I know, too many letters there. But I want to talk about crisis hotlines. There are 1-800 numbers to call (and other means of contact) for rape victims or those contemplating suicide or having a mental breakdown, among many other reasons. But what about those who are just very angry and want to do a bad thing, especially with a gun? Is a general crisis line good enough? Might a number they could call safely, anonymously, and for free, to talk with a counselor trained specifically to deal with them, be useful? If there isn’t already something exactly like that, maybe there should be.
The risk, of course, is that without some physical intervention, the caller may go out and shoot someone anyway. But if there were one last base to touch, might they be talked down from their plans?
I am 100 percent supportive of reasonable nationwide gun laws, such as background checks, waiting periods, and an assault weapons ban. Red flag laws are great too, but sometimes, nobody sees the flags, and maybe there simply are none. People with perfectly clean records are suddenly moved to get a gun, which they can do legally and often too easily. Then, how many times have we heard people say after an incident that they had no idea the person they thought they knew was capable of such a terrible act? How many dormant volcanoes are there out there – people with lava boiling inside? We don’t always know when they might erupt.
I get that many shootings are motivated by revenge, as in the case of workers fired from their jobs or those whose significant others just dumped them. But why do shooters attack schools, churches, shopping malls, and theaters? Most are not political terrorists. Maybe they just feel powerless or ignored and want to make a statement, to be somebody, to count. I am all in favor of not mentioning the names of or glorifying shooters, but I do think we have to know something about their motives. Clearly, a mass murder is a response way out of proportion to what’s bothering them, but could someone on the other end of a phone line or chat box convince them of that?
We are constantly hearing pleas to help the underserved, but it would do us well to provide some safe outlet for the dangerously underHEARD. As I have said, by the time somebody shows up at a school with an assault weapon, it’s way too late.
