There is a good response up by psychiatrist Keith Ablow on coping with today’s elementary school tragedy:
First, we should tell them that horrific violence is still mercifully uncommon—that the risk to any one school in America is, thankfully, extremely, extremely limited. We should tell them also that events like the one in Newtown on Friday almost always turn out to be driven by severe psychological turmoil or psychiatric illness in the assailant—not because that forgives anything, but because it takes the boogeyman out of the story and suggests a solution to such horrific violence might be found through better outreach to the unstable among us and better management of those we identify as unstable….
Beyond how to cope with the suffering of children exposed to Friday’s violence, we must make good on a commitment to rebuild our mental health care system and to better connect it to law enforcement. I know nothing about the shooter in Connecticut. And, yet, having worked for these 20 years as an adolescent, adult and forensic psychiatrist, I will tell you there is every probability that he expressed very concerning thoughts or feelings to more than one person before Friday—and those thoughts or feelings should have been acted upon much more completely than they were….
One other thing: Those who call for gun control after incidents like this contribute nothing to the solution. Gunmen like Friday’s plan their actions, right down to wearing military garb. They could certainly procure illegal firearms or use incendiary devices to kill. I only wish the kindergarten teacher and principal in Connecticut had been armed.
And of course Comrade Obama didn’t miss the opportunity to all but call for it in his fakey statement.
“I only wish the kindergarten teacher and principal in Connecticut had been armed”
There’s a gun control bumper sticker, if ever there was one.
Thus, carrying a weapon stopped being a right and became an obligation, because it’s too late now to try anything else. Congratulations – I’m sure this is exactly the outcome that jefferson and washington had in mind.
Dear Techno,
waaaaaaaaa waaaaaaa.
— Jefferson and Washington
Yep. Dead kids is very very funny.
If you read the writings of the founders you will find that they did indeed beleive that every citizen should be armed. They beleived that any gov that feared an armed citizenry was one that its citizens should fear.
I have the answer… put both guns and God back in the schools.
Psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists such as Keith Ablow (an arrogant $#%@!) always have answers for everthing yet those professional have never contributed a prescription to any social ills of the world — that makes any difference!
With the exception of MD/psychiatrists who research and treat the biological/neurological mental dispostions, the rest are nothing more than mathematical human behavior statisticians. In other words, I have no regards for anything Ablow has to say even if on occasion he may be right in some ‘general’ context. He said nothing that millions of common Americans citizen have not concluded in the past and again today as a result of the school shooting tradegy.
Why do so many continue to put self appointed arrogant intellectuals upon public pedestals?
It’s unfortunate that Dr. Ablow doesn’t have the humility to see that his opinions are less worthy than are those of Zeke.
“It’s unfortunate that Dr. Ablow doesn’t have the humility to see that his opinions are less worthy than are those of Zeke.”
AND…. the opinions of millions of other common sense grounded citizens!
The point remains that the ills of humanity have not nor will they ever by cured by psychology and sociology professions. The same ills of the general society are all well represented within these professions. Alcholism, drug abuse, prostitution of expert testimony, suicide and on down the line of criminal and social ills.
Zeke: “those professional(s) have never contributed a prescription to any social ills of the world”
Professionals don’t prescribe solutions for the world. They prescribe for one client or patient at a time.
The Twentieth Century was littered with the wreckage of societies whose ills were to be remedied from the top down. Didn’t work well at all, unless you wore the jackboots, the skimask, or the labcoat. The Twenty-First Century is shaping up for more of the same.
As for “self appointed arrogant intellectuals upon public pedestals” let’s name a few more. How many of them enjoy public pedestals courtesy of MSNBC, Disney, or NYT?
You self-servingly omitted the latter portion of my comment – “….have never contributed a prescription to any social ills of the world — (that makes any difference!”)
“As for “self appointed arrogant intellectuals upon public pedestals” let’s name a few more. How many of them enjoy public pedestals courtesy of MSNBC, Disney, or NYT?”
I couldn’t agree more! Lets also include the multitude of internet sites. Lets also include literary distribution points such as Barnes & Noble, Books Azillion, etc., and for fair and balanced reporting lets also add Fox News Channel.
The fact is, that ‘maybe’ one in every one million proclaimed professional social, religious and political experts will be remotely remembered many months beyond their deaths.
@Zeke-
“You self-servingly omitted the latter portion of my comment – ‘….have never contributed a prescription to any social ills of the world — (that makes any difference!’)”
