https://www.quakerranter.org/of-violence-and-mental-snaps/ A Weekly Newsletter and Blog from Martin Kelley Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.quakerranter.org/of-violence-and-mental-snaps/#comment-194635 Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:36:00 +0000 http://www.quakerranter.org/?p=17552#comment-194635 Re-reading what I just said, I find it sounds kind of querulous. But I do think it’s important to think clearly about what kinds of measures will be helpful in what kinds of situations. Spiritual nurturing can’t solve all kinds of problems, but social programs can’t either.

]]> https://www.quakerranter.org/of-violence-and-mental-snaps/#comment-194634 Sat, 21 Jul 2012 14:24:00 +0000 http://www.quakerranter.org/?p=17552#comment-194634 This is such a reasonable and compassionate response! Thank you, Martin. These sentences particularly spoke to me, and seem to me absolutely right: “I hope we can find a way to step back from the voyeurism of Col­orado details to find ways to extend our­selves in love and care. Tonight, when you feel rage or indig­na­tion, call up a friend or rel­a­tive in pain.”
However, I don’t think that the social programs you suggest are actually “long-term solutions” to the problem of this kind of violence. They won’t ensure that people don’t snap. James Holmes was apparently from a nice San Diego suburb, had a degree in neuroscience (with honors) from a good university, and was in a Ph.D. program. For that matter, the Columbine shooters were middle-class kids. Access to healthcare or a lack of enrichment programs weren’t their problems. Social programs may be goods in themselves, if they are effective ones, but they can’t rid the world of misery or mental illness.

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