Thoughts and Prayers Don't Work

Responding to the Christian School Shooting

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As of this writing, a new school shooting happened. This time this shooting occurred in a Christina school in Wisconsin.

For Americans, this is not a new phenomenon. Mass shootings and school shootings are commonplace in America.

No other Western industrialized country deals with school shootings in frequency and impact the way America does. The typical cycle never fails to repeat itself once a mass shooting happens…

1. Politicians give their thoughts and prayers.

2. The discussion of gun reform comes up.

3. Politicians blame anything else but guns.

4. Nothing changes.

5. Repeat.

I am particularly tired of politicians (particularly right-wing Republican politicians) scapegoating mental health. Mental health is constantly used as a reason behind many mass shootings and school shootings in particular.

This narrative is wrong for many reasons:

• Those with mental illness are less likely to commit violence and are more likely to be victims of violence.

• Those who commit mass murder with firearms who have a history of mental illness represent a small minority.

• Most people who commit mass shootings do not have a known history of mental illness.

The motivation behind many mass shooters varies from attention-seeking, seeking meaning, political aspirations, and other considerations.

Nevertheless, we must come to a more material understanding of these events. What are the political and economic interests behind our lack of gun reform and a culture that can encourage this type of behavior?

We know outright that organizations like the NRA and Gun Owners of America spend millions in lobbying against gun reform.

The NRA has contributed millions to the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and numerous other Republican lawmakers. It should be no surprise that those who reject gun reform bills are overwhelmingly Republicans.

We can also bring up the loneliness epidemic and attention economy. More Americans feel lonelier than in the past, many young people report lacking meaning or purpose in their lives.

People feel disconnected from their work, from themselves, and each other. In a late-stage capitalist society, the alienation people feel and the grievances they endure from a system that does not always take care of them leave people lost and sometimes angry.

In the wake of these considerations, people turn to distractions like social media. The attention economy capitalizes on these distractions as our attention is leveraged for ad revenue and product placement.

People want to feel like they are seen and matter. The attention economy gives them that feeling in a sense. So, is it any wonder that attention-seeking would be a motivating force behind mass shootings? People routinely commit dangerous acts for notoriety and internet fame.

However, I am not here to say that all mass/school shooters commit these acts for fame. There can be a variety of factors that contribute to these events. Namely, access to guns themselves, a factor which cannot be ignored.

What I want people to get from this essay is that numerous vested interests contribute to mass shootings in America. There are organizations (like the NRA) that routinely funnel money to politicians to keep guns more easily available. Our current economic system has contributed to feelings of alienation and discontentment amongst numerous American citizens. Why are we surprised violence is the outcome?