After another high-profile shooting death in the US, there is obviously going to be more discussion about gun ownership. Especially since the person killed was a proponent for guns and had apparently previously said defended gun violence. I get it though, because guns aren't the problem.
People are.
Guns are inanimate objects by themselves, the same as a knife, a stick, or a rock. They are mindless, which is why "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" is so pervasive. Yet, this inevitably should lead to the question about people themselves, and their capabilities to manage themselves. At least to me it is pretty obvious that the mental health of society has been degrading for a long time, so more "normal" people are more prone to kill people than they were earlier, because the new normal in terms of mental health, is unhealthy.
Banning guns doesn't improve mental health, because as we have unfortunately seen, knives or cars can be used as weapons also. Having said that, shouldn't there be an attempt to keep obvious weapons out of the hands of mentally unhealthy people anyway? Still, it is not a solution to the problem, because if mental health keeps degrading, those healthy people already with guns will eventually be pulled into the unhealthy category anyway.
Society is sick.
I would posit that compared to forty years ago, the average health of people in most western countries at least has fallen, across all the factors that matter. Physical health has fallen with more obesity and chronic illness now prevalent. Mental health has fallen with the likes of more anxiety, depression and schizophrenia nowadays. Emotional health has decreased which ties in with mental health, but can also include other factors like self-management and patience. And of course, social health has been ravaged, with less sense of community and more disconnection as people hide behind their screens and under headphones.
If we want to make any inroads into reducing violence in society, we are going to have to improve wellbeing across the board. The focus has to shift from economic wellbeing for the few, to human wellbeing for the many. And of course, the economy will have to shift in order to incentivise the activities that support wellbeing, rather than profits at the expense of wellbeing.
This is the largest obstacle.
Because the reason that profits keep climbing and the wealthier get wealthier, has been the economic model that has led society into this continual and accelerating decline of human health. There have always been sick people in society, but now the centre of the distribution has shifted pushing more people into the volatile ranges, where there is higher risk of more extreme behaviours.
Are you willing to give up your profits?
All of the corporations looking to make profits do so because of the investors in the company, from the largest funds and institutions, to the retirement funds and private people. Everyone wants to maximise their wealth, so the investment goes into the corporations with the highest returns, even if they are a net cost to wellbeing.
We are all sick, aren't we?
The decline is rapidly approaching a point of no return, so if there isn't a reversal in how we organise ourselves in this world, few, if any, are going to survive what is to come. And the way down is going to be increasingly difficult for us all - and our health will suffer even more.
We are people, and we are killing ourselves.
Taraz
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