I have to deal with the fact that I really do meet a lot of the criteria for a mass shooter.
I'm white. I'm socially isolated. I have mental health issues which are not fully treated. I have nothing preventing me from buying large amounts of weaponry. I'm a qualified Sharpshooter with the U.S. Army.
All of these are warning signs, which would not be noticed until after the fact. I have had major financial crises recently. I am the exact type of person that will radically, unexplained, go on a shooting rampage, killing many and wounding others.
But it ain't gonna happen.
(Hope on the flip.)
And there are good, simple reasons for that.
1. I may be socially isolated, but I participate in a community which abhors and despises these types of incidents. There would be no "blaze of glory" in violent actions, but rather there would be "Shock and horror".
2. I have responsibilities. I have two children who are the focus of my life. If I was to do something insane in an act of sheer unadulterated egotism, I would definitely destroy their lives. It would be the height of evil to destroy a young child for the sake of a few headlines.
3. I'm getting therapy. Finally. It took forever, with missed opportunities, missed connections, and downright lies told to me about ineligibility, but I'm finally getting the help I need through the VA. Of course, I won't get EVERYTHING that could help me, (Seeing as it's a federal program and they consider any use of Marijuana abuse) but it's still helpful to have something support me.
4. I do not want to give fuel to my enemies. Going off on a shooting rampage with my history of political statements would result in yet another call for attacks on the left. It would be seen as proof that the left wing is a "Hate Mongering Terrorist Group" which would be repeated ad nauseum.
5. It's just plain wrong. I know this first hand. I am going to say directly here what I have alluded to in the past. I have killed a person in the past. I am not happy about that. It was in the service, in Iraq. I was investigated, as all such incidents are, and it was determined I did the right thing. I still am not happy about it. I consider it still one of the worst days of my life. The idea of doing that again, for no reason whatsoever, is hideous.
6. I do not hate. And I think that's the one that is the most important. It's hate that fuels the killers. It's anger and frustration at imagined slights. I have REAL slights made against me every single day. I'm called lazy because I'm on assistance. I'm called a bum because I have no car. I'm called idiotic because I enjoy certain kinds of entertainment that are not mainstream. And I deal with it. I do not stew in my anger, and I do not allow those around me to reinforce said anger. It can be dealt with, it can be let go of. There are things that help, some more than others, and I use them when I can. But I will not allow myself to hate.
And that is why, when the shootings happen, I do not allow myself to hate those that commit these crimes.
But I want them to stop. So, this one awkward white loner will never choose to kill. Now let's get started on the rest of em, and figure out how we can help them too.
One thing for certain though, it certainly won't be by cutting mental health services, VA, Medicaid, Medicare, and every other program that exists to help.