That's Part of the Problem

"My personal fave, banning the weapons, I am for it whether we have school shootings or not.  I just think it is a good idea." - Uncle Ken

 Our local TV news (NBC) is pretty balanced, they try to show both sides of any contentious issue, including this one. In listening to the arguments, I have recently begun to suspect that both the pro and anti gun people have been using the Florida shooting to advance their agendas. It seems to me that it should be the other way around. Whether we ban the guns or arm the teachers, or both, it should be for the purpose of solving the problem, not to advance the long standing agendas of the special interest groups. Although we may never completely stop the killings, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. I seem to remember Uncle Ken saying once that we may never eliminate other crimes like armed robbery either, but that doesn't mean we should disband the police forces and give the criminals free reign, or words to that effect. 

Since we are never going to agree about gun control, I have been trying to identify other facets of the problem that might have been overlooked. People frequently refer to these incidents as "senseless", which they certainly are to our sensibilities, but maybe the perpetrators have different sensibilities than we do. Their actions might be perfectly logical to their way of thinking. Since most of them end up dead, usually by their own hand, what do they hope to gain? One thing that comes to mind is notoriety. It would seem that a dead man has no use for notoriety, but that's to our way of thinking. Maybe these guys are willing to sacrifice their own lives for the thrill of feeling important for one fleeting moment before the lights go out. 

Another thing is that they might feel so overwhelmed by their problems, real or imaginary, that they would rather see the world come to an end than continue on the way it has been. It's kind of like the apocalyptic fantasies that have preoccupied people for thousands of years. The world is beyond redemption, so it needs to be destroyed. "Computer, the Enterprise has been over run by hostile aliens. Initiate self destruct sequence." 

I don't see a lot of difference between those lone gunmen and the Islamic terrorists. They both are doing the same thing for the same reason, to force others to do things their way, or to die trying.