Perhaps he omitted it out of pity, since the missing part of your sentence was the part which shouts from the rooftops that you are an appalling narcissist. The part YOU left out, although it was obvious, was “to me.” As in, “makes any difference to ME.” If you had ever known someone with a serious mental illness – and no I do not mean self-diagnosed asperger’s – then you would understand that each one of those prescriptions makes a very big difference to the people they allow to function with a degree of normality. My mom is a psychologist and has worked with these people for years, and I am lucky enough to have also spent time with them on a regular basis, (most including varying degrees of mental retardation). The person for whom medication stops constant and debilitating hallucinations or voices – their psychiatrist made a big difference. Psychiatrists make a big difference to those with compulsive behavior so overwhelming sleep is an impossibility.
The part your brain self-servingly skipped over was where Dr. Ablow mentioned “rebuilding our mental health system” and “connecting it better to law enforcement.” Thank goodness for doctors like Ablow, who speak out every day against the deplorable state of our prison system that houses so many people who do not belong there, but in a hospital instead. Fortunately, it looks like Jared Loughner will be spending the rest of his days in a hospital for the criminally insane, where he belongs, but the fact that this was even in question is unacceptable. I pray the PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIC (if you only had a clue what this means is going on inside his literally shorted-out brain) James Holmes lives out the rest of his days in a similar place. I would say the psychiatrists caring for Mr. Loughner are doing a pretty big service to SOCIETY, keeping both him and us safe.
Thank goodness for doctors like Ablow who actively advocate for SOCIETY to help those desperately in need of help, *before* it gets to the point of Sandy Hook. Thank goodness for doctors like Ablow who advocate for those who cannot help themselves, like so many of our mentally ill homeless. Right now there is nothing SOCIETY can do about these people, we cannot force them to accept help. They won’t be in ‘the system’ until something terrible happens, and then it is too late for both the sick individual and for SOCIETY. Dr. Ablow uses his “pedestal” every day to speak out for these people, so I am incredibly grateful he has been blessed with such a pedestal. This morning I saw him on FAUX NEWS (waa waa) and he said, straight out, “STOP saying ‘evil visited us yesterday,’ NO, MENTAL ILLNESS visited us yesterday!”
Thank goodness somebody has a pedestal on which to say that.
“prescriptions”
You didn’t read my previous (initial) comment with very much accuracy. The comment and term was addressing ‘societal’ prescriptions relative to functioning of or as a society. Also, you missed that part where I gave great credit to those MD/psychiatrists who are dedicated to the biological/nuerological and correlating genetic research of mental defect.
Everybody should take the time to read through the DSM of Mental Disorders which by the way is added to routinely. While a core number are very legitimately correlated to the biological/neurological, a huge majority are nothing more than an attempt at defining emotional behaviors according to some specific societlal standards of religion and political motivations.
Take for example Axis I – syndromes. Depression and social phobias are inherently normal in the scheme of human nature. On the other hand, schizophrenia is an interesting and legitimate area but excludes the majority who claim to have a ‘personal’ relationship and ‘two-way conversations’ with God. Who and what draws the line between normal and abnormal (defective) in any organized society?
Take for example Axis II – Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders. Of the two sections one again delves into personality disorders (clinical syndromes) which have a more long lasting symptoms and encompass “the individual’s way of interacting with the world.” They include Paranoid, Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders. Developmental disorders by in large are quite legitmate. But again, with regards to personailty disorders which are covered, who and what draws the line between normal and abnormal (defective) in any organized society?
I need not go through each axis as you’re obviously very familar with them. My point is that there is no ‘Bible’ to define ‘personality disorders’ within a standard of normal and abnornoral. It is highly arbitrary bound to religion, politics and social groups who self ordain to define normal and abnormal — often times with questionable movitives.
If you ‘violate a law’ more than once, should you be diagnosed as predisposed to crime and anti-social behavior? Most would not hesitate to say yes. Now if I add the violation of law as being speed violations, the answer would be resoundingly different. Thats how arbitrary the ‘science’ of pyschology can be.
In closing, I would be remiss not to acknowledge that many might claim to have benefited from ‘professional’ counselling and some from medications prescribed by the profession. However, that does not lessen the fact that at some point in time, a single DSM will require a forlift for transport from the printer.
By the way, thanks for a mature and intelligent reply!
I forgot to metion another interesting fact. Speak to classroom educators around the country. See how many have evaluated a student along with district professionals and denied a student special educational considerations. They will tell you of the countless times parents will go outside the district and pay for any number of psychological evaluations who WILL diagnosis to leverage special benefits for their failing or behavior problem child and in many states, such diagnosis will provide financial assistance to the parents. This happends daily across the nation. Who, in the end, pays for this kind of bogus professionalism?
