Are school shootings simply the result of capitalism?

[helltoupee]

I made this post in the Florida thread, and thought maybe it deserved it's own.

I'm pretty sure that it is a widely accepted fact that while household firearm ownership has been dropping, gun sales have been up in the last 30+ years because fewer people are stockpiling more and more weapons than they used to. I have seen arguments that this was the result of a marketing campaign by the gun industry (in response to falling household ownership (profits) in the 70's) to target their hardcore buyers by offering more options, interchangeable parts, colors, specialty guns, etc., creating a fetish of sorts.

I don't think anyone would disagree that we live in a hyper-consumeristic society, and, along with social media and the Internet, ultimately leads us to shorter and shorter attention spans. I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that this would then result in a much higher prevalence of compulsive behaviors. These people then seek treatment, and voila, we have a significant portion of the population on psychotropic medications.

You now have a portion of the population who are big time gun enthusiasts/borderline fetishists, have 2-second attention spans, are OCD, and on some kind of behavior altering medications.

Whether it's romanticizing guns in Soldier of Fortune magazines, adding a new colorful handle for the "sport shooting" crowd, Doctors prescribing meds, pharma corporations pushing those meds, or consumerism in general, it's all driven by the desire to improve the bottom line. Capitalism.

So is capitalism partly to blame?

 

[Ol'Ironhead]

Borderline fetishists ?


Get the fuck out of here, joker

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

First, social media platforms and the internet would theoretically exist in a non capitalistic landscape -- as would people having more time to view them - psychotropic drugs could be more prevalent in a demand side society because people would have access to them without needing the funds to do so.

And every developed world with high standards of living employs capitalism and materialism (take it youve never been to Switzerland) and they dont have the prevalence of school shootings.

 

[hillelslovak87]

They're the result of a political party who refuses any and all gun regulations, and the NRA. That is who it's on.

 

[machidafan99]

Not sure we can pin it exclusively on capitalism.

Often just as teens become men their psychosis peaks at the very time they're supposed to stand on their own legs and are, legally, independent.

They get pushed out of their jobs, their schools and set adrift because you can't force an 18 yr old to do anything.

At the same time they might haphazardly go off their meds in a totally unsupervised fashion.

We need loony bins for these guys to protect us and them. I don't mean a cruel mad house with shock therapy but rather internment at a mental hospital. This costs money but it's time as a society that we step up and pay for them.

Still, if the teachers, professors and school psychologists all recommend it how can we legally force an 18+ yr old into such a facility? Tricky question.

Some like Dylan Klebold (not Harris) could have been pulled back into the human family while others like The Question Mark killer need special full time care at a facility for life.

 

[Co-Co Zola]

School shooters are almost always young males who have some form of mental issues (on the autism spectrum, ADHD, FAS or whatever) whom also have a history of being bullied often along with a rough family life/upbringing.

It's quite sad actually, many of these people were outcast and bullied by their peers due to their 'oddness' or quirks (caused in part due to their mental illness/disorder). Their mental illness and sometimes physical traits (short, skinny, unattractive, unkempt appearance) make them prime targets for bullying.

They become bitter, angry, they pent up their rage and some of them eventually lash out at society as a whole. They flip humankind the bird.

Not to victim blame, or excuse their crimes. Just saying, I don't think many people are born with this fate. Their circumstances lead to it. You never really see handsome socially adjusted young men who do these things, nor do you see pretty females do it. Why would they ? They enjoy their lives, they have fun. It's always the meek 'odd' male who is a 'loner' who ends up snapping.

That's what happens here. That's my take. You can take it or leave it.

 

[all caps]

They're the result of a political party who refuses any and all gun regulations, and the NRA. That is who it's on.

I know who I am not going to when I have a problem.

 

[luckyshot]

One interesting fact I’ve noticed: these shooters are all men. I’d say men are to blame.

 

[PEDS Help me Post]

They're what happens when your country is fucking backwards enough to let kids have automatic weapons before they can even legally drink a beer.

