In regards to the Sandy Hook shootings

You all know what happened in the Sandy Hook Massacre. Reiterating these events will simply resurface memories you want to forget. We've had too many of these shootings over the past decade. The question is, why? Why are such shootings occurring?
Every time one of these shootings occur, my Facebook and Twitter feeds are flooded with statuses and tweets. At first, shock. People talk about how shocked they are that such an event could occur. Second, acceptance. They accept the fact that twenty kids had lost their lives. Third, all the politicians enter the debate, discussing how tragedies like this could be prevented in the future. They try to find a source they could blame. Unfortunately, there isn't only one factor that lead to such a massacre. That's the problem with today's debates; people are saying that if we stop one aspect from happening, then the shootings won't happen in the future. Gun control is a prime example of this fallacy.

Gun control has been a widely debated topic over this past year. First, when the movie theater shooting occurred, now with the Sandy Hook shooting. Some people claim that controlling distribution of guns will stop these shootings from happening in the future. This is simply ridiculous. If a person was this motivated to shoot up a school, they would find a way to illegally buy a gun. Besides, Canada has basically no shootings, and they don't monitor purchases of guns strictly. While I do think that the purchase of guns should be more strictly monitored, it won't stop shootings from occurring in the future.

People also blame video games for these shootings. Now this is where i call shenanigans. Video games do the opposite; they help prevent shootings. Video games take people away from their own life, and put them in an imaginary, fantasy world. It helps numb the brain of the stresses of the real world. I've heard stories of people not shooting up their school because they were able to imagine the person they hated as a video game character, so they could shoot them in the video game. Video games save, rather than kill. Now, what is the real cause to these shootings?

Personally, I think we need to look at the backgrounds of the shooters to find out how we can prevent them. The shooter in this case was in his early twenties. He had a mental illness. He never had many real friends. He shot his own mother, then proceeded to shoot up the school at which his mother taught. He must have not had the best relationship with his mother. Perhaps the shooter had nobody he could go to when he had a problem. He was very quiet, so he didn't have many friends. He shot his mother, so he must have had some beef with her. Maybe if he had someone to go to, this shooting could have been prevented.


Maybe more shootings like this could be prevented in the future. Maybe saying hi to a kid nobody talks to will make that kid's day. Next time you get a chance, talk to a kid you usually don't talk to. Along with forming a new friendship, you might even save a life.