Monday, July 11, 2016

Are We Willing to Discuss Why so Many Mass Shooters were Military?

   Oh, we shy from discussing a part of this mass shooting issue that needs to be discussed: Why are so many of the assailants former members of the military?
   PTSD? Do we leave it at that, and suppose there is no more to it?
   We should consider that using guns for violence can sometimes become a trait, when introduced into a person's life. We should consider that for all the good the serviceman does, in fighting for freedom, he runs the risk of being ill affected. Some will go that direction. Others will not. But there is a danger.
   I think of Micah Johnson, the Dallas sniper, and of how it is said he came back from the military a different person. The experience transformed him, and it wasn't for the better. I wonder if we can just lay it off as mental illness, or as PTSD. I suggest we should consider war and soldiering's ill effects on the character of the soldier.
   (Note: The last two sentences were added 7/12/16.)

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