Often reading the news about a young man running amok with a semi automatic rifle raises once more the question of the right to bare arms within the United States.
Many will campaign and push for all arms to be surrendered whilst perhaps just as many will say "it is our right to protect ourselves" when really in my opinion ALL of them should be asking "what can we do to include rather than exclude our teens?
Draconian measures will not make a jot of difference to a young person hell bent on taking his own life and those around him.
The problem is not in the amount of guns available nor the ease of access, as it is in the minds of the young.
Most if not all young people today feel at some time in their lives that they are ignored / dismissed and patronized not only by their parents /guardians but also their peers, most of this has or does come about through media worship of the rich and famous.
I do not mean the actual rich and famous people of Hollywood / T.V. land more so the icons of our day those great gods we must all aspire to own such as designer brand names,( I will not mention nor single out any particular one as they are all the same)
The media in its chase of the dollar has helped shape the minds and thoughts of the young in America since the invention of commercial television and the understanding of commerce (backhanders)
Faced with a constant barrage of information about who is wearing what and which is "the" thing to have many teens have a sensory overload in the brains leading to feelings of inadequacy when they find their peers have all the latest things, Parents are as much to blame with their constant desire to be seen as "with it and contemporary".
They are also weak enough to cave in to the constant moaning from the kids about Tommy or Samantha down the block having it.
There is of course no easy fix for those who are disenfranchised from society but the signs are now becoming all to apparent as to the potential make up of these teen mass killers the problem though does not rest entirely on their shoulders more so with those around them who may have the chance to see the warning signs and yet ignore them.
Perhaps a media campaign would help to alert parents as well as teens as to the danger signs to be wary of those in trouble.
Perhaps also the gun lobby may care to put some money aside as an insurance policy for those innocents who are caught up in the failure of the system to regulate arms ownership better still a government tax on all arms manufacturers to enable arms amnesties to be held nationwide with a reward for each illegal weapon handed in provided by the extra tax?
I agree it would not immediately stop the killings but it may just focus peoples minds a while longer than this latest shooting will, for after the media has torn apart this young persons life and family and found only the same kind of problems as Virginia tech then they will once more concentrate on the "real issues" of the day like where did Brittany get her hair done?
