Blog #154 -What kind of problem do we have in America?
So I started out the pre-writing for our discussion about guns by first asking – does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not? And of course, I got a variety of responses where many of you said that we’re experiencing a combination of these issues. And we watched this video looking at the history of the Brady Bill primarily (with a secondary quick look at the the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994) and a balanced look at how different people across the country view guns, both negatively or positively. See the video below:
Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation About Guns from Retro Report Cuts on Vimeo.
We then talked about America’s distrust of standing armies, the country’s reliance on an armed militia to defend itself in the early days, and we read the 2nd Amendment and briefly discussed its history of being interpreted by the SCOTUS (History and court cases found here). In a brief summary, there were very few legal challenges to the 2nd Amendment in the 19th and 20th Century, the cases primarily focused on the first clause of the Amendment on the well regulated militia, as exemplified by the Miller case in 1939 that seemed to tie gun ownership to being part of a militia. However, scholars and legal experts continued to debate the issue in the latter half of the 20th Century as it appeared that most American gun-onwers were NOT part of an organized state militia given the establishment of a large, permanent army. By the time SCOTUS determined D.C. v. Heller in 2008, the Court separated gun onwership from service in a militia officially and established an individual right to own a gun in your own home for protection. This right was expanded in the 2010 case, McDonald v. City of Chicago and in last year’s case, NYSRPA v. Bruen which expanded the right to carry guns outside of the home instead of just in the home for self-defense.
And so when we looked at the 5 gun control advocacy groups and the 5 gun rights advocacy groups and their websites, we found a variety of goals and arguments for gun control or gun rights. Some policy goals for gun control groups ranged from a new assault weapon ban, a limit or ban high capacity magazines (thanks to 4th hour, I found out that anything over 10 rounds is considered high capacity), increased stronger background checks, and limiting guns from “certain groups” as one of the groups put it, essentially enforcing or creating Red Flag laws or preventing those with a history of domestic violence from getting them. One group, like the Brady Campaign, had some interesting stats and graphics, a few of which I could not find the source of their info (like 3 graphics below). 
They gave sources like the CDC for some of their stats on gun deaths, injuries, etc., but these three in particular I wanted to see the sources. Some of the groups relied on first-hand accounts of traumatic shootings to bolster their claims, but it seemed that one of the newest groups founded in the wake of the Oxford and Uvalde shootings, Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence, didn’t seem to have any solid policy goals or proposals other than no gun violence in schools. Looking across the five groups we analyzed, some groups have a state by state approach while others call for national legislation to achieve their policy goals. Nowhere did these groups promote gun confiscation, which would most likely (I won’t say 100% because as we have seen in the past few years, some federal judges will approve or pass injunctions on the flimsiest of reasons) lose in any court in the land as a massive violation of the 2nd Amendment. Personally, I believe that a confiscation law, first, would never pass Congress (no matter what kind of gun) though it might pass in a very liberal state but I still doubt it (because the law would never go into effect b/c gun rights groups would file an injunction in federal court to stop it from going into effect), and second, it is a direct violation of the 2nd Amendment. Confiscation is a punishment inflicted on all Americans who own and handle their guns responsibly and for legitimate reasons. Confiscation is fantastical thinking and completely unrealistic. And if it happened in other countries, their circumstances nd histories greatly differ from the U.S..
On the gun rights side, most groups were opposed to any type of gun control as being an infringement upon a person’s absolute right found in the 2nd Amendment. The NRA, the 2nd Amendment Foundation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition advocated for sport shooting and educating and expanding educational opportunities exposing teenagers to the importance of gun safety. One group, National Association for Gun Rights, has currently as its website banner a misleading banner claiming that President Biden has signed an Executive Order requiring Universal Gun Registration (assumed to be much like how all kinds of vehicles are registered) which you can see here. 
But what Biden’s EO, signed in March of this year, has done was to push for something close to universal background checks before gun purchases (see the EO here). To be fair, the NRA paints an accurate portrayal of Biden’s EO here, but uses inflammatory headlines and pics (see below). 
The main problem with these kinds of misleading and inflammatory headlines and graphics, as I see it, is likely intentional – to make the federal government led by Democrats out to be the adversary that must be defeated at all costs because your very rights – all of them – are at stake. This leaves no room for compromise, and several of the gun rights groups we analyzed proudly proclaimed that they are against any kinds of compromise with gun control advocates. And this kind of thinking can lead some small number of gun rights groups to engage in their own kind of fantastical thinking – that one person with their arsenal of guns will be able to prevent or stop a tyrannical government like the U.S. with the armed forces at their disposal (Don’t believe me? This is a quote from the FPC’s Constitution: “We believe that well-armed people make tyranny at scale significantly more costly and thus positively changes the economics of authoritarianism as against those People;”) (source). This might have been true in 1791 when the Bill of Rights was approved, and the federal government had a tiny army. But not now. Like I mentioned previously, confiscation of all guns (or even just existing assault weapons) is an unealistic and unconstitutional pipe dream, and given the adversarial kind of thinking outlined above, would result in massive death and carnage. But if some people think they can hold off or defeat the best-financed armed forces in the world, they are also engaging in fantastical thinking.
As you can see, we spent the majority of our time discussing attitudes about guns and why people might oppose or support gun control measures. What I would like you to do is to return to the original pre-writing question and answer that along with your choice of questions below:
- Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
- Is there another problem that is plaguing America besides any of the four listed above? If so, what is it and how is it negatively affecting America? If not, don’t answer this question.
- Listening to some of the gun control measures we had discussed the past 2 days, which of those would you support? Why?
- If you think America has primarily a violence problem, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
- If you think America has primarily a mental health crisis, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
- What are your thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity? Is it real or is it some kind of made-up thing to target men for being naturally aggressive? Or is it something else? Explain why. (This definition comes from Wikipedia – Toxic masculinity is thus defined by adherence to traditional male gender roles that consequently stigmatize and limit the emotions boys and men may comfortably express while elevating other emotions such as anger. It is marked by economic, political, and social expectations that men seek and achieve dominance.)
You must answer question #1 and then pick two additional ones to share your thoughts about. If you use anything that is not your own original thought, please follow my example here and cite your sources. Your total answer for all 3 questions should achieve a minimum of 400 words total. Due Tuesday night, May 23, by 11:59 p.m.
Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
The answer to this question is yes. Just, all around, yes. Does America have a gun problem? Yes. Too many people have access to guns. Does America have a violence problem? Yes. Violent video games and pop culture are perpetuating violence by glorifying it. Does America have a mental health problem? Yes. Mental health has declined majorly in recent years. Does America have a toxic masculinity problem? Yes. Men and women are still viewed as different, and they often fall into the pre-programmed stereotypes that exist for their gender, such as toxic masculinity.
Is there another problem that is plaguing America besides any of the four listed above? If so, what is it and how is it negatively affecting America? If not, don’t answer this question.
There are many other problems that are currently plaguing America. One that I find to be quite troubling is the lack of gender equality, evident in the fact that male clothing often has large pockets, while females often either possess none or shallow ones. It is assumed that females do not need large pockets because they will wear purses. Men, for whom it is not socially acceptable to wear a purse, are provided with nice, big pockets to carry everything they need. This common occurrence stems from stereotypes and gendered assumptions, perpetuating sexism and gender divides.
If you think America has primarily a mental health crisis, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
America advertises mental health issues. Many people are developing genuine mental health issues, but many are also being misdiagnosed or (unintentionally) falsely claiming to have mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. There has been an increase in reported mental health issues within the last few years, and part of this is due to overdiagnosing and a societal obsession with mental health. However, I have also noticed an increase in genuine mental health problem cases, leading to tradgic events such as mass shootings and suicide. In order to reduce and improve this issue, we need to understand, as a society, the gravity of mental halth issues., We need to educate ourselves on the signs and treatments. And, we need to increase resources for people who do struggle with mental health.
What are your thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity? Is it real or is it some kind of made-up thing to target men for being naturally aggressive? Or is it something else? Explain why. (This definition comes from Wikipedia – Toxic masculinity is thus defined by adherence to traditional male gender roles that consequently stigmatize and limit the emotions boys and men may comfortably express while elevating other emotions such as anger. It is marked by economic, political, and social expectations that men seek and achieve dominance.)
My thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity are that it is both outdated and prevalent in today’s society. It has improved a great deal in a short amount of time, however, it does still exist in our society today. The existence of toxic masculinity and the idea that it is simply a made-up construct to target men for natural aggression are not mutually exclusive. Toxic masculinity is one hundred percent real. However, it is also a made-up idea to target men for being naturally aggressive. Men are naturally more aggressive than women, and the concept of toxic masculinity points that out. In this sense, it targets men. Additionally, just because something is made up, does not mean that it isn’t real. (For example, the harry potter books were made up, but they are still real. Dreams are also made up, but they are also still real.)
America Has A Problem – Beyonce. No nation comes without its ups and downs, its flaws and accomplishments, but is America’s scale tipping too far one way? Let’s be honest for a second, disregard all of our past and focus on the present day. In 2023 alone we have amassed a grand total of 200 mass shootings. Suicide rates have been going up since the turn of the century. We’re witnessing an age of unrest of course all of these topics play heavily into the America we know and not love but are kind of on the fence about today. One in particular is always on replay in my head as a student, gun violence, an epidemic that has BEEN on the rise, something that people want to run from, but something that leaves others running. I was at a fair last saturday when there was a potential gun threat, kids ran and ran and ran, everyone there knew what to do and what to feel because most of us there had been prepared for a situation like the one we were in. If we make no effort to stop gun violence now, then our children and our children’s children will grow up with more alice drills than tornado drills, because that’ll be the more likely scenario.
