Another school shooting happened today. Humans lost their lives. I have so many thoughts and this may be jumbled. However, I plan on touching on several facets of the shooting: Biblical, mental health perspective.
What will America do with its gun laws? That is right, nothing with conservatives holding archaic beliefs. Enough is enough. Even though thousands have been murdered in schools, they are afraid of change.
Right wing politicians base their values on a book that was written over a thousand years and has poor translations. It feels like they are that old themselves.
What does the good book say? I see Jesus as a pacifist. Next week, I will play the centurion in a Maundy Thursday service. In the play, my ear gets cut off by an apostle. Jesus heals my ear and then lets me take him. This is pacificism at its peak.
The Washington Post has a great database-esque article about violence that kids experienced since Columbine. You can find that here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/school-shootings-database/
The numbers that it gives are jarring. Next year will be the 25th anniversary of Columbine. Now let’s look at the big stat that they give: 348,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. There have been 376 school shootings since 1999…
This is embarrassing. 348,00 students, 376 shootings,348,00 students, 376 shootings,348,00 students, 376 shootings,348,00 students, 376 shootings,348,00 students, 376 shootings,348,00 students, 376 shootings. Let that sink in because apparently it hasn’t. We vote in the politicians who do this. Voters, non-voters, and politicians have responsibility for this. What will you do? Nothing. Instead we see the Texas governor not take questions after 19 kids died in 2022.
Guns give people a sense of control that they lack in their lives; especially when you lack control with your mental health. My suicide attempt was my inner thoughts telling me that I wasn’t good enough.
People need hobbies. Why are guns a hobby? When you have a mindset of someone who is capable of a shooting, guns are an outlet for them. Why are guns an outlet? They are readily f’ing available.
School shooters can train on animals. They call it hunting, but really it is making killing a sport and hobby. Hunters have made it so that guns are even more readily accessible. Hunters have made it so that it is okay to train for mass shootings by killing animals. Hunting is a hobby.
Per Word Etymology, the word hunting comes from hentan “to seize,” from Proto-Germanic *huntojan (source also of Gothic hinþan “to seize, capture…. This is basic life. We are not here to seize and capture. The second amendment was passed at a time when we were worried about people coming in and taking over. As a young country that was to be expected.
The second amendment of the United States grants the right to bear arms. It was passed in 1791. That is over 200 years. People base laws off the Bible which is over a thousand years old. Per the Wiki article on speration of church and state; Thomas Jefferson said: Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions…. I would love to know what you took from this.
Now lets talk about how bad the current USA mental health system is. I am about to pour my heart and soul into this; even more than I already do on this site.
Mental health is a struggle. It is a struggle that you have to want to get help with. Anti-depressants are a stigma still. Furthermore, we are just now learning the long-term side effects of them. In regards to these shootings, people say that we need to invest in mental health in the country. If we are, it is not showing. Here are several examples from my past:
– It took me several months to see a therapist after my suicide attempt.
– In the absence of help, I sought out a local free clinic. Since free clinics are used for therapists to get hours to officially become one, the quality of care can be lacking. My quality of care there was lacking. I was too afraid to voice that I needed a new therapist because I was afraid about losing therapy completely. When I did deal with her boss, she had no empathy for my situation; and seemed to only care about having her picture everywhere.
If you are in therapy and it is not working for you, it is perfectly fine to seek an alternative person or treatment. Who knows you best than you?
– Now lets talk about how the United Church of Christ failed me after my suicide attempt. I reached out to several facets of the organization, in particular their mental health organization. My pastor Stacy Thomas knew that I needed help but she just made things worse. She defended the toxicity and kept my issues a secret. I reached out to several facets of the United Church of Christ; from their mental health resources which did not get back to me, the conference which did not get back to me, and several others. I am dwelling on this because I would love to share my story with UCC higher ups so that they can learn. However, they highlight the very crux of the issue and that is that people only say things for glamour. Why have a mental health initiative if you are not going to help your own?
I am asking these questions of the UCC because I want them to get better. I believe in their values but that only took me so far. I gave everything to my church. I helped build it. I made contacts that they still rely on. I pushed myself and made myself better. However when I lost everything in 2020, the place that I gave everything to was not there.
– Now lets talk mental hospitals. I went in one, when I was worried that I was worried about hurting myself. That was the worst experience of my life. It felt like a prison. I have talked to other people and they feel the same way. Mental hospitals are the answer for therapists, especially when they can’t control their patients. In the hospital, I had all the tools that made me sane taken away: my music, my fiance, my pets. I was surrounded by people who were far worse than me.
My free clinic therapist kept pushing it, and I had to be stern in telling her that she was talking about a place than will push me further off the edge. My therapist had no experience with how the mental hospital system worked, and she was not going to get any. A lot of the best ones, do not have experience. I feel that it should be a requirement if they want to become a therapist. I feel this way, so that they will have empathy.
Don’t get me wrong, the mental hospital system works for some but it does not work for most. If you disagree, I challenge you to survive just 4 hours in one; as opposed to the typical 3 day hold.
Before we dive in to another topic, I do need to talk about a strength that we have at our disposal. The Suicide Hotline gets a lot of grief. It was there for me when I did not have therapy. If the person on the phone was my therapist, I would not have gone as far as I did at times; if my therapist was a quarter of that person, I would have done better.
Now lets talk getting someone help. Most people, especially the shooters, do not want mental health help. I have seen it with my brother. You can invest in mental health help, but it is only there for people that want it. In the case of my brother, he would take himself out of the hospital. It took him 20 years before he even saw a therapist.
Now ask yourself, what is stronger for the people that need mental health help? The readily available guns that have been their hobby or the mental health system that in itself can be a mental struggle to survive. In my case, I am lucky to have the strength to reach out when I need help; thank you God. Most people are not about to reach out. In my case, I have always had guns and knives away from me, for my suicidal reasons. I am an exception. My family helped me, boy do they deserve a medal. It is easier to reach out for a gun then it is to get help.
Let’s pray
Dear Lord, the world is a scary place right. Everything feels under attack. No one feels safe. We have trusted politicians to protect us, and they are only making things worse. There are people who need mental health treatment and are not strong enough to get it. If they want it, will they have access to it? Thank you for protecting the living. Please keep on protecting us. Please give strength to everyone to do the right thing. You Lord, are the most important part of the equation. We only ask sternly because we need your help and we thank you for your understanding and compassion. AMEN
Now lets end on a punk note.
Reagan Youth – Jesus Was A Pacifist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgXyM8Bri94
Jesus was a communist
Jesus was a pacifist
Jesus was a communist
Jesus didn’t like the rich
Jesus was a communist
Jesus was a pacifist
Jesus was a communist
Jesus didn’t like the rich
Jesus was a communist
Jesus was a pacifist
Jesus was a communist
Jesus didn’t like the rich
Jesus was a communist
Jesus was a pacifist
Jesus was a communist
If Jesus saw you he’d be pissed
punkchristian.com 