Try on some of these afterthoughts for size:
“He was a quiet kid, a loner. Kept to himself. Never said much.”
“He was always angry. Threatening. Crazy.”
“He was preoccupied with guns and knives.”
“He bought the gun legally.”
“He lied on his gun application.”
“There’s nothing we can do to stop him until he actually pulls the
trigger.”
These are among the top bromides that follow mass shootings like
the one we’re dealing with now, the one just north of Ft. Lauderdale.
True, in a nation founded on laws -- many of them more flexible
than a rubber band -- we can’t stop something that hasn’t yet happened.
But there always are signs.
The “suspect,” Nikolas Cruz showed plenty of them. Social media
posts. Gun talk. Troubled student. Teachers knew this. Probably school
administrators too. Parents? Neighbors? Fellow students?
Someone knew. No one did anything. This is not to blame
anyone but Cruz. He did it. It’s his fault. Not his tough childhood or
his misery or his mean auntie or the teachers would wouldn’t pass him when he
hadn’t earned passing grades. But others helped. Like the
manufacturers, the sellers and the moral climate that condemns these acts only
in the aftermath.
When Kirby Crewcut, 16, comes to school in camos for six or seven
months, when he doodles pictures of AK47s in his notebook while he should be
paying attention to the lesson… when his Facebook motto is “Seven Verified
Kills” with a picture of a cat or a bird or a turtle… You know there’s
something wrong.
There’s nothing law enforcement can do about Camo Kirby or Nikola
Cruz. But others may be able to, at least some of the time. If they
overcome their disbelief or denial and pay attention to what’s going on at
home, in school or in the neighborhood.
Typical response: “Oh, I could see something was wrong with him,
but what could I do?” Stock answer: “Get him help.” Too many
“helpers” are helpless. Too many kids in therapy think therapy is
something that cures them or at least slows them. No. Therapy is
not something that happens to them. It’s something they have to do.
But therapy isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, the answer
is taking the kid aside and telling him you “know where this is going.
I’m wise to you.” Sometimes that’s enough. Not often enough, but
sometimes.
Here are some things that never work:
--He’ll outgrow it.
--I’m too busy.
--He won’t talk to me.
There’s no universal instruction book for parents and kids.
Every parent improvises. Some play that fiddle better than others.
But it starts early. And the signs are there early:
--Never outgrew the terrible twos.
--The terrible twos were really terrible, not just a burst of
energy and exploration.
We overtalk these situations and under-do them. But as a nation we
have a collective problem. We’re trying to balance rights -- real or imagined
-- that are in our basic law, the Constitution. And that’s not going to work.
The Second Amendment is specific about who should have guns, who
should use them and when, and what people who have them have them for. The
Constitution does not prohibit gun regulation.
And we have a Supreme Court that can’t read and votes
illiterately.
One of the big arguments gun rights people make against any kind
of law restricting them is a false comparison. They’ll tell you cars kill more
people than guns. And that may be statistically true, if only because
more people drive than shoot. But you can count on one hand the number of
people who intend to do damage with a moving vehicle even in the age of
sidewalk truck terrorists and “honor killings.”
Every state, even the dumbest of them has driving laws: Training,
testing, licensing, insuring and policing. Yes, a dangerous projectile is
at least somewhat curbed by sensible laws and rigorous enforcement.
So why not do the same for guns? Train, test, license,
insure and police. Home schooling may work for driving, but it doesn’t
work for firearms. And there’s no test for a license. There’s no grumpy
guy with a clipboard sitting there marking you right or wrong for what you do.
Driving tests are not just for skill. They’re a step toward
protecting others against your possible onslaught.
Okay, let the firing pinheads loose on this one.
Further reading: We addressed the value
of prayer in cases like this two years ago. Summary: Useless, maybe less than
useless. Find the full report here
. (Addendum for those who read the link: the patient who needed the
motorized wheelchair never received it. The crowdfunding effort failed to raise
the funds and the inured woman has since passed away.)
SHRAPNEL:
--The people who have kidnapped the second amendment did so in
plain sight, aided by elected gangsters who lie and get rich for their trouble.
But they’ve also kidnapped the standard cure for such twisting, the vote.
It may no longer be possible for your vote to matter.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to
them. ®
Please address comments to wesrichards@gmail.com
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© WJR 2018
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