2.Before this I reviewed the present, but the next issue I’m about to discuss seems to be too stubborn to leave our country for good. Hate plagues our country and has since we were founded, we have just found new outlets to place our hate, and new ways to express it. The buffalo shooting of 2022 involved a deranged and racist man shooting up a supermarket where most of the demographic of the area was black. We’ve seen attacks on jewish communities and Latin American communities as well. Our roots come from hatred as much as they come from freedom, the land of the free or the land of the safe? We care so much about the right to bear arms, but if we don’t stop the violence that is corrupting our country now, some kids won’t even get to see the day when they can enjoy that right.
3. Toxic masculinity is real. Men have a strict set of expectations they’ve been expected to follow and those include not showing emotions that are seen as more feminine, like sadness or anxieties. This often builds up and comes out in unreasonable bursts of emotions or in this case mass acts of violence. 98% of mass shootings are carried out by men, which is a statistic you can not ignore. Nobody can dispute with this number, because it’s real, its a fact, and it’s one that should be evaluated.
1. Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
I think that America primarily has a violence problem and a mental health problem. First, I think that America has violence problem as deaths due to mass shootings and murders have skyrocketed over the past 20 years. Violence in America has steadily increased over the past 20 years and this tells me that we have a major violence problem in the country. Many increased safety measures have had to be put into place due to the effect of mass violence such as active school shooter drills in school. I think America mainly has a violence problem due to things like mental health issues ever since the pandemic started and many people have not found ways to get over the pandemic and have resorted to violence. Secondly, I think that America has had a major mental health crisis. Recently, many people have been getting diagnosed with depression a lot more and other mental health illnesses. I think that the massive jump in cases of mental health once again have to do with the covid pandemic and the massive amounts of people that lost jobs during the pandemic. Mental health is a big problem as it can cause people to not think rationally and to do bad things like resorting to violence that they would not normally do. Mental health is a big problem in the country as many more people are now getting depression which can lead to violence like we have already seen.
3. Listening to some of the gun control measures we had discussed the past 2 days, which of those would you support? Why?
I would support the background checks the most out of all of the gun control measures that we had discussed in class. I would support the background checks because they stop giving guns to people with dangerous backgrounds that can do harm with a gun. Background checks allow certain people to be red flagged and if they attempt to buy a dangerous weapon like a gun they will show up in the database as someone who is not allowed to have a gun. I especially like the background checks rule because they stop people from just walking in and buying a gun because they have to get checked for past history and any crimes they might have committed. Background checks stop bad people from getting guns and doing dangerous things. Thugh, they also allow good people to continue to get guns as they will show up in the system as not a threat and they will be able to buy their guns without an issue.
4. If you think America has primarily a violence problem, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
The biggest solution to the violence problem that I can think of is to make mental health care more accessible to many people by bringing the cost of it down. Mental health is a big reason for the ongoing violence issue that we continue to see in the country. Violence can be directly attributed to mental health problems as one way people deal with their mental health problems is by committing violence. Many people take out the problems that they have by committing violence and mass shootings. I think that one way we can majorly decrease violence is by creating mental heath easier and a lot more affordable. Many people with mental health issues can’t even afford to get treatment even once every two weeks. By lowering the cost of mental health many people can get the treatment they need to be able to get themselves right and out of the headspace that they are in. If you bring down the mental health crisis you can significantly bring down the issue of violence in the country. This is why I believe that making mental health more affordable will limit the amount of violence that we are seeing in the country.
1. America has a gun problem, but it stems from violence, mental health problems, and toxic masculinity. How bad does it have to be for Walmart to be selling guns? You can go grocery shopping and buy a gun at the same place and same time. Because of the 2nd Amendment, Americans have the right to own guns, but as we have seen, many guns get into the hands of the wrong people. Mental Health care isn’t readily available for many people. From the price to the institutions themselves just not being up to standard. People with pent-up aggression with no healthy outlet may have more violent thoughts and may think their only resort involves a gun and harming themself or others.
3. I support the increased background checks. Knowing our country we will probably never get rid of guns, and some people will probably find a way to get them no matter what. With the greater majority needing to undergo background checks, can prevent future gun violence.
5. The first thing would be to improve the Mental Health institutes themselves. In many of them, you don’t really even do anything, you might color some but that’s really it. There are also many therapists who aren’t properly qualified. For many it’s hard to find a therapist that will actively understand what they are going through, like needing more POC, LGBTQIA+, and male therapists. Once Mental Health institutes begin truly helping those with mental health problems and there are more diverse therapists, the media would need to de-stigmafy getting mental health help. Many people are embarrassed to say if they have a therapist or dont feel their feelings would be validated if they spoke up.
6. Toxic masculinity shows how the standard role of men in society harms them mentally. It is real because there isn’t any other term that can properly explain how men hide many of their feelings. In this society and from what I felt since the start of America, men always are supposed to be strong and not do anything “weak”. But today men shouldn’t blame their aggression on toxic masculinity. Nobody should be forced to hide their emotions, but sometimes it leads them to seem untrustworthy. Personally, I feel it’s important to understand some men just will never change and continue to push down their emotions, but there are some who have begun to show that it is okay to cry.
1. Just like pretty much every issue that plagues the country, there are multiple reasons for their existence , and shootings are no exception. Shootings constitute a combination of a gun problem, a mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. The US has a major gun problem because too many different kinds of guns are available, some that are way too overkill to have if they’re simply meant for self-defense and home defense, and the problem ties back to the mental health and toxic masculinity problem. It’s way too easy for someone with mental health issues to procure a gun, since background checks are practically nonexistent, and use it to hurt themself or others. Toxic masculinity also plays ties into both. With lack of support and the common belief for guys to hide emotions other than anger, it can cause many mental health problems for teenagers and kids that have no solid way to get help and no way to vent emotions, and combine that with easy access to guns, and the anger they have been trained to elevate in power takes over and is focused on other people.
3. I would support policies that focus on background checks. Those are the first step to dealing with the issue of guns, and the ones likely to receive the least amount of backlash. This issue is a delicate one, and any little thing will set off the gun rights people, so we have to try to deal with it step by step, in a quick and timely fashion, without arousing their anger too much. Starting off immediately by trying to eliminate a bunch of guns will make that community fight back, so we have to slowly pull the carpet out from under them without destabilizing them and angering them, because when the other side of an argument feels attacked, they’ll shut off any possibility of compromise. So therefore convincing them to agree to background check is the first step and it should help a lot, and only after that do we try fully removing certain types of guns.
6. Toxic masculinity is definitely real, and I should know because I’ve experienced it. In middle school I used to hang out with some people that were prime examples of toxic masculinity. It centers much around not necessarily what society says should happen, because that doesn’t come into the mix until much later on in life. TM begins playing into boys’ lives very early on, mostly drilled into our brains by our fathers. We are taught from an early age that vulnerability is a weakness and something we should never show, because every time we did, every time we got upset and cried as many young kids tend to do, we are told to stop and “man up”. For my entire life up until 8th grade, the only thing I ever did with my friends was talk about sports and videogames, and feelings or any form of vulnerability was considered stupid and never breached, except in some pretty extreme situations, and conversations were often limited unless something was being played at that time.
1. Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
I think that America does in fact have a gun problem, violence problem, a mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. There is a major gun problem within the U.S. this can be proven by the fact that since 2011 there are more guns in the U.S than there are actual people. Also the fact that so many everyday people have access to guns. I also agree that America has a violence problem between people who glorify violence through movies or video games. Another problem prevalent within the U.S. is the mental health crisis. This can be proven through the fact that mental health has declined throughout the recent years, and the pandemic is also an important factor in this as well. Finally I do believe that America has a toxic masculinity problem through the stereotypes that have been set in our society. Some examples of this would include stereotypes within families and the workplace. Overall I would say that all of these problems have contributed to the increase of mass shootings within the recent years, therefore the cost of many peoples innocent lives.
3. Listening to some of the gun control measures we had discussed the past 2 days, which of those would you support? Why?
Honestly I know this may sound extreme but I would be totally for an all out ban of guns. I’m so sick of people and the government sending their thoughts and prayers and not doing anything about these mass shootings. We should be able to go to school, the store, and places of worship without worrying about our lives at risk. But the problem is that this would never happen. The government and the Constitution will never allow it. Also the fact gun owners will not stand for it. It also gets tricky because what about all of the guns that already exist and that people own. In class we also discussed the Brady Bill and how that implemented a 5 day waiting period. I could see how this is somewhat effective because a 5 day waiting period is designed to make people wait and think about their possible actions. We also discussed the Assault Weapon Ban from 1995-2003, which I think should be reinstated to somewhat further gun control within America.
5. If you think America has primarily a mental health crisis, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
America definitely has a mental health crisis. Especially since the pandemic mental health problems have been on the rise. Some ideas that could help fix this problem (but will probably never happen because the government sucks) is: increase access to mental health resources, provide more education on mental health, and try to address the root causes of mental health issues, also provide more affordable access to resources. I feel as though these steps would help further prevent the increase of mass shooting and gun violence within America.
1.America has a combination of all of these issues. The reason for this being is because, 1#, toxic masculinity has been a part of worldwide expectancy for hundreds of years. It’s been a major player in mental health issues as well for men, because they’re held to such high emotional standards. Men are expected to, in that mindset of toxic masculinity, to be strong no matter what, not feel hurt by insults, and to act “manly” constantly. Anything associated with femininity is looked down upon through those eyes. This can cause insanely unstable mentalities that can cause men to go and commit acts such as mass shootings. The violence problem is evident– we have more shootings than almost any country in the world annually. The gun problem is also evident in the “shootings” part of the mass shootings epidemic. People have much too easy access to guns– whether it be for personal protection or hunting– more extensive measures, like those in Japan, aren’t taken, even after seeing the absolute damage it has done on the country.
