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Is Lack of Gun Control Really the Problem?
It certainly seems to be part of the problem. I don’t think it should be so easy to acquire guns and I don’t think the majority of people really have a good use for them.
But I think the problem is bigger than that.
People also point to mental health. I can’t imagine mass shooters having good mental health, but the majority of people with mental illnesses are not violent so that doesn’t really explain the problem either.
I think our history in the United States and capitalism are the overarching reasons we have so much gun violence. I believe these two things have led to our country’s love of guns and our generally poor mental health.
I’ve worked a lot with young children and almost every time, if not every time, they misbehave it’s because they have an unmet need and they don’t know a better way to meet it. On some level I don’t think this ever goes away. But hopefully as you age you become better able to find other solutions instead of having tantrums.
More helpful than punishment is figuring out whatever the unmet need is and fixing it.
Capitalism means you often have to make choices based on what makes money or what costs less, rather than what’s best for you and your family:
- where to live
