There have been numerous armed attacks in the United States targeting innocent people who are either on their way to work, in church or even in school. The pace of mass shootings has affected the whole nation, and Americans feel insecure.
In a report published in the journal Psychological Today, author Amy Barnhouse said that 11 Jews were shot in a church last month by a man who had published anti-Semitic comments on the Internet.
Two African-Americans were also killed in a grocery store by an armed man who tried to force himself into a black church. In addition, 12 people were shot at a nightclub in Thousand Oaks.
The author added that many people questioned the diagnosis of mental illness after these facts.
After examining the history of the perpetrators, some of their records contain such things as differences with police, cases of domestic violence, involvement with hate groups on the Internet, opposition to protests, threats of suicide and violence.
The author noted that many of the perpetrators of these crimes were previously diagnosed with psychiatric diseases such as depression, autism spectrum disorders and insomnia.
But the question is, even if the diagnosis is accurate, is the psychological disorder they are experiencing really the reason why they have carried out mass shootings?
Usually, when someone steals a liquor store or attacks his girlfriend, we do not automatically assume he is mentally ill. So why is the opposite going on when it comes to mass shooting?
The writer said that the killing of a group of strangers without a clear gain or motive is difficult to imagine because it defies logic, so we usually resort to the hypothesis that the perpetrator is a person with mental illness.
| There are few cases of horrific violence committed by people whose mental illness has changed their perception of reality (Picasso) |
mental illness
However, most of the perpetrators were not diagnosed with serious mental illness prior to the attacks. In fact, facing some psychological problems such as getting into fights at school, hitting your wife, or being a lonely person spending too much time on hate sites online is different from a mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
The writer said these people, driven by anger, may be extremely dangerous. Imagine what might happen when someone with one of these personality traits publishes hate-related ideas and focuses them on a specific goal, such as targeting African Americans, women, immigrants, or Jews. Once the attack turns into the use of weapons, a unique American tragedy is about to happen.
The writer noted that there were few cases of horrific violence committed by people whose mental illness changed their perception of reality and contributed to the commission of crimes. A good example is a 1999 incident in which a young woman shot at a television station in Utah because she thought the newscasters were broadcasting videos about her sexuality.
In 2013, in Navoi Yard, a shooting incident occurred in which a civilian contractor killed 12 people. He was said to have had hallucinations and thought radio waves were sent to prevent him from sleeping. But these cases are only an exception.
Most of the perpetrators are not motivated by delusions and voices in their minds that make them commit crimes, but are driven by the need to exercise their authority over a group, the author said. They are upset by the injustice they have been subjected to by some people or their colleagues who have not appreciated their talents.
To prevent mass shootings, we need to stop focusing on mental illness as the sole culprit, redirect our efforts towards enacting a law that directly targets dangerous persons and prevents their access to firearms.