2. I think another thing that is plaguing America, specifically adding to the gun problem, is racism. A lot of shootings have been racially motivated– and it’s the fault of the system for giving those people guns in the first place. It’s not just the average civilians of this country that are causing these racially-motivated shootings– but the police force as well. The vast majority of police officers are believed to have some form of racial prejudice against black people, whether it be true or not. Many cases have been looked at and reported of unnecessarily brutality towards people of color, while if it was a white person in their place, none of it would have occurred. This part of the gun problem is harming the way people portray people of color– further enforcing the idea in some radicals minds that people of color are dangerous, and further inclined to commit acts of crime.
6. Toxic masculinity is most definitely real. It’s not a made up term to excuse or an attempt to diagnose the reason for some men’s anger, it’s a genuine problem that has been plaguing our society for centuries. I believe that men are born into the thoughts of toxic masculinity if it’s enforced on them by their father or by their friends, or just generally the world pushing down on them. The more the world pushes down on men, the more calloused they’re forced to become to emotions like sadness, through the eyes of toxic masculinity.
1. America’s got issues with all 4. It’s pretty obvious that we’re the first world country with the most guns in the hands of citizens, many of which come without reason other than self-defense. At least in countries like Canada, many of the gun owners there have hunting rifles, not assault rifles. It’s also not great that we have just gotten used to violence in an incredibly unhealthy way because of our gun problem; it feels as though many have just accepted that guns will be around, shootings will just happen, and people are just going to keep dying. Our mental health problem is more connected to our terribly shitty healthcare system, which forces people who don’t have the money to afford a therapist to just suck it up and deal with it – a mentality that will only lead to more harm. Our toxic masculinity problem shows itself in many ways – our obsession with war and serving in the military, a “god-given right” to own guns, and guns being manly – and many of those mentalities have been handed down for generations. They’re not going away, sadly.
2. America has a massive issue with government bribery and corruption. Lobbying is just government bribery, and it’s stopping any change or regulation from happening. When gun organizations and healthcare companies are flooding the pockets of greedy Senators, it all starts to make sense that no change with guns (or a lot of America’s other issues) has gotten off the starting point. It’s pretty pathetic that nothing has been done about lobbying, but the only people that could outlaw it never will; what reason would the Senate have to stop themselves from making more money? No matter what us as Americans believe, change can’t happen if the people at the top are corrupt.
5. Mental health issues will never be fully solved, but it feels like America has taken no measures to try to help anyone who has mental heath diseases. There are a few measures I’d take to help dampen the issue of people who aren’t mentally sound getting their hands on firearms (only one of which is reasonably going to happen). A complete overhaul of the healthcare system would be a start; allowing free/cheap therapy would let those without the money to afford therapy to actually get the help they need. It’d also help get cheaper medication for those with more serious mental issues that can’t be solved with therapy. We should also change the stigma around getting mental health help. It feels like a lot of these people that are doing mass shootings are men, and in this country, there’s a massive stigma with men getting mental health help (which cycles back into toxic masculinity). Even if the help is readily available, I guarantee most men wouldn’t take the help because of this stigma. The most reasonable change would be more in-depth background checks. Maybe a required visit to a psychiatrist before getting a gun, or something like that, would stop those who are noticeably mentally ill from getting a gun in their hands.
#1: I believe that America has a combination of the four issues. Three of the issues are just as prominent in other countries, but the reason that it cultivates gun violence is because we have a gun problem. I believe we have a violence problem, yes, but there’s violence everywhere. The lack of affordable mental health treatment is also prominent, and lack of people being treated among the U.S may be a product of the toxic masculinity problem- the belief that you’re above therapy and don’t need a shrink- and that you don’t have issues at all. That, and we have more guns available to the public than any other countries, so when people have feelings that they’d want to harm someone, because they haven’t been treated and because violence is normalized and guns are so easily attained, all of these issues = gun violence.
#2: racism, prejudice, and just any kind of discrimination in general. So many mass shootings are done towards discriminated against groups of people- such as minority races or the LBTGQ+ community. America was practically founded on racism and the belief of white superiority, and that hasn’t changed today. Instead of the means they used to hurt the oppressed back then- such as lynchings or bombings, they now simply use guns to massacre. We saw this in the Buffalo shooting, and the shooting at the mall in Texas. We see this against the LGBTQ+ community, the asian community, and among religious groups. Those shootings wouldn’t have existed if people didn’t have that generational belief of their superiority, and an unwillingness to live beside those different from you. America’s been racist- and we see this all the time. The laws have changed, but the beliefs of the people haven’t.
#6: Traditional male gender roles are that men are supposed to be rough, big, strong, emotionless fighters that are the foundation and protectors of their families. First, this completely invalidates men and their feelings- some believe that they can’t feel what they do because they’re supposed to be big, strong and emotionless. It’s completely real- nobody is targeting men, I think it’s just an explanation behind what they do- and it’s true as well. The idea of toxic masculinity is also saying that men aren’t naturally aggressive- it’s saying that men have feelings and are sad just like the rest of us, and they should be able to express those feelings instead of defaulting to being aggressive- meaning that they’re not naturally aggressive, just normal like the rest of us. Just like it’s true that there are stereotypes on how a woman should behave and the jobs women should have- there are stereotypes on men as well. Said stereotypes elevate anger instead of sadness- they should fight instead of cry, and that’s where a lot of these problems come from. People would rather fight instead of just talk it out and seek help when they need it.
The United States of America has a very prevalent gun problem. However, it is exacerbated by issues such as mental health, and toxic masculinity. These issues play off of each other and strengthen each other, making all of the issues extremely prevalent in discourse about the other. Another sub-factor in the issue of gun violence can be seen in the argument made for mental health issues being the cause, that being the issue of privatized health care making access difficult for many. For hundreds of thousands of people, seeking medical care is not an option due to financial constraints, or if they do, they will receive biased or unequal care based on their race, gender, or other external factors. This example serves to disprove the notion that gun violence in America is a one dimensional issue with one sole cause. It is the culmination of countless issues, and is being furthered by a seemingly prevalent Laissez-Faire-esque policy in the face of tragedies caused by unregulated gun access.
Yes, I think that there is another issue that is prevalent among Americans in the current age. While it may not be as prevalent of a factor as rampant mental health issues, toxic masculinity, or gun violence in general, it is still seemingly more and more common in people in our country nowadays. And that problem is entitlement. Countless numbers of people believe that they are entitled to anything they want and that they are the center of the world. Many people believe that as United States citizens, they are entitled to having weapons of war and destruction, simply because of the nature of the second amendment. In my eyes, the bill of rights appeals to those who want to uphold their privilege to certain things, most commonly, weapons like an AR-15 or other high caliber weaponry. And that is what I think the 2nd amendment should be, a privilege. As an American citizen, you can have the privilege to bear reasonable arms within the confines of the law. However, if you commit heinous crimes or are a threat to the rest of society, you should be stripped of your privilege to bear arms. In my eyes, a true bill of rights would guarantee housing, healthcare, water, and other fundamental needs of human beings. Not sustain the delusional notion that a lone farmer living in the middle of nowhere can defend his farm from the tyrannical government solely with his ar-15.
During the past two days of our discussion, we discussed various preemptive measures that could be put in place in order to prevent gun violence with rapid firing weapons from occurring. One such example is red flag laws, which would raise a flag or a warning when someone with a prior history of harmful behavior, or a mental illness attempts to buy a firearm. These red flag laws work as a primary deterrent for preventing dangerous individuals from acquiring high powered weaponry, or any weaponry at all. Another gun control measure that works hand in hand with red flag measures is universal background checks, which look into the history of a potential firearm owner in order to inquire into their capability to own, operate, and maintain a firearm in a safe manner. If these types of measures were introduced across the country, I think that they could be quite effective in reducing the rate of gun violence in the country. However, I am personally a proponent of more “radical” and aggressive gun control measures that aim to attack the heart of the issue on a national level instead of leaving such a decision to the governors and legislatures of states like Florida and Texas. I support the aforementioned gun control measures, but I think a bill or policy akin to the Federal Assault weapons ban. It is irrefutable that assault weapons are responsible for the majority of premeditated killings on mass numbers that have seen an uptick in the past years, so, why not attack the heart of the problem? We have long since passed the point of reason, and I am of the opinion that we crossed that line once Columbine happened. After seeing such a catastrophe unfold, the government and our politicians should have upheld their role in protecting our country by taking decisive action to take the reins of gun control and prevent another tragedy akin to that of columbine. However, the interests of countless politicians have remained in leeching off of the profits of big business like that of the NRA in order to further their own financial interests at the expense of the safety of not just adults in our country, but even elementary school students.
1.America has a gun problem, violence problem, mental health problem, and toxic masculinity problem.The gun problem in America is very evident with increasing numbers of shootings each month. According to statistics provided by BBC news, America has the most civilians owning guns and 80.5% gun killings compared to 40% in Canada and even 4% in england. The numbers speak for themselves, America clearly has a gun problem, especially in schools with hundreds of school shootings each year. Violence, mental health, and masculinity correlate with the gun problem in america. All three of these issues have the ability to cause mass shootings. Often mental illness especially is the key influence in these mass shootings. So not only do we have all these problems but they all combine to make the problem worse.
5.According to the NIH one in five adults live with mental illness in the United States. That statistic alone is alarming. That amounts to nearly 60 million people in America with mental illness. That number doesn’t even account for the youth in america. According to the american suicide prevention foundation suicide is the 12th leading cause of death with an average of 130 deaths per day by suicide. Mental illness is killing Americans and is only increasing. A start to combat this is health insurance. Many people need mental health care but cannot afford it because America has made healthcare a privilege. Health care should be guaranteed without a doubt. Getting people the help they need would curb he suicide rate and hopefully the mental illness rate. However I think this would be hard as America seems to capitalize off mental illness. Medication is a good example of profit made from mental illness. If less people were mentally ill, less people would need medication and in turn pharmacies and drug companies would make less money.
