April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
PERSPECTIVE
Five not-so-easy steps to curb mass killings
This won't be about gun control. I promise.
After the Parkland school massacre, we are again engulfed by the usual partisan finger-pointing on guns. We are reacting, again, to an act of anger and hate with anger and hate -- for each other. It is all utterly predictable, depressing and unhelpful.
So I want to avoid all that today to suggest other things we could do to address the terror of mass shootings.
Don't misunderstand. I think gun-law changes are part of the solution. Limiting the size of magazines, for example, makes obvious sense. Doing so could reduce a madman's carnage.
But it's foolish to think guns are the totality of the problem or believe that a culture that produces young men who seek to wantonly kill is otherwise OK.
I don't pretend the suggestions here are easy or practical. These are just ideas that have been rattling around my head since Parkland. I want to share them with you and hear what you think.
1. Limit violent video games.
I understand the overwhelming majority of video-game players don't make virtual violence real and research on the topic is inconclusive. That doesn't mean the games are good for teens, though, or that parents shouldn't limit access to them.
You'll never convince me that bloody killing games (getting more realistic every day) don't desensitize kids to violence. They certainly do nothing to encourage respect for human life.
On a related topic, Hollywood should stop fetishizing guns.
In movie after movie, the AR-15 assault rifle is depicted as the ultimate tool of empowerment. Then, we're stunned when lost souls use it to feel empowered.
2. Focus on boys.
Young males pull the triggers. As a recent New York Times op-ed by Michael Ian Black noted, America's boys are broken. They have been left behind.
Fewer male teachers and fathers at home mean fewer boys with masculine role models. Boys are much more likely to struggle in school and drop out. They are underrepresented in colleges.
They are three times more likely to commit suicide and four to eight times more likely to be dulled by ADHD drugs like Ritalin -- sometimes for doing nothing more than acting like boys. Roughhousing has been stigmatized.
The result, I think, is young men who haven't learned to cope with aggression or anger. They feel, as Black wrote, "isolated, confused and conflicted about their natures." They don't how to be male in a changing world. They need our help.
3. Bring back recess.
Researchers say unstructured play is vital for social and emotional development. It's how kids learn to cooperate and solve problems. It's how they develop confidence and learn to feel in control.
"If you want your children to be intelligent, let them play," writes Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist and critic of modern childhood trends. "If you want them to develop emotional regulation, let them play."
But schools are cutting recess to improve test scores, and far fewer children play outside after school. What do they do inside? "Play" video games, of course.
Children on a playground are harder to protect, so I fear that the idiocy about arming teachers and "hardening schools" we're hearing after Parkland could mean even less recess and play. What a mistake that would be.
4. Don't glorify the killers.
After every mass shooting, I hear from readers who chastise the media for spotlighting the killer. They have a point.
Keeping his name a secret, as some readers suggest, is not practical. It's important we understand who did the killing and why to prevent future tragedies.
But it's also terrifyingly true that the next mass shooter is watching the coverage and learning that perpetrating a massacre is a fast ticket to infamy. Studies suggest the copycat effect is real.
So it would be an act of good faith and responsibility for media outlets to (voluntarily) limit usage of the killer's name and image. How could it hurt?
5. Make family dinners mandatory.
Imagine if the world stopped for an hour every evening while families sat for dinner. Television and radio stations would go off the air from, oh, 6 to 7 p.m. Businesses would close, too.
OK, I've entered the realm of fantasy here, and, obviously, this isn't a real policy suggestion. Let me dream.
Studies have found that family dinners are associated with lowering teenage violence, school problems and drug use. Kids who eat with their parents experience less stress and have better attitudes. Regular family meals are a more powerful predictor of achievement than doing homework or playing sports.
I admit it's simplistic to suggest that families eating dinner together is a real answer to mass shootings. But making more time for children is part of the solution.
We have to start somewhere.[[In-content Ad]]
250 X 250 AD
250 X 250 AD
Events
250 X 250 AD
Comments:
You must login to comment.