Newtown, CT.

My Infused Understanding of Sandy Hook.

Newtown, CT.  

Friday December 14, 2012

Scary. Cruel. Disgusting. Emotional. Crazy.

I don't disagree with the fact that media portrayal in the 21st century is problematic. I think everyone can agree with that. Whether it be one-sided reporting, victim blaming, interviewing children to get an emotional response from the audience, or revealing one's identity and labeling them as the single most notorious killer in America's history. There's an issue, sure, and CNN is one of the worst networks for it. However, saying that this is one of the main reasons for psychotic sprees is, for the lack of better, naive.

This is so much deeper. This is so much worse. And the scary part is that, this is only the beginning.

Societies first came to be because individuals saw that they could not adequately meet their needs alone. We came together, we built towns, we worked together towards common goals and we took care of one another. The very essence of society is this very thing; working together and helping one another. The fundamental nature of society has changed and this change is largely to blame for heinous crimes and outbreaks.

Problematically, we (with emphasis to the West- the world that preaches to the rest of the world on how to operate a society) have moved towards this notion of 'every man for himself', 'survival of the fittest', and an emphasis on the individual. Especially in America, we see the constant reminder that anyone can make it- it's the American dream. The reality is that very little people can make it in a society that puts emphasis on the individual.

Obama often uses Shawn Carter (Jay-Z) to illustrate the American Dream. An African American boy from Brooklyn, New York, Shawn writes and raps about his struggles growing up in America during the Reaganomics years. One of my biggest idols, not only because of his struggles, but because of his politically ignited lyrics and genuine insight to the world, Jay Z escaped a life in ‘the hood’. Today he is one of the world’s most celebrated stars, and one of the very last examples of the American Dream. The American Dream is dead- the ability to rise above is nearly impossible. This is a sad, but true reality.

Society has gone ass backwards. I’m not the first to say it, and I won’t be the last. I always think of Lil’ Wayne’s Misunderstood track when I write up something like this. Parents, the ‘garbage’ that you think your kids are listening to is often enlightening, often a flame that stimulates thought and pondering.

He recites:

I was watching t.v. the other day right
Got this white guy up there talking about black guys
Talking about how young black guys are targeted
Targeted by who? America
You see one in every 100 Americans are locked up
One in every 9 black Americans are locked up
And see what the white guy was trying to stress was that
The money we spend on sending a mothaf**ka to jail
A young mothaf**ka to jail
Would be less to send his or her young ass to college
See, and another thing the white guy was stressing was that
Our jails are populated with drug dealers, you know crack/cocaine stuff like that
Meaning due to the laws we have on crack/cocaine and regular cocaine
Police are only, I don't want to say only right, but shit
Only logic by riding around in the hood all day
And not in the suburbs
Because crack cocaine is mostly found in the hood
And you know the other thing is mostly found in you know where I'm going...
But why bring a mothaf**ka to jail if it's not gon stand up in court
Cause this drug ain't that drug, you know level 3, level 4 drug, shit like that
I guess it's all a misunderstanding
I sit back and think, you know us young mothaf**kas you know that 1 in 9
We probably only selling the crack cocaine because we in the hood
And it's not like in the suburbs, we don't have what you have
Why? I really don't wanna know the answer
I guess we just misunderstood hunh
You know we don't have room in the jail now for the real mothaf**kas, the real criminals
Sex offenders, rapists, serial killers
Shit like that
Don't get scared, don't get scared

The problem is deep, and you must be thinking, she is so off topic. Maybe I am? But here is what I think it comes down to...

Reaganomics is not a bad idea, rather an idea that was instituted incorrectly that has resulted in many diverse societal problems; problems that the Obama administration is faced with today.

Reaganomics  is the principle that you should give all the tax breaks to the top, in hopes that the rich person will turn around, open up a business and hire more people. Essentially, a trickledown effect. However, what has resulted is wealth disparity. In today’s society, where large corporations (not all) do not provide their employee’s with benefits like health insurance, Reaganomics does not work.

With the popularity of Reaganomics came a decline in social welfare programs. A lack of accessibility to health care, effective education, and a lack of treatment for the mentally ill.

Canada too has seen a decline in these programs.

Vancouver’s densely populated East Hastings Street is overrun with addicts, prostitution, drugs and homelessness, many of these people struggling with mental illness. Why the dense concentration? Many argue that has to do with the fact that thousands of hospital beds were closed in mental hospitals in and around Vancouver. Take Riverview Hospital for example: “Riverview opened in 1913 and had 4,630 patients at its peak in 1950. In January 2009, only 256 active beds remained, in early 2012 only 3 wards remained containing less than 50 patients and as of mid June 2012 only 2 wards remain. The final two wards closed on Friday the 13th of July, 2012.” (wikipedia).

There is a lack of public funding, attention and support for mental illness.

The perpetrator, in this case, lived in a white-collar town, in a nice home, with parents who held admirable professions. I am not qualified to suggest that he suffered from mental illness. However, I do believe that one must suffer from a mental illness to pursue such an act and I write this option based on that belief.

If we really want safe communities, we need to be prepared to pay for them.

Did you know that Bill 452, aimed at enhancing care and treatment of person with psychiatric disabilities was defeated in Connecticut in March 2012? Had the bill been passed, it would have given the state the right to institutionalize a person who is mentally ill, if the state had enough evidence to believe that person could be a danger to himself or the community (http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/cgabillstatus/cgabillstatus.asp?selBillType=Bill&bill_num=SB00452).

Legislators recognize that it’s political suicide to increase taxes, they see their growing debt and are hesitant to fund social welfare programs, and they realize the implications that come with probing the Second Amendment; the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Instead, they wait for people to commit outrageous and unforgettable crimes, at which point people start taking things seriously.  

I am suggesting that the world’s most heavily armed society, in combination with being a deregulated and inadequately funded society, will continue to reproduce instances like Sandy Hook. Society is crumbling, and instead of learning from our history, we are taking steps backwards.

To what many people think is a socialist disposition, we need to look back at the fundamental meaning of community and society and bring that meaning to birth again. We need to look out for one another, we need to have nets to catch those that fall through the cracks, and we need to pay taxes if we want to have a healthy, functioning and safe society.

As Richard Boock, a New Zealand journalist writes: “What do you get when you mix an inadequately funded mental health system with a culture in which military assault rifles can be purchased at the local supermarket? Well, we're finding out” (http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/blogs/an-auckland-minute/8090445/Mental-health-danger-signs-apparent-in-NZ).

I write this became my heart aches for those families. I had tears streaming down my face on the way to work listening to interviews on the radio this morning. I am haunted by the idea that this is just the beginning. I am haunted by the idea that this is the world I will one day bring my children into.

I know we can do better. I know that no matter where you lie on the political spectrum, you realize that something is seriously wrong. I know this because we are humanity, we have compassion and we all want peace.

Let this not be one of the many moments of clarity that we have. Let this be the last.