Shootings: Medications and Video Games

[Martell Spy]

What to blame for the crazy amount of shootings, in particular in the United States? I added video games to the title because violent video games have been a scape goat for gun violence, in particular in schools, for decades. And I think that's BS.

It's an intractable problem, like racial or economic inequality. Partly it's feeding on it's self. They're copy cats. Partly access to guns is playing a major part. I think most explanations that don't start in those 2 areas are just going down rabbit holes.

 

 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

Just to post here what I posted elsewhere:

I know studies have been done, but I think the easiest thing to do for those without access to academic libraries is to ask: it is the meds they all have in common, or something else? Could it be the prescription of medications were attempts to help kids in serious need, but they weren't enough or soon enough?

I mean, what we're discussing here is, "I ate spaghetti, and my hip hurt the next morning. Then two weeks later, I ate spaghetti and my hip hurt in the morning!" 

Doctor: "You also had significant hip surgery in your twenties, you're in your forties now, you mentioned you haven't bought a new mattress since you were in your twenties, and you still like to go out and run 5ks in full battle rattle like you're still in the marines."

Me: You're just going to discount the spaghetti? 

 

And, this is a horribly offensive topic that has literally zero scientific basis (and it's been studied for decades), and I think pushing this narrative is beyond fucked up.

[Week]

How many shootings would happen without access to guns?

-- I'll hang up and listen, thanks.

[DireWolfSpirit]

4 minutes ago, Week said:

How many shootings would happen without access to guns?

-- I'll hang up and listen, thanks.

I think that is at the heart of it,

hence today's headlines-

They are charging the parents (4 counts each of homicidal manslaughter) who bought the gun the jerk took to the school in the first place.

I hope the parental prosecution is successful.

Michigan shooter's parents charged

https://www.cnn.com/webview/us/live-news/oxford-school-shooting-michigan-12-03-21/h_0632e1efaed7ceccc8c42660da93990b

[Week]

3 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I think that is at the heart of it,

hence today's headlines-

They are charging the parents (4 counts each of homicidal manslaughter) who bought the gun the jerk took to the school in the first place.

I hope the parental prosecution is successful.

Michigan shooter's parents charged

https://www.cnn.com/webview/us/live-news/oxford-school-shooting-michigan-12-03-21/h_0632e1efaed7ceccc8c42660da93990b

Through the book at them, at sellers, at manufacturers, at the entire supply chain. It's the only way to begin to make an iota of change. I mean, look at this -- aiding and abetting four murders and more attempted murders.

 

 

[Martell Spy]

Quote

 

hence today's headlines-

They are charging the parents who bought the gun the jerk took to the school in the first place.

 

This is at least looking at the right cause of the problem, the gun access. Will it be enough though? Probably not. But prosecutions like this are one of the few tools we have.

 

[Larry of the Lawn]

15 minutes ago, Week said:

How many shootings would happen without access to guns?

-- I'll hang up and listen, thanks.

Have you seen what Ritalin and a slingshot can do to someone's skull?  Leaves a welt that lasts for up to three hours.

[Week]

19 minutes ago, 1066 Larry said:

Have you seen what Ritalin and a slingshot can do to someone's skull?  Leaves a welt that lasts for up to three hours.

Have you heard from Goliath recently? That little excitable boy did a number on him.

[Martell Spy]

Gun manufacturers, sellers, and gun-owner adults are the obvious chain of custody of the weapons that are killing kids. It's not clear we can do anything about this though. We're a capitalist system and the sellers and manufacturers are a side-effect.

And right-wing courts fully back the right of adults to buy and own. So does the U.S. Congress through inaction. So we end up coming in after the blood has been spilled and maybe laying some prosecutions on irresponsible adults. And it starts again.

We can't unwind and stop Columbine from ever happening. And it's a template.

[DireWolfSpirit]

The shocking original news story on this tragedy mentioned that there have been over 60 of these school campus gun attacks since August. I actually had to do a double take and convince myself I hadn't misread such an enormous amount of incidents.

I'm still unsettled beyond words, this latest attack was just a couple counties east of the High School I attended. I know plenty of my hometown friends and family must be left reeling and sickened that this came here.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Wait what.........?

The mother actually said she wasnt mad and that he needed to learn not to get caught?

What the

Ever living

Fuck?

[Larry of the Lawn]

1 minute ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

Wait what.........?

The mother actually said she wasnt mad and that he needed to learn not to get caught?

What the

Ever living

Fuck?

Probably not in anyone's interest to hear comments from the parents beyond actual facts of what happened.

