protect them, they need to tell the world that it's wrong.

More guns, and more security are impossible to implement. It's not going to stop the next shooter with their mind set.

The government is cutting 25% of money towards education. Like Sunny said, education is no longer valued, or supported.

sunnykerr

This guy, and other mass shooters, kept shooting. Again and again. They kept shooting. And I feel like we "want" it to be mental illness because it can't make sense that a human being behaves like that. Again, I'm not a physchiatrist nor am I pretending to be one, but I feel like saying it's mental illness is wishful thinking. Because we don't want normal human beings to be capable of doing something like this. Because then, they're not like the rest of us.

Even if I'm super-duper wrong, which happens all the time, this is still not about mental illness. If it turns out that every single one of these mass shooters is somehow mentally ill and that's why they did what they did... mental illness didn't give them access to the kind of weaponry that could cause such carnage.

How many times have I heard that, if you made guns illegal, criminals would still get them, so why prevent law-abiding citizens from being able to defend themselves? When are we going to start hearing about whether it's worth it to keep guns legal when it means that every wannabe mass shooter has no problem finding them legally?

Kim, I think this is what you're talking about, right? Florida school shooting: Students to march on Washington

There You'll Be

I agree with you. We (most of us) want it to make some kind of sense, so choose mental illness as the reason, rather than accept that it's homicidal madness, made easy by readiness of guns.

I believe the excuse for readiness is allowing for revolution, which would only allow for mass killing police, the government, and innocent citizens. Which, makes completely no sense.

Yes that is it..Also,adide from the March on Washington yesterday, they're having that again, and organized marches around the country.

The April 20th (anniversary of Columbine) is a planned walkout of schools around the country. From what I understand, is for until something is done to change the gun laws, except for the teachers, which can't afford that with the cut to school funding wouldn't allow that.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43121547 An attack on rebel held camps has led to the death of at least 100 innocent people, including at least 20 children.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43123148 State of emergency declared after a former cyclone makes landfall.

Karma Police

Calling it skipping school is kind of insulting to them since they are protesting because they are tired of their friends being killed and politicians doing nothing about it. I find the teens taking action inspiring and hopefully it'll inspire other teens to take action as well, it's good that they see that their voice matters and is heard. Honestly the teens make more sense than a lot of adults.

More security isn't an answer to a massive gun problem. Mass shootings are going to continue at a ridiculous level if the laws stay the same, regardless of security measures

School should be a place of safety not one where you are afraid you might get killed by a class-mate. Children/teens feel unsafe because they have to keep in mind somebody might bring a gun to shcool.

Always & Forever

THERE’S A WAY TO STOP MASS SHOOTINGS, AND YOU WON’T LIKE IT.

Karma Police

This is very condescending and honestly naive, that's a fantasy world, not an actual solution because a lot of people already do that and mass shootings still happen. Being nice and engaging introverted/isolated people is not going to stop bad people from hurting others. To me this sounds like Trump's tweet in which he blamed the students and neighbours.

Always & Forever

It’s a start... Just like these protests are a “start for change” hopefully for most people that want to do it/support it, this could just be another way for people to “protest”...