6. The definition of toxic masculinity to me is something along the lines of men over exerting their role of masculinity. For example a man thinking he’s superior to a woman just because of his gender. Since the beginning of time men have assumed a superior role above women. Today that can be seen in places of power and in homes. Men tend to be the ones in high places and are almost always the perpetrator in domestic violence cases. Because men have an idea of superiority they don’t value women’s opinions hence the limited representation of women in important places. Men often tend to get physical because it’s part of their “masculine strength”, especially towards women who they deem as weaker. Domestic violence is the assertion of this control. In recent years people have adopted a more liberal mindset towards all aspects of society including gender. Now people can change their gender as they please and women are starting to gradually level with men. However toxic masculinity is still rampant in america. Changes to be more liberal are often a front to appease people.
Before I answer the question I’d like to preface the fact that while the question is not asking about school shootings directly, that is the way I chose to present my opinions, as that was the main subject of the talk we had in class. First of All, the Gun problem in America without a doubt exists, fault of who is unimportant, but there needs to be some form of gun reform in our country. We have seen time and time again that people will use weapons for vengeful or violent purposes, which needs to stop. No nation is perfect on this front, but the elasticity of the gun laws in America, or their simple nonexistence, is a huge contributor to the problems plaguing America. The question of a violence problem is much different, as every country experiences violence, in different ways. The idea that violence is romanticized in America may be partly true, but that is not only in the USA. When in reference to the amount of people in each nation, America does not even make it on the list of most violent crime rates, except in their territories. I think that this shows that school shootings are not to be blamed on a violent culture, as there is much more violence elsewhere, but there aren’t mass shootings everywhere. Unlike Violence, Mental health is a huge problem plaguing America, but, again, (assuming suicide rate is an effective way to measure mental health) America doesn’t top the list, and still has the most health related shootings. While I can’t provide facts or anything really for the issue of Toxic Masculinity, it definitely exists, and is a problem to society. Toxic masculinity to me seems to result in a much more depressed society of Men, not being able to show their emotion, due to feelings that they will be looked down on. But I don’t think that toxic masculinity is the cause of school shootings or even mass murder, simply because it exists in every single country, so only being a problem in America Doesn’t make sense. Based on this. I think that the real, biggest problem we face in America is the lack of restrictions on guns. America is one of if not the most pro gun nation in the world, and it happens to have the most shootings, that cannot be a coincidence.
Another Problem that I believe to be plaguing America is the increasing divide in the nation. This problem is one that I don’t know that can be fixed, as the current party system is so defined, they seem to be set in stone. In today’s America, political parties make someone who they are, they define people, when they shouldn’t. Politics should not result in anyone being the outcast or made fun of, because that’s the point, you have your individual beliefs, that’s how democracy runs. Of course this whole idea is a bit hard to believe, as it’s impossible to not hold a minor bias in the world. If you disagree with someone, you will feel more negatively towards them, but this could be applied to anything. All it boils down to is the fact that America’s divide is causing people to be mistreated based on their differences not just physically but also in reference to opinion, which seems a lot like we are moving backwards as a society.
I would most definitely support the introduction of gun laws that have background checks implemented. This is the most important law that could be made, preventing criminals from getting weapons easily, and yes, the guns could still be obtained illegally, but not in the same timeframe. I also quite like the idea of a 5 day waiting period, which seems like it would be good to prevent someone from buying a gun impulsively to go and kill someone.
1. I believe that America has a combination of gun, violence, mental health, and toxic masculinity problems. The US has high numbers of gun ownership, mass shootings, and general violence, which can prove that this is a significant issue. These issues all affect eachother, which makes them more influential and important to try to fix. The abundance of guns makes it much easier for violence to take place and when people are struggling with their mental health, they are more likely to hurt themselves or others. Toxic masculinity impacts men’s mental health because it often teaches them not to talk about their feelings, so they don’t rely on others for help, which only makes their mental health worse. Because all these issues that are happening in the US are connected, it means that multiple things can become worse if nothing is done for one of the issues.
3. Some of the gun control measures that we discussed that I would support are background checks, waiting periods, or bans on larger gun magazines. Background checks could stop people who have a history of being violent from buying guns, which could stop them from shooting people, while still allowing responsible gun owners to purchase guns for things like hunting or shooting sports. Waiting periods have the potential to prevent people from making rash decisions to hurt other people or themselves because they would have to wait a few days to be able to buy a gun and could have time to realize that they should do it. I also think that having bans on high capacity gun magizines could help prevent mass shootings or at least make them less injured or killed because a shooter wouldn’t be able to shoot as many people with one maganize. Even if they had multiple, the time it would take to switch them could give people some time to get away or for police to apprehend the shooter.
6. I think that toxic masculinity is very much real and can cause issues for many men. Although there are some things that could be more natural for men to do, much of what men are expected to be like is created by society. Men are often seen as being supposed to be strong and tough, which is a large part of toxic masculinity because it teaches men that being vulnerable and expressing their emotions and struggles is wrong. Because expressing ourselves is something that is so necessary to being our authentic selves as people, forcing yourself to be an ideal idea of a man can lead to more struggles like issues with mental health caused by not expressing your emotions.
I would say the biggest problem would be guns. I mean everywhere around the globe people face mental health challenges and well some places may have better ways of dealing with them, even places very similar to us in the way they deal with things such as Canada or Australia have much less violence relative to their population than the U.S. with the U.S. having 4 times more murders per million people. The main difference between these countries are their policies on guns. Australia banned automatic and semiautomatic weapons, enacting a buyback program for citizens to sell the guns they already owned to the Government. They also have a more extensive waiting period to purchase a gun (28 days) as well as full background checks. Canada has much of the same as well as not allowing anyone with a criminal record, mental health issues, or history of abuse to buy a gun. Both of these countries have very similar cultures to the United States as well as similar global happiness rating and mental health facilities. This is why I believe it’s more of a gun problem than anything else.
I think that the deeper issue in the United States as of now as well as the world is the societal issue of loneliness and emptiness. I think these possibly stem from the fact that basically everyone born between the 80’s/90’s and now are basically guinea pigs for one of the greatest changes in the history of humanity, the rapid expansion and adaptation of the internet. The internet has changed pretty much everything about how we live and experience things. I mean if you thought the T.V. was big in allowing for all of America to come together and view the same things leading to a sense of culture and American identity, imagine if those people could not only watch those things, but interact and create those things. And well the internet has many upsides it comes with an equal amount of down sides. Political radicalization coming from the fact that it’s easier than ever to find like minded people and create eco chambers. The feelings of loneliness coming from the fact that well we may feel connected online, nothing can make up for in-person real life friendships. Who knows how these are going to affect all of us! One theory that I’d like to believe is that within the next Generation or two, the kids of the current kids, there will be a mass pushback against technology and stuff like that and a much larger push to spiritualism and nature as like a counterculture pushback. Who knows how this technology will affect us though.
6. Yes, I know for a fact that toxic masculinity exists because I fell down a very similar pipeline as well as have seen people subscribe to these beliefs. It’s a whole system of things that as I mentioned in question 2, stems from the internet. Here’s how the process goes. One, you take a boy probably about middle school or so who’s not confident, doesn’t have the best self image, and probably feels like they’re pretty below average. This is basically the ideal candidate. You take this person and you start very slowly getting them warmed up to these ideas. Maybe they watch a video online that this toxic masculinity group has watched. All of a sudden this kid is getting “realist destroys feminist at protest” videos in their recommendations. Even if they don’t click on them the first time around they’ll come back until eventually they bite and click. That’s when they start hearing these ideas that maybe you too could become more “alpha” by doing what these people say and not listening to this liberal media, etc., etc. This is how Andrew Tate rose to stardom, this is how Jordan Peterson became a well known name and this is how Ben Shapiro somehow gets views on his videos reviewing music videos. In its current iteration, it’s a negative, no matter what people say about it motivating young men to better themselves or whatever. I think there can be and should be a form of masculinity that is non-toxic and there can be good people out there setting examples for impressionable young men but as it stands now, yes it’s a thing and yes it’s a problem
1. I think America has a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. Guns have become a widespread issue because as soon as someone turns 18, they are legally allowed to own a gun. Guns are also being sold in more locations across the country, and the amount of guns sold is increasing at a scary rate. 12 years ago, the amount of guns surpassed the amount of people in the country. As far as the US’s mental health crisis goes, it isn’t getting better, instead it is getting worse. In many other countries, they have more accessible healthcare which is why they do not face this issue as much as we do. Finally, I believe that America has a toxic masculinity problem because many men think they aren’t allowed to show feelings or seek the help they need because of societal standards.
3. Some gun control measures I support are raising the legal age to own and purchase a gun, background checks before purchasing a gun, and not having guns so widely sold. First, I think raising the age from 18 to at least 25, when our brains are fully developed, would help to decrease the amount of gun violence our country faces. Second, background checks before a gun can be purchased wouldn’t fully eliminate gun violence, but it can prevent people with mental health issues or criminals from obtaining a gun. Lastly, Guns being sold in many common stores is part of the reason many people own them, because they are so easily accessible. By having them sold at fewer stores it makes them harder to get and it could push someone out of their decision to get a gun if it is not easy to purchase.
5. Some solutions I think would help address America’s mental health crisis is more access to mental health care, reducing the stigma around mental health, and more affordable health care. Many people who have mental health issues need resources such as therapy or medication, but can’t get access to it. This could be for a variety of reasons but it is usually because they cannot afford it or there are no resources available to them. By giving people more access to these resources, less people would be suffering without them. Today, there is a stigma surrounding therapy and mental health in general. Many of the people who seek help are seen as weak, and because of the stigma, many men won’t take advantage of the help they have access to.
