My agreement with The Augusta Press is that this published space, as a general rule, will be dedicated to discussing local topics; however, I hope my editors will grant me a little latitude here because what recently happened in Minnesota could easily happen here in Augusta.
Yes, I am referring to the latest mass shooting that left two precious children dead and 18 other children and adults either wounded or fighting for their lives.
Those of us living here in the Garden City have not had such a tragedy strike at home, but it could happen just as randomly here as it did in Minneapolis.
In this matter, I find myself close to being at a loss for words.
There is not a thought, or word or prayer that will assuage the grief felt by the families of those children who died needlessly at the hands of a very sick individual.
When people shoot strangers, it is more than an isolated incident. It affects us all, no matter where we live.
I recall, many years ago, when my daughter was in elementary school. On occasion, she would tell me her friends on the block were going to walk to school the next morning. She asked if she could join them since Warren Road Elementary was in the neighborhood.
“We know a shortcut Dad,” Emerson would say.
Of course I let her spread her wings a bit, but I will confess that I was a “helicopter parent” who would wait until the kids were out of the sightline and I would follow behind them, just in case she needed help fending off a coyote or if a flood or sudden cyclone happened.
Watching Emerson walk to school was one of poignant moments of parenthood when we slowly, grudgingly come to the realization that our kid is growing, learning and creating a space for themselves in this big world; naturally, the scary part is that we have to conclude that we cannot be there for them at every hint of danger, and we have to step back and allow them to grow and learn.
It was always a fun walk for me, lagging way behind as not to be seen, through the Montclair subdivision catching the occasional glimpse of the kids skipping back and forth on the sidewalks with little care to goings on of the world and teasing each other joyfully. Their laughter painted bright sonic hues onto the morning sky for me to enjoy, and it was evermore enjoyable than the best cup of coffee.
I could never fathom my daughter walking to school and not returning, the victim of some maniac. I don’t know how a parent copes with such a thing.
While there is nothing profound, unique or different about growing up and maturing, the notion of personal liberty, or what some churches once termed, “free will” is limited to humans only. Animals have little sense of self, at least that is our understanding of what separates us from the other species that populate the earth.
Humans have the ability to do as we please, yet, there are those among us who cannot connect the dots and understand that with both liberty and free will, there are responsibilities and consequences that transcend our personal desires. Humans, under both the law and the standard of sanity, cannot simply act on the urges of our brain and the body chemistry present to us and use that as an excuse for behavior that is out of touch.
Flatly stated, there are people among us who lack the ability to reason beyond their own personal urges and slowly develop not only a sense of numbness to reason, but the inability to comprehend the consequences of their actions, and when they act out, they do so in a big way.
Once upon a time, society did its best to separate those folks away from the rest of the crowd and, for their own safety and of those around them, society kept them at a distance so that their anti-social tendencies did not trigger a tragedy that left everyone asking “why God?”
I will not wade into the whole transgender debate happening around the person who committed the Minneapolis attack; the bottom line is that person was mentally ill. We can also dispense with the demographics (ie. religion, ethnicity, creed) of the victims.
The victims were children. That is all we need to know.
According to the National Institutes of Health, 76.2% of homeless people have a diagnosed mental illness. Meanwhile, the folks locally at the Salvation Army who run the Center for Hope shelter will tell stories of people being dropped off in the dead of winter wearing only a hospital gown, clearly in some form of mental distress.
However, when looking at the profiles of pretty much all of the people who have committed mass murder, not only have they been diagnosed with a mental disorder, they are on medication for it. How some of them are able to pass the screening to legally purchase a gun is beyond me.
We already have laws that are designed to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill, and it is obvious that they are not working because an alarming number of the mass shooters were able to legally obtain the weapon the used to create carnage
These people also leave a trail of red flags behind them. In my opinion, we do not have a gun problem in our country, we have a mental health problem, and until we own up to it, these incidents are never going to stop occurring. I believe that it is right and proper in those instances where the gun is furnished by a friend, family member or the would-be killer’s own parents, that those people should be charged with murder as well.
It was under the Carter administration that psychiatric hospitals across the nation were emptied out. Not only does today’s society almost blanch at the thought of holding someone against their will, but those suffering are often given a bottle of pills and then turned out and left to their own devices.
The mentally ill should be handled with dignity, but society cannot afford to allow them to become a menace. As we see, our children’s lives hang in the balance.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter, editorialist and weekly columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
