There's an interesting discussion going on at Dr. Helen's. But isn't there always?
In my opinion, if we have mentally unstable students who have made threats, have behavioral problems, etc. in universities and schools who do not hold themselves or the student accountable for their behavior, there is no other alternative than to extend the civil right to concealed carry to the potential innocent staff and students who may encounter the wrath of such a person. If universities and schools won't take responsibility -- and they won't -- then someone has to.
From the comments section, mindsteps has this to say:
Based upon this horrible, tragic, and very rare event, you are calling for all colleges and universities to loosen up their gun controls and invite students and staff to bring firearms on campus. Instead of encouraging our country to develop, at the local, state, and national level a greater understanding of the mental, physical, social, cultural, and economic issues that may be in play and developing and strengthening an infrastructure for early identification, prevention, and intervention you are emphasizing the need to arm our campuses.
Dr. Helen's point is clear. Right now, society in general, and schools and universities in specific are either unable or unwilling to take the steps necessary to protect their students from potential walking time bombs. Mindsteps believes that we should look for ways to intervene before the tragedy occurs. This is a noble sentiment, but it assumes that our schools and universities aren't intervening because of ignorance or apathy, and that just doesn't ring true to me. There is another factor at play here, and it's one that's very hard to bypass. Not everyone who exhibits the behaviors listed in Dr. Helen's post goes on a shooting spree.
I didn't.
From 2nd grade on through college, I could have been Cho. I was the kid everyone bullied and made fun of all throughout grade school. At home, I lived with an alcoholic father, who loved us with every breath in his body, while abusing us physically and emotionally, and worse. I was a loner, with discipline problems in school. I lived in a world of fear, pain, and anger and escaped into a world of fantasy and science fiction. I would walk out of class as soon as the teacher's back was turned and head to the library. For whatever reason, the librarian would let me stay and read for a couple of hours before she would get the principal, Sister Mary Bernadella, to bring me back to class. I never got into trouble for these excursions, and in my youthful arrogance (which has since changed into a mature arrogance) I never questioned why. Much later in life, I found out that a psych student who came to observe our school for his dissertation, had recommended to the school that I be given counseling and therapy. Obviously, my dad wasn't about to let that happen.
When I went to high school, I made a conscious decision to change everything. I wasn't going to be that kid anymore. I wasn't going to live in that world anymore. I even got a date for the first dance of the year.
After the dance,she wouldn't go out with me again.
I can honestly say that as hurt and angry and frustrated as I was at that moment, the thought of killing anyone, including myself, never even entered my mind as a consideration. I went through another major bout of depression in college, again, triggered by rejection, and again, exhibited all the signs Dr. Helen lists. Again, the thought of killing somebody never crossed my mind, though I wouldn't be surprised if some of the people who knew me back then had concerns.
Eventually, I did go through counseling to deal with these issues. Up until that point, I was arrogant enough to believe that my childhood had no effect on me, that I was strong enough to get through it unscathed. That lie finally collapsed, taking my marriage with it, but I came out on the other side with a much better knowledge of myself.
I'm sharing all of this stuff with you for one reason, to show you that while I looked exactly like Cho, I wasn't Cho, and while I certainly needed help to deal with the issues troubling me, an involuntary committal would not have done it. And that's really what Mindsteps is talking about, involuntary committal and therapy. Think about the incredible invasion of privacy that represents. Think about how many people like me there are out there and how few like Cho there are. How do you tell the difference between someone who is miserable,and someone who is a threat? Yeah, the warning signs are there, but they are there in a lot of cases where a massacre never occurs. Do we have the right to forcibly intervene in somebody's life just because they might go berserk?
Would you arrest a man for murder because you think he might commit one?
Say he fits a profile that makes him 10 times as likely to commit a murder than the average man. Do you arrest him? What about 100 times? Or 1000 times? How about 10,000 times? Let's go with that. Let's say you have a psychological profile that can select a group of men that are 10,000 times more likely to commit a murder than the average man. Then let's say that we lock these men up in psychiatric institutions to treat them, against their will. Homicide statistics tell us that for every 100 men you lock up, only 3 would have committed a murder.
You just violated the rights of 97 men to stop 3 murderers. The ACLU would probably like to have a word with you.
That's the reality that schools, universities, and police are dealing with. That's why they can't take extraordinary actions without basis. It's not that they don't care, or they don't see the problem. It's that the diagnostic tools to tell who is going to go off when simply do not exist.
So, getting back to the discussion between Dr. Helen and Mindsteps, it is clear that Dr. Helen is right in suggesting that schools are not going to be able to react to a threat before it materializes. Their choice then is clear. Either schools will have to beef up their security forces to a level capable of dealing with the next Cho, or they will have to allow their students and faculty the ability to protect themselves as they see fit.
As a libertarian, I'm on the side of allowing a citizen to take charge of his own security.
Posted by Rich at April 18, 2007 5:32 PM | TrackBack