1. America has a gun problem. In America, there are more guns than people. Buying guns in many states is as simple as walking into a store and purchasing. The ease of access to guns is the primary reason for America’s high numbers of mass shootings, suicide, and gun-related violence. In countries with heavy gun regulation, gun violence is much less prevalent. There is nothing to suggest that Americans are more violent, mentally ill, or masculine than people in other parts of the world. While violence does exist in our entertainment and video games, this portrayal of violence is present throughout the world, even in countries without gun violence. More importantly, there is no conclusive evidence that shows people are any more or less violent than centuries ago. However, we do know that mental health has declined in recent years, especially with Covid. Depression, anxiety, ADHD, all that on the rise. A mental health crisis does exist, and better mental health treatment should be made readily available. But, in the context of gun violence, it isn’t a major factor. This is because mentally ill people who want to cause others harm will always exist, no matter the amount of mental help available. If we want to reduce gun violence, making it difficult for these people to get guns is more impactful than reducing the amount of such people out there. Lastly, toxic masculinity. Much like the violence issue, there is nothing to suggest that toxic masculinity is a cause of gun violence. Masculinity is hard to define, and even harder to measure. Also, this toxic masculinity is nothing new; it has existed in America for generations. It’s hard to believe that masculinity is suddenly the cause of recent upticks in gun violence.
2. The inability of political parties to make decisions for the best of the country is plaguing America. Now more than ever, Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to make bipartisan decisions. Despite tens of thousands of gun-related deaths per year, there hasn’t been any impactful federal gun-control legislation in recent years. This is due to the extensive lobbying from gun manufacturers, and the Republican party’s foundational opposition to any meaningful gun control. Despite this, I still find it baffling that some politicians vote against gun control legislation, even in the wake of tragic events. The two party system and lobbying both hinder political progress. In an issue like gun violence, this becomes all the more apparent as lives are lost while politicians are engaged in a stalemate.
3. Universal background checks and red flag laws are gun control measures that I support. A federal UBC law would drastically reduce the instances where felons or mentally unwell people gain access to firearms. Longer waiting periods would go along with this law, so that there is sufficient time for the background check to be completed. This may also serve to reduce gun suicides, as suicide attempts tend to be impulsive and the waiting period would give suicidal people time to get help. A red flag law would also reduce gun violence. With a federal red flag law, people concerned about their relative’s mental state can ask a court to temporarily revoke that person’s firearm privileges. This, combined with a UBC law, would definitely reduce gun violence in America.
1. I believe that it is yes to all of the above, and it is a combination of them that make each other worse. We have a gun problem. Our gun policies are much more relaxed than almost all first-world countries. And when a country has had an issue, they typically fix it with strengthening their gun control right after, for example, Australia’s government in the 90s. This is might not be so bad on its own, but in tandem with many other things, like mental health and toxic masculinity problems, it catalyzes itself and makes everything much worse. For example, the mental health issue is getting worse and worse. As resources for treating mental illness decrease and prices for the few left increase, it is becoming increasingly harder for those who are struggling to get help. And many people who abuse our little gun control, if not all, are completely mentally ill, and need help, but can’t get access to it. On top of this, many men believe seeking help and owning up to their problems is too womanly, or that their issues aren’t even that bad, when in fact they are. This results in some men being pushed deeper and deeper into the hole that is mental illnesses and end up lashing out on society.
5. I strongly believe that as we inch to a more advanced society, less and less of our world’s issues will be hunger and disease, but more of a backlash of our intellect, meaning that our new biggest problem will become mental health issues. We see suicide is becoming a more and more of prominent issue, and is inching towards the top of most common causes of death. With that said, I think some solution would be government-funded mental health care. Therapists are very expensive for the average individual in our country, and I think, as you said the other day, if we even just took a small portion of our military budget, even less than 1%, and used it on mental health resources, we could see a decrease in suicide rates. I also believe we should have a social work reform by taking money out of one of these places that isn’t going to much use as it used to be since many social workers aren’t making as much money as their job is worth.
6. Toxic masculinity is a totally real concept. I believe throughout time that men had to protect their families and not take care of themselves properly for the gain of their families. They would do this as a sacrifice so that their children would have great opportunities. But, in the modern era, both can be achieved, so this concept shouldn’t be a thing anymore. As I said before, mental health is becoming an increasingly worse issue and must be treated properly to help avoid making things worse in general. It shouldn’t be seen as a bad thing to possibly give a little bit of vulnerability to help yourself and those around you. It’s a good thing in the end, and just that little bit of vulnerability and help will prevent much worse issues.
I would say America has a combination of all these problems, with each problem being interconnected with one another. For example, the gun problem in the US connects to other problems. For starters purchasing a firearm is incredibly easy and accessible to anyone over the age of 18, leading to many irresponsible/underdeveloped people to have access to automatic rifles. Another reason for the increase in violence stems from the fact that mental health care isn’t as openly available to people in need, causing people who are in need to suffer through their mental problems. Toxic masculinity also plays a part as a problem in the US. Throughout many years in American history there has been a notion that men aren’t allowed to express themselves and if they’re feeling depressed that they need to “suck it up”. This has become a problem in today’s day and age because it causes many men to start facing mental problems. All in all, mass shootings in America I feel are all caused because of the easy access to guns, little to none mental health outreach and, a toxic masculinity problem.
Other factors that plague the country are pure racist/hateful motives for violence. This has been the motive of many mass shootings we have recently seen. For instance in May 2022, a man killed 1 and attempted to kill 44 others inside of Taiwanese Presbyterian church. The man was charged with hate crimes, murder, attempted murder etc. In more recent news, a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo New York was targeted because of its mainly black demographic. These are just a few examples of how many violent acts are targeted at a group of people based upon a hatred towards them. https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/las-vegas-man-charged-federal-hate-crimes-connection-taiwanese-presbyterian-church
After hearing some possible solutions to gun regulation in class, I think a very viable option would be upping the age limit to 25 to be able to purchase any firearms. I say this mainly on the basis of the fact that the human brain isn’t fully developed until your mid-late 20’s. In the U.S you can legally purchase an assault rifle at the age of 18, meaning there are people with underdeveloped brains in possession of dangerous weapons. Though an adult, an 18 year old is capable of making very dumb decisions because their brains cannot fully process the outcome of what they’re going to do with the assault rifles. Upping the age from 18 to 25 isn’t a huge age increase and it gives people who are thinking about possessing deadly weapons more time to think about their decision. I mean you can’t even rent a car until you’re 25 but you can own an AR-15 at 18?
1. America has a gun problem, which results in violence, mental health problems, toxic masculinity, shootings, etc, so I guess we do indeed have a combination of problems. I think the main issue is the number of guns. In a study done in 2011, there were more guns than people in the United States. We’re also the country to have the most shootings ever. That’s pretty alarming, isn’t it? In some way, if you give the wrong person a gun, they romanticize it or glorify it. Extreme gun violence + shootings can result from a number of things, such as violent video games, mental health issues, and toxic masculinity, as said above. The first cause, violent video games, can have unpleasant results on people, making them think it’s okay to go and repeat the things they do in the game, in real life. The second issue, mental health, is a big one because if someone has a mental illness that causes them to think it’s okay to use a gun against innocent people, it should be treated, not left ignored. Studies also show citizens’ mental health has dropped an insane amount in the past few years. Mental illnesses can motivate the wrong person to acquire a gun, the same goes for violent video games. Toxic masculinity can be a big one, “These shootings overwhelmingly, almost exclusively, are males, boys, ‘men’ — I put in loose quotes,” Newsom said during a news conference. “I do think that is missing in the national conversation.” (LA Times 2019). The article I read depicted men as most often the culprits of mass shootings, leading me to believe that toxic masculinity plays a massive role in mass shootings. The article claims that some may have been rejected, bullied, etc, but instead of turning towards help, they turn to aggression, and that’s where the issue comes in. I guess that could even tie into the mental health portion.
3. I highly support the 5-day waiting period. The 5-day waiting period could help temporarily decrease (for now until further measures are taken) the number of people buying guns out of rage or anger at someone or a group of people, or purely just for fun. The 5-day wait period could help give the angry person time to cool down and to think about if that’s really what they want to do. It could give them a second chance or a second outlet, or even, a chance to get the help they need!!! Just having citizens and government pray or send positive messages to people involved in mass shootings isn’t enough. There needs to be more done, something that can help decrease the absolutely absurd amount of mass shootings America endures every year. I’m very frustrated with hearing about a new one every day. The other thing that would help is background checks. If someone goes to buy a gun without a background check, the seller would know nothing about the person, and they could’ve unknowingly sold a gun to someone with serious felonies/mental problems/past problems. That could cause serious issues. background checks can help decrease the number of bad people (or people who don’t need guns at all) buying them.
5. America’s mental health crisis has only gotten worse since the pandemic. But there are ways to improve it, such as more resources for people to flock to, as well as more affordable ways to get access to care. Just a visit to the hospital can cost months of a person’s income, and it’s even more complicated if that person struggles as it is. It’s almost as if this country has done absolutely nothing to help the ever-rising issue of mental health, and until something is done, everything is just going to keep going downhill.
1.) America does have a gun problem, a mental health problem, and a violence problem. Not a toxic masculinity problem. Regarding guns, people can easily obtain a firearm, and commit horrible actions with them, people can buy a gun, and lend it to their friends with no problem, and parents can buy them for their kids as well. In addition, we have far more guns than people, meaning many people have plenty of opportunities to get their hands on a firearm, some of these people with malicious intent. Mental health is also a striking problem, some folks find it impossible to reach out and feel shut off by society, they don’t have the money to seek help, and no one around can help. This is the situation many people find themselves in today, needing some kind of therapy to help themselves, but lacking the funds to purchase said help. Violence is also a prominent issue in the American public, many folks shoot at one another, punch one another, and stab one another, all because they feel left with no other option, either having to protect themselves and their families, or attack to generate the money to buy resources. Lastly, regarding toxic masculinity, the US does not have a strong problem with this, men can definitely be jerks and certainly overconfident, but it isn’t a problem, people aren’t always nice anywhere and in any group, these toxic men are the bad piece of the male group. Toxic masculinity isn’t a very pressing issue.
