Mental Health Massacre
We haven’t been properly introduced, I’m Carly. I take 7 pills a day and have multiple mental illnesses you probably know little to nothing about and have never considered committing a mass shooting. Now that we’ve got that awkward intro out of the way... The whole “mental illness increases gun violence” myth can about in the 90’s after Columbine. There is little to no evidence that anyone diagnosed with a mental illness is more likely to commit an act of gun violence than anyone else. Less than 3% to 5% of crimes involve a person with mental illness. Fewer than 5% of all gun-related deaths between 2001 and 2010 were committed by someone with a mental illness. Those who study violence prevention have deemed mass shootings to be too rare an act to see if mental illness does indeed lie at the heart of it. Drugs and alcohol, on the other hand, increase the chances of gun violence by 7-fold. Where is your outrage that individuals can bring loaded guns into bars? A history of childhood abuse, binge drinking, and male gender are also predictive factors. Policies that allow firearms during emotionally charged situations also increase the chances for violence and homicides are more likely in homes where guns are found. Availability is guns is more of a predictor of gun violence than mental illness. Examples: Australia’s number of mass shootings dropped to zero after they banned them in ‘96. And the lone psychopath theory? 85% of mess shootings occur within social networks. It has been suggested that people with mental illness are less likely to commit crimes as they tend to isolate or withdraw and are actually more likely to be victims of violent crimes themselves
Now let’s talk about the dangers of the media, mass shootings, and mental illness.
The media loves to diagnose the madman with a gun. They did x, y, and z which means they must have some sort of mental illness, wrong. By saying “mass shooters are always mentally sick” you are further perpetuating a very dangerous stigma. One that hurts those struggling. Those with mental with mental illness are more likely to be on the receiving side of violence, not committing it. Roughly 1 in 5 people struggle with mental illness and by making such irresponsible claims you are increasing that stigma, further causing people to shy away from seeking help. There is still a great deal of shame being diagnosed with any sort of mental illness. Many are terrified to seek help or get treated because of said stigmas. Fear of losing your job, your friends, family, everything.
