So, NOW...finally...is everyone onboard and ready to actually do something about these horrific mass shootings and acts of terrorism? Good. Let's get started. And the place to start is by identifying the nature of the problem and who the perpetrators are.
First, let's define the basic issue. Is this, or is it not, a matter of "gun violence"? My answer is "Yes...mostly". Close enough for discussion purposes anyway. Sure, there are bombings and stabbings and other kinds of weapon misuse. But, in our country at least, most mass murders are done with guns. So, yes, let's start by addressing the main problem: gun violence.
Next, let's devote this particular discussion to trying to get some sort of handle on who these shooters are. My observation is that they fall into three groups. Before dividing them into those groups, however, let us take a look at what these people have in common (besides being gun owners with a desire to shoot people).
These are citizens who fall into a particular subset of gun enthusiasts who see their right to bear arms as the freedom that protects all their other freedoms. They view the Second Amendment as a logical companion to the First Amendment. To these individuals, the ownership of guns is a direct extension of their right of free expression. They see no distinction between their right to verbalize their anger against their enemies and their right to defend themselves from the actions of those enemies.
These citizens own guns, often many of them, and for what they see as very good reasons. And they comprise the following three general groups:
Group 1: Middle-aged, white working class men who see themselves as tough guys and true red-blooded Americans, but whose lives and livelihoods are being turned upside down by globalization, ethnic diversity, and the technological tsunami. They are easily swayed by anyone who speaks their language and inspires them to fight back--a Donald Trump, for example.
Group 2: Young African-Americans and Hispanics who are natives of the inner cities and who see themselves as imprisoned in a hopeless cycle of poverty and lack of opportunity. They see no way out. The American Dream is a myth to them. Consequently, they are susceptible to the excitement and opportunity promised by the turf-war gangsters that control the streets and alleys of their neighborhoods
Group 3: Millennials whose parents are Muslim transplants from the Middle East; young Americans who are struggling to come to grips with their own identity and to 'be someone' in a world that is foreign, and often hostile, to them. They are easily influenced by radical groups that play to their anger and frustration and are quick to invite them to join in fighting an idealized war against that oppressive mainstream society.
The members of these groups, of course, are invariably gun-owners, are predominately male and are angry about their situation in life and determined to fight back. And, although they reside in completely different areas of the country and are completely unrelated to one another, the three groups do share a kinship, certain traits that tend to fit them into a common profile, one that makes them prone to engaging in gun violence:
1. Each group is insular. That is, the members associate almost exclusively with their own kind and communicate with one another in a language they all understand. They harbor a huge distrust of outsiders.
2. Each group shares among its members a well-defined enemies list, laying out in no uncertain terms the people and things they hate the most. And they see themselves as warriors against those mortal enemies.
3. In the case of each group, members, when in the private company of their own peers, are not at all hesitant to speak openly about their feelings and to vent their anger and hostility vociferously, without regard to political correctness or what might be socially acceptable to so-called 'outsiders'. 'Strength in numbers' bolsters each guy's bravado and bold rhetoric, often to a point of being incendiary and promoting violent solutions.
4. For the members of each of these three groups, the next level of action is to prepare for that inevitable day when they will have said all they can say and gone as far as mere barroom expletives, barbs and bigoted epithets can take them. Thus, they spend considerable time and resources arming themselves against all of these enemy forces which, they are convinced, will be coming after them and their way of life sooner rather than later. They call it self-defense. And rightfully so, even if the threat is somewhat exaggerated or even imagined.
So, for all three groups---the middle-aged working stiffs, the inner city minority kids, and the second generation Muslim-Americans--a fascination with guns and other weaponry not only evolves into an all-consuming hobby but, even more than that, it becomes a natural extension of their need to express their anger and hostility toward their lot in life and the ones who made it that way.
Thus, for them, the right to keep and bear arms goes hand in hand with their right to free speech and expression. The former is merely the tools and weaponry they need to keep 'the enemy' from taking away the latter.
Certainly, not every gun owner is an angry man, rebelling against society. Many are sportsmen, many are collectors, and many, of course, are not even men. Guns appeal to women, as well, especially when it comes to protecting themselves and their families. But, there is a distinction: Those are not the ones committing mass murder against innocent people.
There are many other issues that will need to be addressed along the road to ending these senseless killings. Mental illness, societal pressures, availability of weapons, and so on. But first we have to recognize the perpetrators and identify them for who they are. That's not to say they comprise one monolithic group of individuals with one shared motive; but they do appear to have a shared psychology.
Perhaps we should start there.
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