Shootings – what’s wrong with the world today?

[onlyaguy]

With the shooting today in Connecticut (27 killed) and other recent shootings, you have to wonder what is going on with these people that motivates them to kill. What has changed in the world that is causing these shootings to happen with increasing regularity?

One thought I have is that perhaps this should be a wakeup call to feminists that women are not the only ones who face serious challenges. Men face a different world today than when I was born. We are bombarded with messages that we are obsolete or just plain bad. See link for just one example. link

Most women seem to believe the world is biased in men’s favor. I strongly disagree. Men are almost 4 times more likely to commit suicide link and are far more likely to go out in a blaze of violence. link

What do y’all think is going on?

Updates

+1 y

Please don't make this a "gun control" discussion. There are plenty of threads specifically about guns but I'm more interested here in the psychological and social conditions that might be contributing to the problem. Thanks.

Updates

+1 y

Please note that I'm not blaming feminists, as some of you seem to think. I was trying to point out that the problem belongs to society, not just men. We can understand the problem by just looking at men, even though they are the ones who typically commit these crimes.


So what has changed? That's what I'm getting at.


Please leave guns out of this discussion. They are clearly a factor, but they have been around for a very long time. Why are these shootings happening more and more?

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry, but to quote Jeremy Renner's character in the movie that came out this summer, "You think your coworker just went nuts and decided to kill you all? You think that was a coincidence? They wound him up and set him loose!"

And before you say I'm nuts, let me ask you.

If I told you two years ago that the ATF was smuggling thousands of rifles and handguns into Mexico to arm drug cartels, what would you have said?

If I told you several years ago that the President himself had "kill lists" he personally approved to have the said people eliminated, what would you have said?

If I said the CIA had programs studying mind control for using people as agents to carry out assignments, what would you say? (Proven fact, from over 50 years ago.) link

yet these things are proven facts. Insanity, things from spy novels, proven as truth.

[onlyaguy]

Proven facts? Where's the proof? Show the proof.

[Opinion Owner]

Concerning the latter three things?

link

link

link

Proof that there's something more to the mass killings? There isn't any, yet.

[singleness]

-The world today has more people, so a higher number of psychopaths and incidents are to be expected.

-Human beings are innately morally flawed, and most of the issues relate to wrongful pride.

-Society today promotes violence, for instance, in TV, movies, music, video games, so people become desensitized to violence. Other bad behaviors are glorified.

-A significant part of society devalues life; e.g. pro-abortionists.

-The promotion of post-modernism and relativism has major consequences: there is no objective right or wrong; moral obligations don’t exist; there is no such thing as true justice or fairness; it becomes the ultimate pro-choice position in which no one can accuse anyone of wrongdoing; taken to the extreme, sociopaths are validated and glorified.

How sad, very sad.

[singleness]

Thanks for BA!

[Anonymous]

I don't think feminism has ANYTHING to do with this, haha! Why are so many people making this shooting about OTHER things?

I think people just get angry and want to inflict violence on others, simple as that. Everyone has had that sudden urge to slam their car into someone else's, this is that on a larger scale - without the mental capacity to determine a better way to cope. They're already talking about this shooter being "developmentally challenged".

Seeing what people do and what people get away with sometimes makes me incredibly angry (even stuff on this website sometimes). Everyone gets angry about life, some simply don't have the mental capacity to "handle" it.

Also, I think we are a pretty desensitized society, in general.

[onlyaguy]

I wasn't blaming feminism. My point was that it's typically men who do these things, but it's not just a male problem. It's a societal problem, but as a society we tend to overlook men's issues far more than women's.

I think you hit on something regarding being desensitized. That might partially explain why the problem is getting worse.

As far as people just getting angry - why is it any different now? What's changed?

[Opinion Owner]

We are more desensitized now. And no, I don't blame video games and movies, I blame the people committing the actual violence.

BUT, when we have a shooting as often as we do nowadays, people get desensitized to the violence and suddenly it's not as appauling as it used to be. It's a slow fade - violence begets violence.

[Opinion Owner]

I also think that people are big cry-babies now. I was bullied by school kids and my own family quite horribly growing up. Did I shoot everyone up? Of course not, I just got over it.

Nowadays, everyone is "mentally anguished" and blah blah. "They made fun of me, I'm gonna shoot everyone up". People are life-or-death about EVERYTHING, it seems.

[onlyaguy]

Violence begets violence...that's true. I also agree that we have become a nation of cry-babies. Pretty pathetic.

But I think there's more to it. Not sure what, but I think it's more complicated.

[Opinion Owner]

You make it sound like you have an agenda, haha!

[onlyaguy]

Always.

[Opinion Owner]

Then if you're looking for a certain answer, pose the theory yourself and see if people agree or disagree.

[onlyaguy]

Not really an agenda. I already shared some thoughts but I'm interested in what others think. Thanks for sharing yours.

[Anonymous]

...So a guy goes out and kills 20 kids and 6 adults (the adults were all women, mind you), and suddenly this is supposed to represent male oppression? I don't feel the least bit sorry for this guy and the decisions he made.

My actual opinion about what has changed would probably irritate you even more than what I just said, so I won't go there.

[onlyaguy]

How do you keep the sand out of your ears down there?

[Opinion Owner]

What are you talking about? I have my head in the sand while you're the one who sympathizes with a mass murderer?