[Martell Spy]

16 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

The shocking original news story on this tragedy mentioned that there have been over 60 of these school campus gun attacks since August. I actually had to do a double take and convince myself I hadn't misread such an enormous amount of incidents.

I'm still unsettled beyond words, this latest attack was just a couple counties east of the High School I attended. I know plenty of my hometown friends and family must be left reeling and sickened that this came here.

We miss a lot of them. Not a school shooting, but related to this topic. Interesting thing here is the only adults involved were the guy trying to steal the gun and the manufacturers and sellers of the parts.

I just read an article about a 13 year-old that killed his 14 year-old sister accidentally. He was selling a self-assembled ghost gun to an adult. The adult tried to steal the gun and run off with it, the 13 year-old missed and shot his sister to death.

The gun was traceless, too.

[lessthanluke]

A lifting acquaintance of mines niece was one of the victims. So fucked up. 

[Tyria]

2 hours ago, Centrist Simon Steele said:

 

I know studies have been done, but I think the easiest thing to do for those without access to academic libraries is to ask...

As a librarian who works in an academic library, I just wanted to post a quick note on this part of the quote (I almost did a whole thing in the other thread about how antidepressants saved my life 20+yrs ago, but meh). 

If you look at most academic library websites, they will (or should) have links to Open Access (OA) sites, and/or research done by faculty/researchers added to their institutional repositories, which is openly accessible. It has always been the goal of librarians to have this type of information (and well, all really) freely accessible to the public. It is the publishers that restrict it. eta: in most cases. sometimes it is proprietary, etc. 

The university I work at, and the others in our consortium of 12 libraries, all have subject guides specifically for finding openly accessible peer reviewed research. In our case, anyone can come to the library and access all our materials from guest computers, and ask us for help finding stuff (it has to be on campus for non OA, because again, publisher restrictions). So, if you can't get to a uni/college library, or they don't have these types of guides, go to or email your local public library. They can help you find reputable sources. 

[Larry of the Lawn]

10 minutes ago, HoodedCrow said:

Read the published information on the brand name of medications. You can look at each shooter independently. It would make a great thesis. If you are going to mess with neurotransmitters, it might work and…it might not, that is why it is supposed to be monitored. Or try this. Some people like coffee and have good effects. It puts some people to sleep and it makes some people anxious. It’s genetics, ( or preference) not some failing.

I'm not convinced that coffee is a plausible cause of a school shooting.  I'm not convinced that taking antidepressants or any of the meds you're concerned about cause school shootings.  Would be cool to see some actual study that says they increase violence.

Not even going to get into why someone could be on something in the first place because that's just going to be twisted against anyone with mental health issues being a school shooter or something.

You made a pretty bold claim.  Back it up.

[HoodedCrow]

I quit health care because of unmonitored side effects on kids. Coffee is not related to school shootings, that I know of. I have never said that video games cause violence. I have seen a lot of harm from long term antidepressant use. Why would that bother me? I have a conscience. I think minimizing side effects that are common is unconscionable. But, if people can’t tell the difference between rare and common, and force binary choices on a full range of reactions, what can you do?

How about playing a game with dice? The video games flip “ dice” for you! It’s programmed! You can update patches, or the wonderful IT folks will labor behind the scenes and make it work:) Videogames are updated or they will be obsolete.They are usually well tested, but not in every incidence. One of the biggest problems is scalability.( and security). It is a tough industry.

Medications have to be pretty bad before they are withdrawn because it is not profitable to say that. They are aggressively marketed, but some of them work, for some people. Now there are even ads for the long term side effects of psychiatric meds. One of the problems is Tardive Dyskinesia. Does it happen every time? No! Compare and contrast.

[Martell Spy]

Quote

 I have never said that video games cause violence.

 

Never said that anyone on this board has claimed this. I put it in the title as video games are a favorite scapegoat for shootings. And medications are being used a scapegoat for the same thing. And I'm an active player of violent video games, so it's a pet peeve of mine.

I do think all the various scapegoats are letting off the actual culprits. Gun manufacturers, the Supreme Court, gun activitists.

 

[DMC]

Whomever said this reminded them of the 90s was spot on - I feel like it's post-Columbine all over again.  Perhaps we should have complementary threads blaming Marilyn Manson, Natural Born Killers, trenchcoats, and Hitler's birthday.

[Larry of the Lawn]

4 minutes ago, DMC said:

Whomever said this reminded them of the 90s was spot on - I feel like it's post-Columbine all over again.  Perhaps we should have complementary threads blaming Marilyn Manson, Natural Born Killers, trenchcoats, and Hitler's birthday.

Oh man the goths in my HS were super pissed when the school banned trench coats and dusters