Issues Beyond Guns

Yesterday I caught a glance of the headline coming out of Florida.  I didn't stop to think about the shooting at the time.  I met a friend for coffee who in the past has had trouble with one of her children being depressed and suicidal.  Then we had a family meeting about Madelle's semester of being homebound.  We went over her success of earning a half credit of algebra, participating in girl scouts socially, and coming off of her meds.  We discussed what she wanted to accomplish this next semester.  My husband and I went to Mass.  We ended the evening with a family prayer and family reading time. 

This morning, I read a bit about the the shooting.  A couple of people commented on gun control on Facebook.  One friend wants more control.  I believe two proclaimed guns aren't the problem.  A debate raged on one post.  I would say that in the friend zone I have a lot more people against gun control.  I am blessed to have a lot of hunters and military people in my life.  I am equally blessed with having a wide range of friends on the other side of the fence.  However, what hurts my heart is the lack of posts on all the other issues. 

I debated doing a blog post about Florida because no one needs to hear my opinions on guns.  Frankly, I am sick of the debate.  I have no desire to go down that proverbial rabbit hole.  We could all argue until we are purple and it isn't going to do an ounce of good.  My opinion is not going to be changed and neither will yours.

What are the real issues?  Really, there are so many issues that it is overwhelming.  I think that is why so many people grab onto the gun aspect of the situation.  If we get rid of them, we will have no more mass shootings.  Of course that is true for those law abiding folks that wouldn't have guns.  However, I think that we would then have bombings, knifings, and possibly serial killings.  Violence will not end.

The issues all stem from people hurting to the point of acting out in violence.  I haven't read up much about the shooter.  I only read one article.  I learned the student has been violent in the past.  For a year, the school had seen the behavior manifesting.  Many times, we find out a shooter's family life has been lacking.  They have been bullied at school.  Academically, they have struggled with the work.  He may have been bounced around in the mental health field if he even had the ability to get mental health. 

Those of you who have followed my blog know that we have mental health issues with our daughter.  We are blessed to be educated and have an amazing health care coverage.  Even with all the tools we have, many times my husband and I have felt like we are hitting our heads against a brick wall.  My heart breaks for these kids who don't have these advantages.  Of course they are exploding in violence.  Their parents can't or won't help them.  They can't find the right fit with a psychologist and/or therapist.  My daughter has had four therapists for goodness sakes!  It has at times been a fulltime job working with her illness.  Many teens and their families have these advantages.  Mental health is a nightmare!

Schools are flooded with kids struggling with mental illness.  In my daughter's school, they now have two therapists and a couple of helpers just for this just this issue.  The school didn't have this eight years ago when her brother went to school there.  And still the school can't help all the kids because there are so many.  That isn't even addressing whether the therapists are good at their job or the right personality to gain trust for the suffering student.  Plus, a lot of these kids have learning disabilities beyond the disability of mental illness.  Many of these kids don't fit into the regular education system, let alone in their peer group.  All of this creates a cesspool of volatile thinking and behavior.

Other issues arise in the area of family dysfunction, drugs, alcohol, lack of mentorship, and morality.  Please, don't even get me started on cell phones and the lack of socialization these kids are participating in everyday life.  One of the main reasons I finally bought my daughter a cell phone with internet was because then she would have something to do when everyone else was playing on theirs.  Hell, I feel the stress when I am with someone who won't talk to me because they are too consumed by their phone.

I seriously don't see the Florida shooting as a gun problem.  I see it as a societal problem.  Our kids are hurting from family dysfunction, drugs, no mentors, mental health, cell phones, bullying, education, and the list goes on and on.  We have a hurting teen due to bullying and social issues.  My husband helps with youth group and a number of these kids are struggling with social issues.  All of them come from good homes.  There is an epidemic that no one knows how to fix.  It has nothing to do with guns.  The gun is just a means to act out against the problems the person is having.  What is even the point of writing such a post?  I have no answers.  The point of writing is to think about and maybe discuss all the issues and to stop hiding behind the gun debate.