The Unspoken Tragedy of the Parkland Shooting

People speak a lot about all the innocent students who were murdered in the Parkland shooting, but one victim is completely ignored in all of this. The shooter. Before anyone gets up in arms, of course what the shooter did was horrific and his actions were a manifestation of pure evil, whether it was done in full consciousness, of due to a force beyond his control. Of course I am referring to the topic of mental instability and mental illness. We do not know for certain what his diagnoses was and what caused his breakdown, but it bears consideration to the complete logical conclusion, and not shying away when the conversation is uncomfortable.  

In some respect Mental Health Illness is a cop-out, it an easy and simple answer that seems to absolve every party when the spotlight is shown on them. However, patient zero in this scenario did do his job. He reached out for help in the only way he knew how. In this interview with his foster parents they describe someone who clearly was trying to listen to his better instincts and was making the effort to improve his life and crawl out of this very dark space he existed in. (He went to work and to a GED or high school equivalency program.) His behavior in school and his conversations online were clearly a cry for help. And it was loud enough to have been heard. Not only was he not committed or jailed, but his foster parents, the people who were most primarily responsible for hi well-being, were not even informed or consulted.

Maybe he could have had more control to have not fallen quite so low, but there is obviously a disconnect between his beliefs and his will, between his potential and where he ended up. If he cannot be completely to blame for his actions, because he was in a place were he needed outside help, then we must honestly recognize that society as a whole must take accountability. Had he gotten the help he needed, not only would he have avoided the horrible fate to become a school shooter and mass murderer, but maybe he could have even accomplished many wonderful things in a long and deeply meaningful life. 

I think the start of the problem is the tendency to categorize and label people, and the unwillingness to see them in their full complexity. An anti-social teenager who needs to be removed from school for the safety of his fellow students is not all who he is or all he could offer.

 "Problem Kid." Messed up." Sounds familiar?

 A core reason we hesitate to hospitalize the mentally unstable is because we are rightly compassionate and don't want to despairingly think that this is a just life sentence. However, if there were resources and proven therapies that can allow the hospital to be a restorative experience, we would pursue it as an equal and valid possibility for those who need it. If we could even see the mentally ill as not just "the involuntarily committed," but as people with hope, dreams and even ideals, then we can pursue the most effective solution for each person/ Ultimately, this would also lead to improved public safety. What if this man could have discovered the cure for ALS? Or could have developed diplomatic skills and been the key negotiator to free the people of North Korea? I think the only way we can truly address the key issues and prevent some of these murders, especially  where mental illness is involved, we must also acknowledge that the very guilty shooter is a person who once had potential and the ability to express love and make a contribution. This loss is not just his, or the people he harmed, but it is a net loss for us all. 

In my health science blog I plan to write an article and summarize research to see if there is a correlation between lower suicide rates and lower homicide rates in countries like Israel that have a lower threshold for both voluntary and involuntary commitment of the mentally unstable, and a comparison of the attitudes towards the mentally ill. The issue that also must be grappled with it how does this respect towards the mentally ill affect those who need psycho-social services, but society as a whole. 

Health Science Blog

* A person within the grasp of a mental illness has lost his or her ability to for self control, autonomy or choice. Who then is responsible? What can be done? And beyond public safety, why else should we care?

Below are videos of the foster parents discussing what they did to help the troubled man and their lack of foreknowledge or warning fo the event.