Such a shame. Crazy man shoots many in Arizona, including a U.S. Congresswoman. Children assault fellow students and teachers in schools-- with pistols and rifles. Random gang killings cut innocent lives short every day in our cities and around the world.
We blame "hate language," guns, and lifestyles that make gang membership preferable to bonding with family, teachers, churches and other constructive avenues. We miss key details about why a child or person isn't connecting... about a child that doesn't connect with curriculum and other troubling problems adults have, even here in the most prosperous nation in the world.
Perhaps it is too easy for an unstable person to get a gun. Perhaps certain words or graphic language alluding to violence do contribute to senseless violence. What about the illusion some people seem to have that they have been ostracized beyond hope? Can we fix that illusion? Is the condition more than an illusion, and if so, can we improve conditions?
Let's encourage our children and colleagues to be responsible when they choose words, but let's be careful before thinking a knee-jerk, heavy-handed response will resolve trends that really are much more complicated. See the website affiliated with my book, A Citizen's Guide to Marksmanship, at this link.
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