[onlyaguy]

I asked about the societal issues that might be contributing to things like this, and look how you respond. I stand by my statement.

[Opinion Owner]

Right, and maybe the "social issue" is the existence of bad people who don't give a sh*t about others. Maybe it's a society-wide lack of empathy. Or maybe it IS a sense of entitlement guys feel when they realize the world is not made for them and life is essentially meaningless. Everyone has to deal with the fact that they're not some special gift to humanity. If they want people to know who they are, maybe they'll try to make a beneficial impact on the world or be famous in...

[Opinion Owner]

...some other way. OR, if they're mentally unstable, they decide to go shoot a bunch of people, because the news will glorify and analyze them for years.

[posted]

People are a**holes, if someone deals with these people day to day they are going get angry enough and snap. The shootings in the media probably planted that seed in their minds, they began to think about it more and more, then finally got angry enough and snapped.

I don't get the feminist sh*t in here, what does that really have to do with anything?

While I hate the whole 'women aren't equal' sh*t when they are, they still want to eat for free, they cry and get out of speeding tickets, also the fact a lot of them think they can act bitchy over text chat rather than real life...

[onlyaguy]

I mentioned feminists because they seem to believe the world is biased against women and men have it pretty easy. We don't.

[posted]

True.

[YourMotherIsMyLover]

What's wrong with the world is the same as it has ever been, and we're all in denial. We're all sinners, some are just more damaged than others...who can understand why people can do the things they do? I can't understand why my friend's ex won't let him see his daughter because he cheated on her mother once. I can't understand why Dexter has uncontrollable bloodlust (I know its fictional). We're sinners, plain and simple...wake up to real life.

[onlyaguy]

Hard to argue with that. But why doe it seem to be getting worse?

[YourMotherIsMyLover]

Personally I think it's because of this modern idea that life is all about doing what you want, as long as you don't hurt anyone. The drawback with this is that the person sitting alone in their room doing and thinking evil things that aren't hurting anyone, might eventually act on them...Everything secular society strives for, basically total liberty, is backfiring because everyone has their own ideals, values and desires- and when these clash, people die :( Why do you think it's getting worse?

[YourMotherIsMyLover]

I apologise for this response... I was religious, judgmental 3 years ago... wish I could delete it 😳

[myspacemybroke]

I must say I agree, and also am quite pleased you didn't start off on some tangent about gun control.

[onlyaguy]

I just added an update asking we not discuss gun control here. Thanks for pointing that out.

[myspacemybroke]

Sure

[Anonymous]

I don't think this has anything to do with women , And no justification for the men who are doing the killings . People in general are messed up now , The problem stems from men not being raised by men with great morals and role models . And getting away from prayer in schools .

[onlyaguy]

I think you are 100% correct in what you wrote except for your first sentence. I think both men and women are responsible for the breakdown of the family, albeit in somewhat different ways. Those boys being raised by men with poor morals...they had mothers too. I think the undervaluation of fathers' role in raising healthy boys AND girls is a huge problem, and a contributing factor in things like this. And it's generally not men who are undervaluing the role of fathers.

[Anonymous]

i really think the solution is to ban guns, and control television media that influences kids into violence and puts thoughts into their heads, like at least take parental controls on television seriously, most cable companies offer it and also the internet service provider too, when I have kid I'm gonna be controlling what they watch on TV and online...as for the guns, install a security system at home no need to own a gun. only police officers should have guns

[kambo_trick3y]

Why can't these people stay in their own homes and kill themselves?

[MildlyOriginal]

a-f*ckin-greed.

[onlyaguy]

Yeah, I don't get that either. If a guy wants to kill himself, why can't he just kill himself and leave it at that? F***ers!

[prettyhot98]

Right , Leave the innocent alone . Those sweet children .

[DeidreK]

I was thinking the same thing.

[Anonymous]

wait what? So this is women's fault? Yep I have no hope for mankind... We will fight until our species goes extinct...

[onlyaguy]

Where did I say it is women's fault?

[Opinion Owner]

how about this; nothing is right or wrong and the fault cannot be put on anyone... what if this was supposed to happen TO WAKE PEOPLE UP. Now what happens after this is up to the individual. Personally I think there needs to be more love and less hate and blaming. Let's mourn these people and give love to ones who need it. Hates breeds hate, we all need to take a little blame..

[onlyaguy]

Well said.

[KingsOfleon88]

If people still don't think evil exists, just look around. Unfortunately, the US has to change the gun laws. It should be about time that they realize there is a problem.

[onlyaguy]

Today's shooting was carried out with pain old handguns, not assault weapons. Do you believe handguns should be outlawed in the US?

[MildlyOriginal]

apparently they found a .223 bushmaster at the scene as well =/

Not calling for a gun ban or anything, just letting you know that it might not have just been handguns alone after all

[onlyaguy]

Ah, good to know. Thanks.

[ThatBritishLad]

I don't know much about this shooting, but it bloody well ruined my 10 O'clock news report :/

[Anonymous]

What are you taking about? Your question doesn't make any sense

Gun control

[onlyaguy]

I'm asking why these shootings are happening more and more frequently. I'm talking about people, not guns.

[toricakes]

What are you talking about? The shooter is a psychopath

[onlyaguy]

There have always been psychopaths. There have not always been monthly mass shootings. What has changed. It's a simple question!