Mortality and Homicide

Culture and Mortality, Part 3: Homicide

This is the third of four articles about Culture and Mortality

Here we have another interesting, complex, and important topic area concerning our culture and the loss of life. We have seen and are continuing to see a series of so- called ‘mass shootings’ that are perpetrated by men, many of whom are mentally ill and who lack an intact sense of impulse control, moral conscience, and ability to reason in a sensible way. ‘Hate Crimes’, another fairly recent term, are defined by the FBI as a ’criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.’

Researchers have identified three types of lethal violence:

·       Homicide related to other criminal activities: involves organized criminal groups or other criminal acts

·       Interpersonal homicide is perpetrated by intimate partners/family or relating to other interpersonal homicide

·       Socio-political homicide is related to social prejudice or to other socio-political agendas

Unfortunately, in our culture ‘Hate Crimes’ are all too common; hate is obviously not a healthy emotion and it is a mental health issue that is destructive to one’s internal emotional state, to the community, and to any number of interpersonal relationships. An interesting and important psychosocial issue has to do with what interacting and complex factors contribute to the genesis of these intense and destructive emotions.

There were 14,123 murder victims in the United States in 2018. It is very important to understand that in many of these cases, perhaps most, the perpetrator left behind rather clear signs that they were a threat. So, a very important part of the instigation to aggression has to do with blatant verbal threats, hostile interpersonal interactions, collecting lethal weapons, a history of poor impulse control and other clear antisocial behaviors.; some of this acting out is made obvious in social media. After the hostile, murderous act, investigators encounter family members, fellow students and others who confirm their concern about the perpetrator. So, one of the things that we need to work on within our communities is to identify these potential perpetrators early on, in an attempt to prevent further homicidal acts. In a culture that is relativistic in many ways, it is increasingly difficult for folks to discern what is acceptable, and what is not. In a culture where we are ambivalent about and normalize many asocial behaviors, there is a good deal of confusion about boundaries. We are making some headway in terms of identifying potential perpetrators with slogans like: ‘If you see something, say something.’ The whole issue of how we orient a community to take action in these cases is worthy of further study. When someone speaks in a bizarre manner, threatens the life of others, or otherwise threatens the community, we need to take action and there needs to be policies and agencies available that can intervene promptly and effectively to stop these people

Overly liberal policies and intentions can get people killed. Some of this is the same mentality that fails to hold criminals accountable in so-called ‘Sanctuary Cities.’ These sorts of behaviors by city officials feed the whole relativistic movement that normalizes all sorts of aberrant behavior. Not only is this sort of thing contrary to common sense, but it adds an unnecessary level of unpredictability and lethality to the cultural mix.

The perpetrators of homicide may have serious mental health issues like paranoid schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, clinically significant depression, as well as a history of problematic interpersonal relationships. At some level they are also suicidal, knowing that there is a good chance they will be killed as law enforcement authorities mobilize a response to their criminal actions. Substance abuse of all sorts can be a factor in many these cases and this should not be down- played as many of the drugs of abuse alter brain function dramatically and negatively.

Terrorism is obviously a significant part of the homicide issue, but the motives have to do with toxic ideologies that propel the terrorists to launch efforts to exterminate their perceived enemies. These terrorists feel quite justified, based on their sick ideologies, to train children to be of a similar mindset. So, this is highly organized, purposeful homicide. It may involve flying airplanes into buildings, setting off explosives, running down people with vehicles, and using any variety of weapons to carry out their hostile acts. The actions of terrorists have become an ingrained aspect of our culture and has instilled a potent threat to our survival; it reinforces our sense of vulnerability and adds to the long list of cultural challenges that contribute to emotional turmoil. And, the results of terrorist attacks are a major input to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

School shootings: Children exposed to violence, crime, and abuse are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, suffer from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder. They may fail or have difficulties in school, and engage in criminal activity.

 The data from five decades of school shootings shows the most typical age for a school killer is 16 or 17 and these perpetrators are highly likely to be male. The attacks are not often "indiscriminate", but are more usually an "escalation of a dispute" or a gang-related incident.

A database, going back to 1970, shows there were more incidents and more deaths in 2018 than any other year on record from gun violence in schools.

So, here is a 10-year review of school shooting statistics in America:

·       2008, 11 school shootings, 16 killed, 28 injured

·       2009, seven school shootings, three killed, 12 injured

·       2010, 12 school shootings, eight killed, 14 injured

·       2011, seven school shootings, five killed, 12 injured

·       2012, 12 school shootings, 43 killed, 16 injured

·       2013, 26 school shootings, 18 killed, 33 injured

·       2014, 37 school shootings, 17 killed, 35 injured

·       2015, 21 school shootings, 21 killed, 41 injured

·       2016, 15 school shootings, nine killed, 26 injured

·       2017, nine school shootings, 15 killed, 26 injured

·       2018 (YTD- as of July, 2018), 22 school shootings, 40 killed, 66 injured.

Mass Shootings: According to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks shootings in the US, 373 people died from mass shootings in 2018 and 1,346 others were injured. Although it is important to recognize that most people suffering from a mental illness are not dangerous, for those persons at risk for violence due to mental illness, suicidal thoughts, or feelings of desperation, mental health treatment can often prevent gun violence. Policies and programs that identify and provide treatment for all persons suffering from a mental illness, need to be a national priority. The mental health community must take the lead in advocating for community-based collaborative problem-solving models to address the prevention of gun violence. It is also important to note that many mass shooters are also suicidal, are willing to give up their lives as they murder others. Many of the shooters left a blueprint for their alleged actions on social media. And, most of the shooters planned and prepared the act; many spent almost 2 years planning their attack. Unfortunately, in the majority the cases people who see signs of trouble before the mass shooting often do not call police.

Several other profile issues include being male, being single, divorced or separated and most had concerning behavior’ in common like abuse, harassment, bullying and sometimes violence. 35% of mass shooters have been convicted of a crime as an adult and history of or acting in an abusive, harassing or an oppressive way. More than half of these shooters discussed the idea of committing the violent act with someone else!

References:

·        Mohler, R. Albert: ‘Culture shift: the battle for the moral heart of America,’ Multnomah Books, 2011, Chapter 13.

·        United Nations office on drugs and crime, Global study on homicide, publish online, July 2019.

www.statista.com

·        Zahler, William A.: ‘Health, Inertia and Information: Why are we sick?’ Create Space and KDP, published 2018. Chapter 8.

·        Zahler, William A: ‘Synergy and the Dynamics of Lifestyle Change’, Create Space and KDP, published January 2019, Chapter 8.

William Zahler, MSW, DipACLM

November 2019