School shootings and Gender Issues
Both of these issues are two sides of same coins. Our kids are becoming lonely and it is affecting them mentally.
School shootings in the US has become common occurrence. And so is gender dysphoria. These two seemingly disconnected issues may have a common source.
The shooters in schools fall into two broad camps, the terrorists and students killing other students and teachers. That the second is more prevalent tells us problems with students are real. K12 Academics compiled a list of shooting incidences in American schools since 1700s. The incidents are triggered by breakups, depression etc. as much as identified mental health issues. The Centre for Homeland Defence and Security has a proper database from 1970s onwards.
As soon as school shootings happens you will read a lot of articles about gun control. It is an important issue. I was not sure about the fuss regarding gun control. The culture of weapons in the house has left India since British imposed strict laws in colonial period. The more I read, I find the issue is not easy logistically.
Gun Control - the elephant in the room
Guns were critical for founding of America as we know it. Americans were the militia that fought against the British state and won their freedom in 1776. The British tried to impose control over weapons (controlling gun powder e.g.).
After the constitution was adopted, there was a debate about state’s monopoly over violence, as was evident in the European countries of that era. The limited white population of the US drove two characteristics of American life that required people carrying arms. First, American towns had a volunteer part-time police force and second, they did not have a full-time army. The second became more important as Spanish and Portuguese were seen as a threat to more Anglo-Saxon America. The American founding fathers’ concluded that it was essential to protect a person’s right to bear arms and therefore added this as the 2nd Amendment, 1791. US also got its full time Army in 1791.
The decision proved beneficial as availability of rifles was important for westward expansion of America. The fight was primarily to eliminate the native Americans. They also fought wars with British, French and Mexico too. By 1910s Americans had all the territories in their control. The clashes with native Americans continued but the natives were eventually wiped out, defeated or restricted to reservation lands.
From that point on there was no justification for “right to bear arms”. This prevalence of weapons always caused tragedies. The prevalence of weapons has resulted in other issues across America. Advent of modern weapons, automatic weapons added to the worry. The weaponisation of street gangs, drug smugglers etc. has contributed to substantial numbers of deaths.
Gun Control and Australia
In that same manner we saw violence in Australia rise because of use of semi-automatic weapons (not school violence). Australian government announced gun buy-back and thereafter permanent gun amnesty has been put in place to return firearms to the government.
Australian example is pertinent because of lot of similarities with respect to US and American situation when it comes to gun violence. Australia does not have school shooting problems like one evident in the chart above.
Rise in school shootings is telling us something…
Unlike what Left Liberals like to believe, school shootings is multi-causal i.e. it ALSO has other causes.
The spike in school shootings also coincides with rise in ADHD and other psychological issues in children. It takes off post 2010 where children have reported increased gender dysphoria. The main cause is to do with what is happening with our children and young adults.
Abigail Shrier, author of Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters (2020), believes that the gender issues may be more a manifestation of isolation and stress children are facing because of broken homes, absent fathers, single parent households, financial difficulties etc.
In the gun control debate, I fear, we will miss this aspect of the problem. We must study this cause in greater detail. The implications for parenting, schooling and in general paediatric health is drastic. It should also affect the family relationships and other social factors. Till then, unfortunately, we must mourn the innocent victims.