Las Vegas: 3 talking points on mass homicide in the US

Fifty-nine dead. Over five hundred injured. #lasvegasshooting

Feels like we see these kinds of headlines too often, no? Sometimes it seems our society’s shock absorbers have been worn down over the past decade or so.

Immediately following these tragic events, we are compelled to ask why? ... how?

Mass shootings (4+ people killed) have occurred an average of 2-4 times per year in the US since 2011 (see the LA Times timeline here). While we’ve seen random acts of mass violence in other countries recently (Manchester, London, Brussels, Paris), these countries face nothing on the scale and pace of violence in the US.

What is it about our country that breeds these kinds of criminals committing these kinds of crime? I have three talking points below worthy of your brief consideration in trying to answer these questions.

Firearms Accessibility

It’s well known the US leads the world in gun density (check this Vox.com map). After gun violence incidents, gun laws become a major part of our national discussion in the proceeding weeks. The vast majority of the Left and some more liberal members of the Right call for increased regulation, while most of the Right proclaim the Second Amendment to protect them from any more firearm regulation. Inevitably weeks pass and the discussion falls slowly down the docket, and by the time there's another horrific event, the US has no policy changes.

I by no means want to belittle these events, rather I'm emphasizing how when the following incident has come, we have felt exasperation for (1) the event itself and (2) for having not addressed this issue the first time.

Most people will agree that it’s too easy to secure firearms and firearm attachments. Waiting an extra week or two wouldn't kill anyone if it would allow for proper background investigations to take place. Background checks are a joke, and people can legally purchase as many guns as they’d like. If someone walked into a store and purchases 100 guns, they can legally take them home. Of course that would raise a "red flag", but that red flag won’t prevent that person from using those guns immediately.

This presents a classic freedom v. security argument. While the US is founded on the principles of liberty and justice, have we evolved into a society that calls for more regulation? Consider the two remaining points below:

Lack of National Identity/Dissociation

The US population represents almost every ethnic and cultural background around the world. Many people feel their roots go back to their home countries, or their parents’ home countries, or their grandparents’, or their cultural groups within the US, and so on. This is a very important point in discussions on mass violence. Why?

Because, lack of national identity - where people claim their identity and allegiance to a country and its people above all others - means that Americans aren’t necessarily loyal to one another. Indeed, many Americans don’t “see themselves” in their neighbors. There’s a lack of empathy, a lack of understanding, and a lack of compassion. And, this is only exacerbated by our capitalistic, individualistic history and culture that, from the creed of our Declaration of Independence to today’s corporate environment, rewards cut-throat, self-interested decision-making. Compromises and self sacrifice for the sake of the group are morals we teach our children, but we don’t often have the luxury to practice them as adults in this country. Why? We need to survive.

For example, if your work supervisor is deciding between you and a colleague for a promotion, and you need it to make your family more financially comfortable, you’ll do what you must to secure it.

That brings me to my third point.

Economic Uncertainty and Pressure

Americans understand that making cut-throat, ambitious moves in life is the most assured way of moving up and succeeding. Because of our capitalistic economy, nobody is watching out for us. We must look after ourselves. Most Americans in 2017 are not trying to become millionaires (although most people wouldn’t mind this), they simply want to be comfortable and secure a financial future. In the US economy, in the US workforce, workers must fight every day to be competitive and maintain job security, and even still, not everyone can be compensated for their fight. Because ulimately, people aren't the most important factor in capalistic decision making - it's the bottom line.

For example, if your production is low, and your manager knows you're a single mom that badly needs this salary, that knowledge won't protect you from getting fired. If people aren't strong performers or don't know how to make alliances to protect themselves, they're vulnerable.

What’s worse - achieving the American dream is very difficult right now. For the average person, starting a business is more difficult than ever. Because 20-50% of their paychecks go to loans, Millennials don’t qualify for banks loans to start a business or buy a house. Social security is going to explode. Pensions are gone. And some companies are shaving down their 401k plans. Average Americans are increasingly feeling the urgency of not being able to build a foundation.

Americans face immense pressure and stress to build financial security for themselves and their families, and this pressure (i) requires people to become even more self-interested in their decision making, causing further deterioration of our social fabric and (ii) has led to the highest anxiety rate across US adults (also now growing very quickly in teens and even children!). Long-term anxiety can make people depressed, desperate or even mad.

It’s a pity these tragic events are the most effective catalysts for social reflection that Americans don’t normally feel prompted to perform. Firearm accessibility is a major issue, especially in a non-cohesive society that’s feeling increasingly anxious about the future. This is a recipe for disaster. Of course I’m not claiming that relieving these societal burdens would ensure no more mass shootings. It does not. I wish there was a recipe we could follow to ensure a safer, stabler future in the US, but there isn’t. The best choice we have is to understand the comorbid, corrosive nature of these societal phenomena and take significant policy steps to defuse them.

We cannot wait.