Some quick thoughts on some of the post-Newtown massacre discussions that have been rattling around my brain. Seems to me that they need more attention and discussion.
Some people seem to assume that anyone who would mass murder young children must be mentally ill in a way that is relevant to the act of murder. Such assumptions seem to strip the murderer of moral culpability for his actions. They also seem to imply that members of the KKK, Nazis, gang members, and others who have killed en masse were mentally ill, an implication I find implausible. Is it time to bring the word "evil" back into common use, or some other word that expresses the extreme unethical behavior exhibited by such people?
One important lesson of Newtown that I wished I heard more people emphasizing: even if only "good" people had guns (as though we could identify such people ahead of time), the person who owns the gun may not be the person who uses the gun. The person who owns the gun may even be the person who is killed by the gun. Any claim that we need more guns needs to address this issue head on or it's not even worth a moment's consideration.
The NRA wants armed security guards in the schools. How about we take a scientific approach to this question? How often have such guards prevented tragedies (not in Columbine) and how often have bystanders gotten hurt (as they did at the Empire State Building incident last August)? And what are the educational impacts of having such guards around?
Some people seem to assume that anyone who would mass murder young children must be mentally ill in a way that is relevant to the act of murder. Such assumptions seem to strip the murderer of moral culpability for his actions. They also seem to imply that members of the KKK, Nazis, gang members, and others who have killed en masse were mentally ill, an implication I find implausible. Is it time to bring the word "evil" back into common use, or some other word that expresses the extreme unethical behavior exhibited by such people?
One important lesson of Newtown that I wished I heard more people emphasizing: even if only "good" people had guns (as though we could identify such people ahead of time), the person who owns the gun may not be the person who uses the gun. The person who owns the gun may even be the person who is killed by the gun. Any claim that we need more guns needs to address this issue head on or it's not even worth a moment's consideration.
The NRA wants armed security guards in the schools. How about we take a scientific approach to this question? How often have such guards prevented tragedies (not in Columbine) and how often have bystanders gotten hurt (as they did at the Empire State Building incident last August)? And what are the educational impacts of having such guards around?
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