I only have one thing to say about the events at Sandy Hook elementary school this past week: The gunman, Adam Lanza, was a pathetic excuse for a human being.
I don’t believe better gun laws are the answer. Certainly, this country needs an overhaul of firearms legislation, but if people want to hurt other people, they’re going to do it. If not with guns, they’ll use knives or bombs or whatever they can find. So right now, all the gun law talk makes me roll my eyes.
I also don’t believe better mental health care is the answer. This country DEFINITELY needs better health care, as well as options that are available for parents who need help with their children, as one mother recently wrote. Mental health care needs to be affordable and easy to get, with discretion, for people from all walks of life. But you can’t just keep everyone locked up all the time because you’re suspicious. I know lots of people with mental health problems who are fully functional in society. How many do you here people say, “He/she seemed normal to me,” after a murder? So yes, mental health care needs to be better, but I don’t believe this is the only answer to problems with violence.
Another “solution” that I think is silly: Better control for violent video games and movies and television shows. I don’t think there is a desensitization due to violence in the entertainment industry. I do think that too many parents plop their kids in front of a screen and allow them to view this kind of stuff before they are ready, but violent entertainment is nothing new. Even in ancient times, people collected to watch gladiators beat the shit out of one another. Certainly, we need ratings and other information so parents can make wise decisions, but having nothing but G-rated programing on TV is not going to stop violent behavior.
What is the answer then? I have my opinion, and that’s why the one thing I really have to say, I’ll say again: ADAM LANZA WAS PATHETIC.
The answer is saying that, as loudly as possible, to whomever will listen. In fact, I’d go as far as saying, let’s even stop using his name.
The media is not saying how pathetic he was. They’re trying to be PC and respectful of his family. They’re trying to tell an emotional story. Fuck that noise. Report the facts, because that’s your job, and then stop showing people who are upset just to increase your ratings. STOP manufacturing a sensationalist news story. STOP talking about how much pain this stupid asshole caused. STOP talking about how he did it. STOP making this a big deal. STOP showing images of vigils and funerals and protests and everything that spawned from these events.
Because that’s what inspires the next guy to try to outdo him. That’s what inspires the next guy, because he sees how easy it is to make others feel the same pain. That’s what inspires the next guy, because if he has to die at least he’ll be remembered.
Stop making whats-his-name infamous. Let’s forget all about him. He doesn’t deserve so much news coverage, and he definitely doesn’t deserve to be remembered. Let’s instead honor the victims by allowing their families to mourn in peace and not taking our owns days for granted.
About Rori
Rori is the founder of Between My Sheets. She works full time as a writer, reviewer, and online educator and can be reached at rori-at-betweenmysheets.com