3.) One of the gun control measures I would support would be the relaunching of the assault weapons ban. The American people, despite some of their love for assault weapons, do not need them whatsoever. These weapons are far too lethal and efficient to enter the hands of an average citizen, some higher clearance should be required such as military or police, all of this to prevent high casualties in fatal shootings such as the many shootings we have heard about in schools.
5.) I do think the US has what is primarily a mental health problem. The way we can fix this is by providing free therapy to all who meet certain qualifications. The government can issue mental health exams such as those provided during yearly checkups for teenagers. However, instead of recommending that the family pay for therapy, the government could pay for that child to go to therapy, and improve their health mentally. This is the issue we need to tackle first since people who commit violent crimes tend to have either motive or some other mental instability, both of which can be cured, or at least reduced by some kind of therapy, and therefore possibly reducing the number of violent crimes/shooting in the nation.
1) I believe that America has all of the problems listed above, a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem. These problems are present in the United States in varying degrees. The gun problem is seen within all of the shootings every year and according to a study by Pew Research Center gun violence has increased 23% since 2019. This is likely connected with a mental health problem as most of the shooters have been found to have previously diagnosed mental conditions not to mention from the same study in 2021 alone 26,328 suicides were inflicted by guns. The violence problem could also be seen to be connected with all of the above because for toxic masculinity men may think they need to be all tuff and strong which can lead to violent behavior and as I mentioned before in some cases someone with mental illness may take on violent behaviors and if in possession of a gun that can escalate to shootings.
3) I support most of the gun control measures that we have discussed in class over the past couple of days. One measure that I find is one of the most important is having a thurow background check for anyone that wishes to purchase a weapon. However as advertised by the brady campaign I believe there is room for improvement when it comes to background checks. I also support having common sense gun laws, nothing too extreme but just like making sure there are routine checks of common gun dealers. This would help to insure that the sellers are following the correct prosiders and not selling to the wrong kinds of gun owners. Of Course this wouldn’t be a foolproof system but I believe it could help.
5) The main problem I see with any solution for the mental health crisis is, I feel like it could definitely help if there was free access to resources like a therapist or more common support groups but that doesn’t mean that people will use those resources. So a solution would be to have free or much cheaper resources that anyone can go to to seek help but that’s only if people are willing to get help and or the person recognizes they need it. Which is why another small solution would be to educate people on mental health, not to self diagnose but to be able to make better dicisions for themself and others.
1. I think we have a combination of those problems. We definitely have a gun problem, and the violence problem probably wouldn’t be as bad if we did not also have a gun problem. I don’t really understand why people here like guns so much honestly. Like I understand that people in the South, even the ones behind the Brady Bill, grew up with guns and don’t want them banned they just want restrictions, but I just literally do not understand why people need them this much. And even if you want them, that’s great but why are there more guns than people? And maybe you wouldn’t need a gun to protect your family if crime rates went down if we stopped enabling violence like this. Hunting is fine obviously like I wouldn’t do it but you do you, that’s not what I’m talking about though. I’m talking about the people that make excuses and don’t stop this increasing issue that threatens the lives of all of us every day.
2. I think America has a huge stubbornness problem. The thing that probably bothers me most with all of this is that people just will not hear out people from the “other side.” It has happened for years with both parties doing it at some point but why can’t people just be reasonable? Joe Biden is not trying to steal your guns. He’s trying to stop people from getting hurt. Everyone says stuff like “Oh this is just the first step, where will they stop?” as a defense mechanism to just ignore what’s actually happening. Be realistic, and don’t fight what is needed for the greater good of everyone just because you have some personal vendetta against anyone who isn’t you.
3. I support extensive background checks and the ban on assault weapons. I think people should actually be like very deeply looked into before they are allowed to purchase something like that. I also support the assault weapon ban because in my opinion, there is no reason for you to have that. Why do you need that? It’s like if a little kid was playing with a toy when they weren’t supposed to and their teacher told them to put it down and they start screaming and crying and saying that they need it. It doesn’t make sense and I do not understand that perspective at all. I also feel like there should just be more restrictions with guns overall, like rules on keeping them in the house or something that way no accidents happen. I also know that even some gun rights groups advocate for keeping guns away from kids and stuff like that, and being more responsible with guns in the home, which I support as well. While I may not know that much about guns, I do know that there are ways to be neutral and mature and keep people safe and it’s time we start doing that stuff.
1. Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
I believe that American has a gun problem, a mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. You don’t hear of other countries having mass shootings, at least, not very often. I think that America has a gun problem because we, as Americans, have so much access to guns. There’s 360 million people in the U.S., and there’s around 500,000 to 800,000 guns total in the United States; there’s more guns that people in the U.S.! I also think the United States also has a mental health problem. When it comes to the United State’s deal with Medicare, it’s mostly because of the insane prices of most hospitals and medical fees, and that includes mental health money. Most shooters suffer from mental health, (I don’t have any evidence of this, it’s just common sense), and they shoot people; mostly people who hurt them, or other times, shoot people for no reason at all. I think mental health and toxic masculinity go together because 95.7% of shooters are male (According to: https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/), and men are, on average, more likely to be involved in something revolving violence or suicide. The U.S. is also high on the list of suicides in the world per country, (23rd in the world), according to https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/suicide-rate-by-country. However, toxic masculinity doesn’t mean that men suffer from mental health issues more than females, because 75% of the people who suffer from mental illness are women; men are just more likely to act on their mental health issues. I think America’s primary problem is the gun problem, but mental health and toxic masculinity are also leading factors. In conclusion, we have a gun problem because of the high number of shootings in the U.S., a mental health problem, because of the violence and suicide in our country, and a toxic masculinity problem because of the high rate of male suicide and violence.
5. If you think America has primarily a mental health crisis, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
I think the lowering of our countries Medicare would be a good start. As I mentioned in the previous question, the United States’ Medicaid is one of the highest in the world. You see countries like Canada and England that have free healthcare, and they have very low mass shootings. I think after we lower the price of healthcare (by raising taxes), we can then start by having mental health facilities and jobs be governmentally run and paid for. Therapists can be government employees, and be payed for by our taxes, other than that, I can’t think of anything else.
6. What are your thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity? Is it real or is it some kind of made-up thing to target men for being naturally aggressive? Or is it something else? Explain why.
I think toxic masculinity is indeed a real thing. Most men are told to “be a man” and “don’t be a girl”, which is a tough thing for men to deal with. Men don’t typically talk about mental health issues and/or their feelings, which is harmful to their mental health. Like previously mentioned, 95.7% of shooters are men, which proves that men are way more likely to become a shooter. It’s also 3.88 times as likely for a male to commit suicide that a women, (https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/), which again proves that men are more likely to harm themselves or others, and this is either a indirect or a direct result of toxic masculinity.
1. I think the biggest problems are gun problems and violence problems. An important part of this opinion is that the violence problems would be less of a problem if, we did not have a gun problem. But, we do have guns so, the violence in our country is able to be easily delivered. The violence problem in our country is undeniable. Pew research says that the crime rate to people over 12 in America in 2021 was 16.5 violent crimes per 1000. In our country, we also know about mass shootings and gang violence. These all point to not that everyone in our country is violent, but enough are to affect the lives of many. The second problem our country has is a gun problem. The main reasons for me thinking this is the high number of mass shootings and gun related deaths as well as weak gun control from the government. As we know, it is in our constitution that people have the right to bear arms. This has given our country no chance to try and mess with guns and gun owners. The gun problem is from guns being so available but also how guns are used. Mass shootings happen almost daily in our country now.
4. I think America has a violence problem deep down because many people in our country are struggling. Not just struggling financially but also finding purpose and things to be passionate about. Our country has an insane wealth gap between the poor and the rich with the poor living on the streets. Many of these poor people had no control over their lives due to society keeping the poor poor. This leads to people having miserable lives that can create tension in families and connections. So the first and probably best solution to fix our violence problem would be to get the people of our country happier that are less fortunate. There are many ways that this can be done like livable wages and safer cities and neighborhoods. But making the people of our country stop could not be solved overnight, so there are other solutions that could have a more immediate effect like creating stricter gun laws and getting mental health services to those affected by struggling.
6. I haven’t ever looked in to toxic masculinity but I heard it many times on social media so I decided why not do this question. From what i’ve heard it is a bad thing that some or all men have just because they act a certain way that is more masculine. When i saw the definition I thought isn’t that just men having more or less testosterone. The part that said toxic masculine men try to obtain positions of power and dominance I thought was weird because don’t all people, men and women, do this. Or is it that men do it more because they are “toxic”. I think the term is a bit derogatory to all men as well. It defines all of us men as bad because some men are more angry and power hungry than others. I also don’t know how we are toxic.
1. I think America has a combination of all of these issues. A mental health problem because no matter what, even if you do not have a diagnosible mental illness, if you favor your right to a own a gun over the safety of children and all people around the country, something is wrong. A toxic masculinity problem because there is this notion that a man needs a gun to be manly and that is a big part of the problem. And I think there is a gun problem because guns are way too widely accessible and it puts others in danger, because of the 2nd amendment, guns are way too widespread. There are almost no requirements or checks to be able to purchase a gun and it is the reason that they fall into the hands of people who are going to do harm with them.
2. I think that there is another problem that currently plagues America, inaccessible mental health and theraputical resources. I think in addition to the fact that so many mass shooters have mental illnesses, it is made worse by the fact that, if you have sub-par healthcare or none at-all, you get no assistance with therapy and would have to pay for all of it yourself. Therapy is super expensive as well which adds to the inaccessibility. Weather your mental illness leeds to putting others around you in danger, so many people in America need serious help and either will not take it or cannot afford it. Which brings forth another issue, the stigma around getting help. Many people who need it will not accept help because of the stigma around therapy.