Is there any other purpose for an assault rifle than to kill as many people as possible in a short timeframe?


but but but don't worry, the good guys have guns too! Yeehaw!

America watches too many movies and does too many drugs.

 

[Ol'Ironhead]

One interesting fact I’ve noticed: these shooters are all men. I’d say men are to blame.

May as well cut off your testicles and join antifa

 

[tehend]

They're what happens when your country is fucking backwards enough to let kids have automatic weapons before they can even legally drink a beer.

Is there any other purpose for an assault rifle than to kill as many people as possible in a short timeframe?


but but but don't worry, the good guys have guns too! Yeehaw!

America watches too many movies and does too many drugs.

You don't know what an automatic rifle is.

 

[Trotsky]

Absolutely, yes. You'll take heat for the suggestion by people who can only make direct causal analyses, but tangentially it absolutely is related to capitalism: the capitalist forces that lobby the government against the interests of its people and prevents more fluid attempts at policy making re gun violence prevention, the capitalist forces that pursue and accomplish the state-sanctioned sale of millions of firearms to known terrorist states, the capitalist forces that fetishize weapons to sell movies, toys, and video games, the capitalist voices that insulate the spread of death from ethical concerns of those wielding the machinery, etc., etc.

Simply the result, perhaps not. But partially the result, undoubtedly.

 

[S-dot]

I think it’s a combination of things but ultimately the root cause is these kids don’t feel like winners in our society. They are in the bodies of what should be at least semi-productive young men and their internal being is driving them towards things they don’t understand. They can’t figure our exactly what they want, much less intellectualize why they can’t get what they want(and if they can, they don’t know how to address it and haven’t learned to take the responsibility on their own shoulders). so they turn against the people they perceive as being their oppressors. For whatever reason, some combination or genetics and experience, they decide that the quickest and best way to satisfy their deep urges is to commit murder. This is my opinion on at least some of these people based on my experience with crazies and my understanding of the research into people who act out against any hierarchy.

 

[HatchetHarry]

It’s a combination of many things. Media glorification of violence, social media, mental illness industry, and the ease of obtaining assault rifles. Nobody needs guns like the ones used in these sad incidents. I’m fine with someone owning a revolver or a regular rifle but these weapons need to go and anyone receiving mental health treatment have no business getting any weapons.

 

[Dolomite]

...It is a widely accepted fact that while household firearm ownership has been dropping, gun sales have been up in the last 30+ years because fewer people are stockpiling more and more weapons than they used to...

Thing is... The average size of your current average household has been decreasing for the last few generations - as such - your anti-gun.org funded study of household ownership would show the same steady drop even if per-capita ownership remained constant - which I personally doubt it has at all.

I have seen arguments that this was the result of a marketing campaign by the gun industry... to target their hardcore buyers... creating a fetish of sorts.

"oh ..a fetish of sorts, eh ehhhh...." - just shut the fuck up.

 

[oldshadow]

They're the result of a political party who refuses any and all gun regulations, and the NRA. That is who it's on.

We have plenty of regulations .

The only thing that will satisfy the anti 2nd crowd is a virtual ban on guns UK type.

 

[hillelslovak87]

I know who I am not going to when I have a problem.

Pertinent, and insightful like always. Totally not facile and stupid, at all........

 

[oldshadow]

They're what happens when your country is fucking backwards enough to let kids have automatic weapons before they can even legally drink a beer.

Is there any other purpose for an assault rifle than to kill as many people as possible in a short timeframe?


but but but don't worry, the good guys have guns too! Yeehaw!

America watches too many movies and does too many drugs.

What automatic weapon?

 

[hillelslovak87]

We have plenty of regulations .

The only thing that will satisfy the anti 2nd crowd is a virtual ban on guns UK type.

Do you think nations like Australia and Britian have become better due to less guns? For example, have they seen a lessening in gun crimes?

 

[oldshadow]

Do you think nations like Australia and Britian have become better due to less guns? For example, have they seen a lessening in gun crimes?

You mean was it worth what they gave up, no.