Public violence appears to be the main topic of news coverage today. Society is susceptible to violence and no one is safe from the possibility of becoming a victim to crime. Crimes are committed with the belief that getting caught is impractical. People want to understand the insanity of criminals. When perpetrators kill themselves after taking the lives of others, the idea of questioning or assessing them are lost. The researchers that study crimes combine their knowledge with psychologist and sociologist to gain full spectrum of understanding why people commit violent crimes. After researching the web for closure to the probing question, why is American society becoming more and more violent? I have learned that there are many contributing …show more content…
Mass public killings are usually committed by someone that has a mental disorder. The findings usually are diagnosed after the heinous crimes have been committed. For example, Adam Lanza, the shooter of the Sandy Hook massacre was later found to have undiagnosed mental problems. The New York Times posted an article by Alison Leigh Cowan, 2014, that documents medical experts at Yale University had called for drastic measures to help Lanza in years before he shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hooks. The article mentions that Lanza had mental illness that went unnoticed. When mental illness affect individuals in an unexplainable manner but the signs have been there and overlooked, who do we blame? There are times when odd behavior is reported; looked upon as subjective until something happens unthinkable happens. Now everyone wants to reflect on a time when the subject did something peculiar. People get fired from their jobs and come back and shoot innocent people. Crimes of passion is committed by unbearable pain. For example, if a man of woman comes home and sees their spouse in the bed with someone else, a gun in pulled and the two end up dead. Could rage or pain led someone to act without
The article Shootings by Adam Gopnik depicts the correlation between mass murders and media to be a social gathering in which citizens from all around the world bandwagon onto debates to form “crusades”. Adam emphasises that media sources only shine light upon topics of gun violence and mass shootings in a overly exaggerated tone, rather than finding an appropriate solution. Adam attepmted to propose that media only brodcrasts pinpointed topics that grabs public attention to make headlines by focusing the characteristics of the Virgina Tech’s shooter’s mental illness. According to Adam (2007) “... much of the conversation was devoted to musing on the treatment of mental
There can be many causes of violence that affect a person or a group of people to carry out acts of violence targeting specific people or a specific institution. There are dozens of potential triggers. The main one to focus on is violence in the media. The media is able to portray violence all day long thanks to social media, 24-hour news channel, newspapers, radio broadcasts etc. It is easier for the media to use these various outlets to broadcast violence because we are always plugged in via our phones, tablets, laptops, computers etc. It is often said that the United States of America was conceived and nurtured by violence. Americans not only engage in violence; they are entertained by it.
The mental health system in The United States is flawed and needs serious reform. Many of the mentally ill are failing to seek the help that they need and deserve in a country like the U.S is baffling and must be reassessed. The system causes a rise in gun violence and more specifically, mass shootings. There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when approaching mental disorders and their correlation with mass shootings. Things such as type of mental disorder, the widespread diagnosis in the US, masculinity in men, and gun laws themselves. This research was done through a series of articles, interviews, and books. Mental disorders need to be taken largely into consideration when trying to find a cause for a shooting, and
What has America come to? Although the articles, “We’re No.1(1)!” written by Thomas Friedman, and the article “Violence is Who We Are,” by Steven Crichley, have different overall subjects, they have a similar arguments. The world isn’t as great as it used to be, we are lacking good leadership, and we happily invite wrong doings into our lives.
A review was conducted from the Law and society Association, American society of criminology and the Criminal Justice sciences Academy and it revealed that a big majority concluded that capital punishment was not a deterrent to homicide. More than 80 percent of those interrogated believe that the survey doesn’t hold up the effect of deterrence for the death penalty. Other criminologists suggest that more homicides are caused due to the fact that there is death penalty. The outcome of brutalization argues that the rates of homicides will increase because of the example served by state executions.
