Something must be done

Something must be done

Another, and another, and yet another tragic shooting spree; something must be done, but what? Murder before our eyes in churches, in universities, in malls, in town meetings, the proud locii of our free society. Each unthinkable event has been an assault on our assumed freedom; a blow to the communal solar plexus, leaving us stunned, puzzled, reeling. We ask each other: why? Single explanations don’t satisfy. Something must be done. But, what?

We can’t agree about guns; those convinced that easy access to automatic weapons plays a huge role can’t persuade the second amendment defenders who argue that guns don’t commit murder, people do. Echoing that line of argument are countless examples of fatal stabbings, beatings, poisonings…a psychologist whose life work required compassion and an eagerness to relieve psychic pain hacked to death in her office. But guns are villains again when a 3 year old riding with her parents is brought down in her car seat by a stray bullet, the fallout of warring gangs. It’s all happening in an America so far free of suicide bombings by political dissidents. But our senseless murders involve victims who are equally innocent and unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Something should be done, but what? I’ll tell you what I think: everything. Everything, bar none, should be done, including taking a serious look at entertainment that glorifies and trivializes uncontrolled violence. In my view, we must have stricter gun controls, and notably for citizens with a history of severe mental illness, not just those with criminal records. And the rules should be followed. That does not mean pointing a finger at anyone who has appropriately sought insight and/or relief from psychic distress, but it does mean protecting anyone who has had a break with reality noted by a licensed mental health professional, anyone who has a history of dangerously poor impulse control, anyone who has been deeply alienated and chosen to remain isolated in a college community.

I know these suggestions will evoke the protests of lobbyists for the rights of the mentally ill; but I think acting is essential for the safety of all, the innocent citizens as well as the troubled loner. In our defense of the right to privacy, we have put both the mentally ill and innocent victims in harm's way. By turning away, we protect no one’s rights and instead promote the troubled person’s anomie and psychic disintegration.

To maintain social order and mental integrity, social withdrawal within a university or college community can no longer be ignored. It is time for faculty and other school authorities to be trained in recognizing warning signs of serious mental illness. They can and must intervene, compassionately, when a member of the college community is clearly decompensating before their eyes. Troubled individuals should not be abandoned to their private demons in the name of freedom. The stakes are too high.

February 20, 2008