5. One of the solutions that I see to the mental health crisis in this country are mostly surrounding free health care or cheaper therapy. Many mental health resources are so difficult to get like I said before and I think that America needs to offer free healthcare for all citizens to cut down on the violence that happens so often because of mental health issues caused by things like bullying and more. Many countries have free healthcare like Australia, Canada, Spain, and more. This is a resource that will help so much not just with mental health but also since many people who commit mass shootings struggled with money before and free healthcare would lift that weight off of so many people’s shoulders.
1) I agree with my prior answer: that the US has issues with guns, violence, mental health, and toxic masculinity. I also believe that all four of the issues are fully entwined with each other. No mentally healthy person will shoot another man unprovoked, thus mental health is tied to gun violence; Many men want to prove their masculinity by upholding their right to bear arms, thus Gun violence is tied to toxic masculinity; violence encouraged by lacking gun restrictions fuels fear and thus mental health issues; the list goes on. There is ample evidence that many other countries with stricter gun laws have fewer shootings even though they have all the other aspects that gun supporters will blame them on. There is evidence in high rates of shootings and suicides that both violence and mental health are rampant issues. Whether or not you believe guns are the cause, one has to admit that death and violence dealt with by them is unheard of.
3) I don’t believe it is feasible to completely remove gun access to everyone but government officers, I do however believe that restrictions and bans on certain types of arms are absolutely necessary. Many people in the US believe that they have a right to guns for self-defense and as a symbol of American individualism, and as we stand right now we will never be able to settle on complete gun control. However, I believe ample background checks, waiting periods, and even safety training would all help prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. I also think certain assault rifles and high-magazine guns should be banned entirely since no one can argue that they need hundreds of bullets for self-defense or recreation.
6) I am not a man and thus I will not fully understand the pressures and expectations placed on men, however, I do believe that toxic masculinity is a real issue. As gender roles and comfortable technology further emerge in the 21st century, I think many men struggle to feel adequately manly since women are more often performing the same tasks and jobs and modern technology has made life, well, physically undemanding. By figures or by culture, many men can feel pressured to live up to an old image of masculinity. These personal insecurities can result in criticizing others, inexplicable hatred for girly things, unreasonable efforts to prove athleticism or heterosexuality, and even control/abuse/rape of women.
1. America has a combination of all of these problems other than a gun problem. Even though, as we learned in class, there are more guns than people in our country, I don’t think guns are the primary factor in these incidents. Some people collect guns or use them for sport and hunting. Mass shootings aren’t just happening because someone has a gun and is like “Why not?” It comes down to the actual person. I believe the main problem linked with mass shootings is mental health. People who are alienated or picked on are the ones retaliating with violence. They don’t have a support system or even much education about this health concern, so they instead act out. In addition, they don’t know how to handle their issues, so they turn to violence. It isn’t a social norm for boys or men to share their feelings and become vulnerable so all of their pent-up emotions turn into anger. They act violently because of this, which also relates to the toxic masculinity problem. We also talked about in class, how less than three percent of mass shootings are done by women, which proves that toxic masculinity is a problem. Overall, America has problems and these three are just a few of them.
5. Mental health isn’t as widley believed or shared as physical health is. It is also not so clear cut. The first step to adressing this issue would be to start informing all people about mental health. The easiest way to do this for younger genergations is in shcools. It is extra important to integrate this into our generation because we are the future and will be able to pass along our knowledge. Teching this is class is important and also making sure students know there are other porgrams to help further their knowledge and support them. It’s slightly more difficult for older generations, especially people without the internet, but mental health should be intergrated into social media and news sites. This way people can easily acess it, especially if it’s coming from someone they like. All in all, the only way to combat mental health problems is to educate about it and open up more organizations who specialize in this.
6. Toxic masscuilinity is a real thing and isn’t addressed enough. It is sterotypically ingrained in men’s minds that they are superior to women. This is further proven by unfair male dominace in work places or sports. Social norms further support this. Boys and men are steryotypically not supposed to get emotional. Pent up feelings can be wronglfully extpressed through violence. Men beilive they are superior to emotion and must be manly.
1. I personally think that America has a combination of a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. All of these things kind of go hand in hand. An example of this is the fact that yes, there are hundreds of thousands of guns in our country, but many are used safely (with some unfortunate exceptions to this). Once someone who maybe has a mental health issue going on or is a very violent person is combined with the use of a gun is when the problems occur and create the shootings that we see today. Obviously, there are exceptions to this as well, where guns are accidentally fired or someone who is completely sound ends up firing a gun, but in many cases of mass shootings, the culprit of the incident is not completely mentally sound. I also think that there has always been a violence problem in our country since its beginnings, but combined with the use of guns and other weapons, it creates much of a larger issue at stake.
3. A gun control measure that I would support would be to raise the age necessary to purchase guns and extend the background checks needed as well. People’s brains aren’t fully developed until the age of 25, and it is unsafe that young people (who can’t even legally drink yet) are allowed to buy and use a gun with a very minimal background check. If background check processing time/information needed was a longer process, it would minimize the number of people who end up actually going through with purchasing a gun because they would have to wait longer. Therefore no one would buy a gun unless they actually needed one, and by having that deeper background check, fewer criminals/unsafe people would be in control of a gun.
5. I do think that part of the issue in America is the mental health crisis, and there are a couple of things that could be done to lessen this problem. One idea would be to somehow decrease the price you have to pay to get help. So many people who need help have to go through life without it because of the extremely expensive price of mental health care. And unfortunately, lots of these people will result to violence (using guns,etc) or even end up following through with suicide because they can’t live on this earth anymore. I also think that the idea of getting help for mental health needs to be de-stigmatized because some people don’t go to get help because of this reason as well. They don’t want to be embarrassed or talked about in a negative way amongst peers if they need to get some additional help or talk to someone about what is going on in their life. There are lots of things that could potentially be done, and obviously not everyone would always take this help, but having these options available could be beneficial to the country as a whole.
Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
We have every single one of these issues. America does indeed have a gun problem, According to CNN there are 120 guns per every 100 Americans. Just let that sink in. There are 8,034,750,303 people in the world and guns outnumber Americans. The site gun violence archive has counted that there have been 50 mass shootings country-wide, just in the month of May alone. Connecting to that, we also definitely have a violence problem. In 2022 U.S. law enforcement killed 1,176 innocent civilians alone, that’s even before I calculate how many people died in mass shootings, riots, protests, robberies, etc. We also have a mental health issue. With mental health being at an all-time low after Covid-19 and with treatments like Medication, Therapy, and mental institutions being so expensive, many mentally ill people are unable to receive the help they desperately need. We also have a toxic masculinity issue, which rains key and connects all of these. I am not saying anyone has it worse than anyone else, just for clarification. Entrenched in our country’s history are guns, that’s just a fact. But some people think that a man’s job is just to fight in a war and protect his country (which in some cases can happen). But that idea shines brightly everywhere, and on top of how easy it is to purchase a gun and the mental issues that 57.8 million Americans deal with (1 in 5 Adults).
2. Is there another problem that is plaguing America besides any of the four listed above? If so, what is it and how is it negatively affecting America? If not, don’t answer this question.
The extreme hate of many different groups of people. LGBTQ people can’t be out of the closet in some states. Florida passed a bill called “Don’t Say, Gay”. Phobias are a huge part of what is dividing our country. The hate of people of color is unfortunately prominent almost everywhere. Women still face challenges such as sexism, unequal pay, unequal working conditions, and job opportunities. The list continues to go on. That is a bigger issue than guns in my opinion.
3. If you think America has primarily a mental health crisis, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
As I talked about briefly above, America has an EXTREME mental health crisis. For starters, the government can help make these (in most cases) necessities less expensive. Maybe Biden or our future president can pass a bill or an act to have the government pay for mental health-related needs. And if that’s not a big enough step we can expand upon group therapy by adding centers that can help people in the community that are paid for by the state or federal government. Like they could do barbecues in the summer. Or game night in the parks or community centers.
1.I believe we have a combination of all these problems. Toxic masculinity, characterized by rigid and harmful expectations of masculinity, can contribute to a culture that promotes violence and aggression as expressions of power. It is important to challenge and also address these terrible gender norms to create a non-violent society. Mental health also plays a role, as individuals with untreated or undiagnosed mental illnesses may be more vulnerable to engaging in violent behavior. However, it is important to know that the majority of people with mental health conditions are not violent, and shouldnt be thrown under the bus as the problem or the shootings. However I still feel it is a serious issue for the few people who are not treated and cause shootings. The most important problem I believe is the gun problem in America, America has one of the highest rates of gun ownership and gun-related deaths among developed countries. The easy availability of firearms, including high-capacity weapons, contributes to a higher likelihood of gun violence incidents.
4. One solution to America’s gun problem is promotion of mental health awareness and access to services. Enhancing mental health services, which could be increasing funding for mental health facilities, improving accessibility to counseling and therapy, and reducing the stigma surrounding mental health, can contribute to preventing acts of violence. Early intervention and support for individuals with mental health issues can help address factors that may contribute to violent behavior. Another solution is Strengthening gun control measures. These acts such as Implementing sensible gun control policies such as background checks, closing loopholes in existing laws, and promoting responsible gun ownership. This all can help reduce the availability of firearms to individuals who pose a risk of violence. Stricter regulations can also limit the accessibility of high-capacity weapons that are often in mass shootings.
6. My honest take on toxic masculinity is mixed. I believe toxic masculinity is a thing but not as major as people make it out to be. I believe it is something social media has made popular but does not pose as big a threat as people believe. Sure I think it could be an issue for a few shootings but is not something that should be in the same category with major problems such as gun regulation and mental health. On the other hand I can see how toxic masculinity can be detrimental to men themselves, as it may lead to limited emotional expression, difficulty seeking help or support, and negative impacts on mental health. It can also contribute to harmful power dynamics, gender-based violence, and the perpetuation of inequality and discrimination.