I learned a lot on the topic of mass shootings as well as the mentally ill. I do not believe that mentally ill individuals should be used as a scapegoat when crimes of violence occur. However, I do believe that some mass shootings and acts of violence can be directly linked to mentally ill people. Mentally ill individuals often lack reasoning and exhibit impulsive behavior. Finding information on mentally ill individuals is not that difficult because there have been several studies conducted involving mentally ill people. As mass
Mass murders have become somewhat of an epidemic in the U.S. There are many notable shootings within our recent history; so many that they’ve become somewhat normalized in today’s society. The Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012 is one of the well-known shootings that has occurred in the past five years. I remember when I first heard of the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. Even though it occurred far away, it hit close to home, and I broke down after hearing that twenty young lives had been taken. The shooter, Adam Lanza, had been diagnosed with mental health disorders and reportedly had an obsession with mass shootings. In the article, “Adam Lanza’s Mental Problems ‘Completely Untreated’ Before Newtown Shootings, Report
Many serial killers and mass murderers have been interviewed and tested to reveal why they killed and raped large groups of people. There are several factors as to why they perform such acts. My findings in this paper show that there is a logically explanation as to why they do what they do. In no way is killing or violence justified, but people have been through things we couldn’t imagine being put through. Many of these killers were put through harsh abuse physically, mentally, and emotionally which haunted them in their futures. This caused them to resolve their issues through inhumane ways. One who was put through sexual abuse became lust serial killers by wanting to rape the victims or sexually punish them. They want their
Since Barack Obama’s second full term in office, not a single full calendar week has gone by without some sort of mass shooting. A mass shooting is defined as “ an incident in which four or more people are shot,” and a Sunday-to-Saturday week has not passed without one of these incidents in more than a year (Bump, 2015). So, what gives? Following a mass shooting crime, one of the first things that always comes up is the perpetrator’s mental health: Was the shooter mentally ill? In recent years, the mass shooters we hear about have been, enabling a cycle of stereotyping in which those who have some sort of mental illness are associated with violent crime. Terms like “psycho” and “insane” are thrown around, creating a blanket of
What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present, at the streets, at work, at school, and even at home. Every day in the news we see reports about shootings, wars, thefts, drugs, rapes, and deaths. The worse part of seen this in the news is that all way do it’s complain about it and sit back. We do not even attempt an explanation or a resolution. Violence is among one of the most malignant act that has been increasing day by day. And why is it that we complain about other people being violent, but when we are asked if we are violent or if we have ever responded with violence, everyone says they are not violent. But if among ourselves we are not violent then who is it that makes our society a violent society?
History relating to the issue of gun violence and mass shooting can be dated back for decades. One of the most common misconceptions is that the cause of these shootings is not the availability of but that mental illnesses of those that obtain the guns are. However, there is little to no evidence that truly supports this argument. As stated in the article, Mass Shootings and Mental Illness written by James L. Knoll IV and D. Annas, “The overall contribution of people with serious mental illness to violent crimes is only about 3%. When these crimes are examined in detail, an even smaller percentage of them are found to involve firearms. (p.81/90)” This misconception among many can be attributed, as outlined in the article, to today’s media coverage.
Mass shootings in the U.S have many different causes as to why they occur. USA Today mentions that breakups, estrangements and family related problems make up the majority of mass killings. Although, many seem to blame gun violence and mental illnesses. Mass shootings can also involve a failed security system such as mistakes in the mental health system and gun control. (USA Today, 2013.) People question whether or not people with mental illness should be allowed to obtain a gun, while others argue that guns can provide safety when used correctly.
The reasoning behind issues of accidental killings to mass murders is also muddled in the minds of many. Many people seem to focus on different aspects of mass shootings in order to develop a sensible explanation for their occurrences. For example, some aspects analyzed may include, focus on the motives of the gunman, the strength and efficiency of firearm laws, and society’s disregard for the mentally ill. This is what is known by “attribution theory” (Joslyn, Haider-Markel 431) This theory describes how people justify what causes certain actions and events–with individual reasoning in order to show how gun ownership builds the way individuals determine who to blame and how they view mass shootings. Gun possession causes individuals to
The public has programmed many to perceive those with mental illnesses as more dangerous. According to the New Yorker, a study done in 2013 showcased that forty-six percent of respondents believe that people suffering from a mental illness pose a greater danger to society than those without. Furthermore, two recent Gallup polls, from 2011 and 2013, demonstrated that more people believe that mass shootings transpire because of a failure in the mental health system, not due to the easy access of guns. In the cases of Sandy Hook, Marysville-Pilchuck, Virginia Tech, and more, teachers, students, parents, and most importantly, the public, automatically assumed only insanity could cause the performance of those acts. Of course, mental illness can play an immense factor in a person’s likelihood to commit violent acts, but pinpointing it as the paramount reason for them should not happen. After lengthy analyses of data that discusses the correlation of gun violence and mental disorders, Jeffrey Swanson, a medical sociologist and professor of psychiatry at Duke University concluded that mental illness became a risk factor for gun violence in four percent of cases. Although the presented facts disclose the almost non-existent connection between mental illness and gun violence, many continue believing the opposite.
Violence pervades this culture. Americans not only engage in violence, they are entertained by it. Killing takes place in