Media ignore the growing death toll in Chicago-focuses on Isla Vista killer
I guess we're not supposed to think about the death toll in Chicago. The media likes simplistic stories that create emotional reactions in their target demographics. I guess that's why the media is obsessing over a maniac who targeted white sorority girls and is ignoring the ongoing slaughter in Chicago's poor black neighborhoods.
Fighting crime is hard. There are no neat, easy answers. The media likes to advance the idea that gun control will prevent these crimes. That is a simplistic and unworkable answer to very difficult and multifaceted problems. Illinois/Chicago and California already have some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the country. So does Connecticut. That didn't stop deranged killers from carrying out their evil plans and it doesn't stop gangbangers and drug dealers from killing hundreds every year in Chicago.
Hard problems require hard solutions. Exercises in political theater, such as gun registration, bans and magazine capacity restrictions, have been proven to be totally ineffective in reducing crime. Real solutions are difficult and take time and money. More police, more prisons, longer prison sentences, three strikes laws and allowing concealed carry will help fight street crime.
It is not enough to just fight crime. The underlying causes of crime must be addressed. Repairing the family structure in low income neighborhoods, reduction of government dependence, providing economic opportunities and improving educational institutions is also necessary if we are to reduce crime. They are all very difficult issues that require the long-term commitment to proven solutions, not political grandstanding or the reliance on liberal ideology that caused many of these problems.
We also need to seriously reevaluate how we deal with mental illness and childhood development. All too often children, especially boys, are given drugs to deal with behavioral issues, whether they are actual problems or just young boys acting like young boys. There are many reasons behind this growing trend; lazy parents and school staff, over-eager doctors and cultural expectations of quick, easy answers to difficult problems. Whatever the reason, the child that is being medicated is the one that will ultimately suffer. They aren't learning the important socialization skills necessary for development into happy, productive adults. They are dependent on drugs. By the time they are adolescents or young adults they have not learned how to deal with the problems of everyday life.
It is not surprising that most of the mass shootings that have taken place in the last quarter century have been committed by young men who have been on psychotropic drugs. In many of those mass killings there have been people, often certified mental healthcare professionals, who have known of the danger posed by the shooter. Laws and regulations often prevent those mental healthcare providers from notifying appropriate law enforcement agencies. Verbal and written statements clearly indicating a threat to others often are not sufficient to have the mentally ill person committed for treatment or even have them identified as not being allowed to purchase firearms.
We will never be able to prevent all crimes by the mentally ill or evil, but we must do more than we are currently. Our efforts must be focused on the criminal and the factors that create the criminal behavior.