Laws that disarm people who would save children from mass murders are immoral. We’ve done the experiment. Gun-free zones are killing zones.
“I only wish the kindergarten teacher and principal in Connecticut had been armed.” Folk gotta do what folk gotta do, so be it. I’d support that… what the protective responsibility of “in loco parentis” means under psycho-with-gun conditions.
The killing of innocents by a miscreant is always horrible. The survivors have a long,arduous journey to feel safe and secure sincer they cannot understand -why? No one is debating the initial facts. Adam Lanza got PUZZED IN- because he was a teacher’s son and known to the guardian at the LOCKED door. That guardian was not informed- the mother- a teacher- was not at school- the guardian did not page/call the mother to the door to see her son. In any safe and secure school- there should be no exceptions in granting entry to any teacher’s/maintenance adult/late teens children- ex-husbands/wives- or any other parties -only when the party sought comes in person to the door to find out the emergency if any. Once kids are in their classes -no one should be allowed free roaming through the halls- no one should be just buzzed in because they are relatives of teaching/maintenance staff. Adam Lanza,Andrei Breivik had much in common- there were signs from childhood that pointed to asocial behavior- fascination with videogames (killing fields that they identified themselves with) mothers who did not want to deal with the problems (personality) and a lax system of safety and security.
Well, actually there is significant debate about some of your initial facts here. The latest news reports Sat PM say Adam Lanza’s mother was not, repeat, WAS NOT a teacher (substitute or otherwise) or even a volunteer aide at the school. In fact, she had zero connection to the school. While I don’t necessarily disagree with the recommended school visitor policies you call out here, there’s no evidence those policies weren’t followed. More likely this crazy Lanza kid blasted his way in…
When the Communists take over a country, an early agenda item is to confiscate all the guns in private hands. The Communists are okay with overthrowing a government, but not so agreeable to being overthrown, themselves.
Our Founders were well aware of the ever present possibility of governmental tyranny. Our First Amendment guarantees speech, press, and religion. Our Second Amendment guarantees our right as individual citizens in a free society to keep and bear arms for self defense, societal defense, and, if tyranny raises its ugly head, to cut it off through armed revolution. Ask yourselves, why did those insisting upon a Bill of Rights as a condition of ratifying the U.S. Constitution give gun ownership such a high priority in it? Wisdom and prescience.
As for the deeply sad incident in Connecticut, we need to ask the question, “Why don’t these mass murderers express their anger and frustration at the world by attacking a local police station?” Because there are guns there in the hands of people who know how to use them.
The solution to gun violence in schools is to train teachers in the safe and effective use of firearms. We need to have numerous teachers in each school armed and ready. When schools cease to become “gun free zones” then school gun carnage will stop. As deranged as some of these killers are, they all seem to make a very rational calculation—”Let me see. If I would like to kill as many people as possible before taking my own life, or being killed by the police, where will I have the greatest likelihood of success?”
For those “peace loving” pacifists that insist that so many guns, so visible, would be a horrible and dangerous thing, take a trip to Israel. Many, if not every citizen soldier carries a loaded firearm. And, by the way, very little mayhem from gun violence.
God save our Republic.
the statement that folks would come out and start talking gun control is obvious. Its actually from a standpoint of guilt. its a shot accross the bow, a warning..”don’t go there”. look, normal gun owning folks and liberty fanatics…no one is coming for your guns. all that will happen is more acountability. remember columbine…the guns used were taken from the grandparents home…by all rights the victims families should have sued the desire to continue breething from these folks. as a gun owner you are taken aback that the killer used something so dear to you. face it, the reason you have guns is to feel safe, the reason the killer used a gun is because they made him feel powerful. safe and powerful these feelings are very close to each other…if you feel threatened, you wish you were more powerful, so as to feel safe.so your reasons for gun use are very close. the solution is going to come from that empathy. gun control folks believe it or not, have a view that recognizes this and seek to employ a shortcut.removal of this safety/power tool. even as a wishy washy lib…i know that is not going to happen. it’s not realistic… what gun owners need to do is to provide a way to police themselves…to take it upon themselves to verify and validify future gun transactions…protect your hobby, not through the lies and false statistics you use now, but by concrete action against those who would seek to spoil your heritage by putting people in danger, allowing unchecked access…its too bad this kids mother is dead…you could have started with her.