increasing mass murders

I have heard many commentators discussing the issue of increased violence in America in recent years. Some of them are only interested in talking about gun violence with the apparent opinion that it is guns that kill people. I have not heard of a gun floating around firing bullets at people all by itself, but if you listen to some of these commentators it would be easy to assume that the guns had done all of the killing without any person directing it. Guns are a very efficient way for a person to kill many other people, but the killer is the person wielding the gun. That is a key element which must be understood. A killer can kill other people using any number of weapons, and lacking a gun, a killer will use a different weapon.

Perhaps the proper question to ask is “Why is there an ever-increasing supply of killers emerging in America in recent years.” The number of mass killings is most definitely increasing, which means that the number of killers is growing. I think that there has been a growing moral decay in our society for many years, and at the same time, I think that there has been an accompanying decrease in empathy for others. However, just consider what attitudes and beliefs a person would need to have in order to desire to kill others, and then actually perform the killing.

The glaring truth is that there must be a high level of hate present in order to engage in a mass killing. I think that we see the purposeful creation of hate constantly in our daily lives. For instance, look at the political environment. It is rare to see two persons with differing views actually talk to each other about the differences of opinion. Instead, one side or the other will immediate descend into a tirade of unfounded accusations, or efforts to smear the other person with unfounded labels such as “racist”, “Nazi”, or worse. The “discussion” quickly degenerates into efforts to demonize the other person. Obviously, it is to your advantage to successfully label your opponent as a “demon” with “evil” intentions, ad-nauseam. “The result is a total lack of understanding and unreasoning hatred of the “demonized” opponent.

There has been an intolerance for different opinions evolving for many years, and it appears to be extremely prevalent now. The “liberal” “PC” requirement is a logical result of extreme intolerance. It evolves into “group think” where everyone must think alike or be labeled as “deplorable” or worse. Anyone who is not “thinking properly” is then demonized. The level of hate is set based on just how evil the demon is declared to be.

Combine these with the overwhelming exposure to violent behavior in the media. Almost any movie released by Hollywood emphasizes violence and depicts it graphically for the viewer. The viewing of this violent behavior desensitizes the viewer and destroys any empathy with victims. Most of the time the person initiating the violence is glorified. Then there is the graphic violence inherent in a plethora of computer games. One could ask, “Is the current public media building a society enamored with violence?”

So we teach people that everyone should think like we do, and if they don’t, then they are demons. We further teach them that it is proper for a person to use violence against people with differing opinions. Then we glorify the use of violence so that if you use violence then you are a “hero”. And last of all, we expose people to graphic violence on a daily basis which desensitizes them and increases the propensity to commit violence. Then, we express that we are baffled by the increase of mass killings.