Since the onset of the millennium there has been nearly 200 related school shootings. While school shooting did not first occur in the year 2000 the frequency and magnitude of shootings is not comparable to anything in American history.
What changed? What is the linchpin that causes these violent acts? While this article focuses on school shootings, it should be duly noted that mass shootings also plague American society. The volume of shootings extraordinarily surpasses shootings mass shootings in any other country.
There are some commonality among American School Shooters. Looking at the similarities may help to identify the germination of causes and possible solutions.
High drug use
Drug use is very overwhelming among America’s you. Prior to the 80s the most common use of drugs were Marijuana, and Quaalude. Both offered a temporary escape from the 9 to 5 reality of working class people. But after 1980 and the onset of the “Crack Rock” epidemic, “Freebasing” became the drug method of choice among many of those in the big cities. The profitability made it a sought after black market business. A business which grew towards a billion dollar industry for black marketers. Lost in the profit making was the damaged family unit and community, perpetuating the social conditions which were and are still so strongly associated with substance abuse. Addiction overwhelmed users with psychotic behavior such as delusion and extreme paranoia. Users became dysfunctional in society and isolated to subculture. There was also a racial component to prosecution of drug use that further divided America.
Profitable Drug Marketing
With the profitable markets from the Crack Rock Era, zealous white collar business men began to exploit pharmaceutical drugs. Opioids, legal painkillers with addictive powers flooded the market. Une
thical medical practitioners addicted many for the sake of money. Never caring about the effect it has on society, the family and the community.
Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.
Opioids, unlike most other meds people take, can be highly addictive. And that can lead to potential misuse or even overdose, says the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Loneliness and Psychotic
Drug use, its mental and psychotic effects bare a very high impact on the thinking logic of youth today. Drug use and death is embedded in subculture and music. Music Icons like Michael Jackson, Prince and Tom Petty succumbed to high drug use. Of the common issue of use among celebrities is the feeling of isolation. They cant have a “normal life”. There is no going out in public without being swarmed by fans and media.
Drugs are used as a way of escape or coping with isolation. Common among school and mass shooters is this same feeling of isolation. The teenage gunman who killed a student and a teacher at a St. Louis high school left a note in his car.
“I don’t have any friends, I don’t have any family. I never had a girlfriend. I never had a social life. I’ve been an isolated loner my entire life. This was the perfect storm for a mass shooter.”
The rise in synthetic drug use, the premature death of innocence, and the hypocritical American Society are not the only contributors. They are prevalent. Other impacts such as having toddlers and adolescents expose to adult sexual activities are also innocent destroyers. One must understand that young people do not have a fully developed mind at an early age. Their reactions may be much more dramatic. When Isolated and lonely students they become prey for radical agenda groups. Many of the shooters espouse some type of ideologue.
While it is clear that the rise in drug use parallels the rise in both mass shootings and school shootings. It is also clear that America has not taken decisive measures to stop the import of drugs coming in at the US border. Every effort to close the border and classify the Drug Cartels as terrorist organizations is cast aside. Most recently the state of Texas has taken this step of classifying Cartels as terrorist.
No question America failed its children.