America has all of those problems, but the worst ones are the gun problem and mental health problem. In many states, it’s not very hard to access lethal weapons such as guns, and there aren’t good enough checks on people to understand if their mental state is strong enough to have a gun. If someone can’t ever access a gun, they can never commit a shooting, and cannot act as strongly on people. The mental health problem is also very big. Schools often have cyberbullying, and schools don’t always protect kids to the full extent. The truth is that no one pulls the trigger on a good day, so if mental health treatment was easier to access, less expensive, and red flag programs were more put in place, the overall problem would decrease. Smaller problems such as toxic masculinity also play a role, because a lot of people oppose gun legislation because they see it as giving up a part of their “strong man” identity, and having a gun helps them feel more secure as a man.
3. I would support having longer waiting periods for guns so that people have the opportunity to relax and cool down with their feelings before acting upon temporary urges. I would also support having more red flag laws and background checks which would stop you from getting a gun while you were making threats or something previously, or if you seem like you are not ok mentally.
6. The concept of toxic masculinity feels very strongly prominent to me. The idea relating to guns is that some men feel more secure in their male identity as a gun owner, because they think it makes them seem tougher. This is toxic because it takes over someone’s brain thinking that they can only be a man if they have a gun, and they act all tough and macho. This hurts other people because it continues the idea of being anti-gun control, leading to more guns out in the hands of those who aren’t in the correct mental state to have one, and more and more mass shootings occur. Toxic masculinity also harms people in the sense that it makes many men feel like they have to repress their emotions, and cannot cry or be open about their feelings without being ridiculed by those around them. This leads to an even worsened mental state for many men, and when that worsened mental health combines with the ease of access to firearms in much of the country, mass shootings are enabled. The whole process of shootings happening means that multiple things are very flawed. Society is, because it enables toxic masculinity ro flourish, healthcare is, because it makes mental and physical health care expensive, and laws are flawed, because they allow someone with at least both of those problems to obtain a lethal weapon, with little to no oversight on how they’ll use it.
1. America has many problems when it comes to gun ownership. I believe that when taken down to the bare components, America has a combination of a gun problem, a violence problem, and a mental health problem. Though I believe it is the least prominent argument when talking about America’s firearm issue, mental health does play a part in gun violence. In many instances, mental health issues, if not treated properly, can lead to a higher likelihood of violence. But Americans with mental health issues only account for less than 4 percent of cases of gun violence. Where America’s real problems lie is with a culture of violence and gun issues that has been instilled in America for hundreds of years. The second amendment right in many cases has become less of a true American right as it has become a scapegoat and poster child for larger issues at hand. The normalization of guns in our society is so extreme due to the positions taken by different political parties, truly compensating for larger issues of an American right and the inability of the government to infringe upon those rights.
3. I believe that there are many reasonable gun violence measures that can be taken in America that do not put Americans at higher risk, but exactly the opposite. First and foremost, the complete removal and prohibition of the right to sell or own any firearm with a high-capacity magazine would take the risk of mass shootings down tremendously. When discussing our second amendment right, I do not believe that our founding fathers envisioned the evolution of firearms to the extent we know them today and there would have been mass provision when it came to writing the amendment. I am not looking for any complete and utter ban on all weapons, but only the allowance of the owner of those necessary in regard to home defense and sporting uses.
6. My thoughts on the concept of toxic masculinity are complex, but I do wholeheartedly believe that there is an issue in America with it right now. Toxic masculinity to me is the inherent belief that men and women are only capable of assuming the gender roles that were assigned throughout most of recent history, stemming from the truth that women are, on average, not as physically capable as men are. The idea that the man is the breadwinner and women arent able to achieve nearly everything that men are able to is incredibly outdated, but is still very prevalent throughout society. Another trait of toxic masculinity is the belief that hyper-masculinity is the only valid way to show how much of a real man you are, another outdated idea. Toxic masculinity is like every other terrible trait in humans, like racism or sexism, that is observed and taught throughout generations, which makes it much harder to begin to break down.
I think that America has an all
of the above problem. It isn’t just one, it’s a very sour and radioactive combination of guns, violence, mental health and toxic masculinity. “America has a Problem”, wise words of Beyoncé. And she is completely right, we have a major problem and we refuse to address it. In fact the problem is so big we tend to ignore it in Congress and are almost actively doing nothing, and in some cases exacerbating this problem further. Most mass murderers have vast mental health issues, but unfortunately we’re either unable to get help or didn’t seek help, because America puts mental health and having in general good health as a luxury that only the wealthy can afford. The mental health issues also drag into a toxic masculinity problem seeing how differently and unfairly, even in todays world, women and men are treated. Thus all leading to the violence of not just inflicting harm on other but also themselves, and causing mass destruction through gun violence. So my answer to this question is an all of the above yes. America is the problem.
3.) I think we most definitely should have the background checks in acted. The checks are extremely useful in flirting out the people who want guns for “socially acceptable” reasons, as opposed to convicted felons, who could very likely go out and commit more illegal crimes with their legal weapons. I would also support raising the age to be able to legally buy a gun to 25, because why should someone be able to buy a gun at 18, but unable to rent a car until they are 25. It is redundant and far more dangerous. We shouldn’t just give people weapons and not know anything about them. Having lenient gun restrictions does nothing but enable the violence and mass murders. It’s like the government, and those in agreeance, just want people to go out and risk their lives and don’t care enough, until something like that happens to them or the people they care about.
6.) I think that toxic masculinity is most definitely a real, and harmful thing to exist. Saying that men are just “naturally more aggressive” than women is enabling men and their very toxic behaviors and habits. It isn’t a made up thing, and we can see it everywhere in today’s world. Traditional male gender roles limits the person who follows them. The main problem with it is that most men are mentally unwell, but will go their entire lives undiagnosed, or talking to someone, ANYONE, about how they feel and the things that they are going through, because they just want to tough it out until the could possibly end up hurting themselves or others. The expectations men, and the traditional society set for them, are outdated and unreasonable. Men are humans too and should be treated as such and treat themselves as such. In my personal opinion being a toxic male, in ways dehumanizes yourself and devalues your worth and allows you to excuse your gross behavior behind the guise that you’re just being a man.
Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
America has a gun problem because about 20 million guns were sold in 2021 and this was the second highest guns sold in American history. We also have a mental health problem because of the extreme cost of therapy and the stigmatism behind seeing a therapist. Many people also think that they can treat it on their own when they have a severe case of mental illness which can cause it to get worse. People can still treat depression and anxiety with working out if they don’t like to take medications. There is definitely a violence problem as well because 7 people die a violent death every hour and this is a huge issue. There is tons of violence in every part of the U.S. ranging from normal fist fights all the way up to homicide.
Is there another problem that is plaguing America besides any of the four listed above? If so, what is it and how is it negatively affecting America?
Politics is an extreme issue in the U.S. and all over the world. Americans have lost trust in our politicians ever since Nixon was president and we have had increasingly heated debates over which party is better or over presidents themselves. I’m not ignorant to the fact that debates have been happening for centuries but it has gotten way worse over the years. It has gotten to the point that no one can bring up politics in any situation because of how people react to the smallest things. Even if you accidentally brought up some semi-controversial point, like police brutality, you could get into an argument so heated that you have to fear for your life. I know this doesn’t happen all the time but it is something that is always looming over one’s head when it comes to bringing up politics even in a casual setting.
Listening to some of the gun control measures we had discussed the past 2 days, which of those would you support? Why?
I feel like more in depth background checks on people who are looking to buy a gun is not that invasive and especially if they have mental issues. If some people want to bring in the argument that it hurts the law-abiding citizens by making us wait longer and stuff like that is not that solid of an argument in the first place. If you are indeed a law-abiding citizen then you should have nothing to worry about and being patient can also prove that you would be a good and responsible gun owner. One suggestion that I have in the situation of someone who gets denied ownership of a gun due to mental issues could be to prescribe therapy with proof that someone went to all the prescribed therapy sessions in order to buy a gun. And if the person were to stop going to the therapy sessions before the prescription is over then someone would go and confiscate the gun which could be a stretch but it could calm some people down. The ban of assault rifles could be a good thing because no one, besides police and military, needs that powerful of a weapon in any scenario and if you’re in a scenario that you need an AR you’re the one at fault.
Links I used:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2022/01/05/us-bought-almost-20-million-guns-last-year—second-highest-year-on-record/?sh=7084161613bb
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/datasources/nvdrs/index.html
I don’t think America has as much of a gun problem as it has a violence or mental health problem. I think that having guns in America is not our issue, it’s the violence that we have that turns those guns for an evil purpose. The fat that guns are being used as a scapegoat for violence in america is one of the reasons that violence in america will never end we use guns as our scapegoat “if we get rid of guns we won’t have as much violence” just becasue guns are compared with violence doesn’t mean that we must continue using them for such. Aswell toxic masculinity is used as another out, first i don’t believe that it should be called toxic masculinity but instead it be called masculinity it is a part of masculinity it is a trait of masculinity therefore it isn’t its own genre, this would imply there being a “toxic femininity” becasue there are aspects of femininity that we as a society disagree with. But on the other side we do have a mental health problem as a result of lack of resources for men to reach out to or to reach out to men the male suicide rate is the highest its been since 2000 (cdc 2017), this leads to men being isolated and lashing out in fits of rage that are often unthinking and uncontrolled.
3) I think that a waiting period used for background checks could be an effective measure to mitigate gun deaths. Sometimes people buy guesses to settle grudges by shooting the other person, aswell this could lower deaths by domestic violence that are caused by impulse. As long as the background check does not allow for the person to have there guns removed from their possession, if the background check takes away a gun from the person’s possession that would violate the 2nd amendment, a solution for that would to be increase surveillance on that individual or to change the types of guns that individual is able to possess. My only fear for that is a creation of red flag laws which could inhibit the rights of regular people that want a gun for recreational purposes, this also creates an area of bias during the background check making certain groups unable to possess guns.
6) i think the idea of toxic masculinity is misguided, according to your wikipedia definition it is an aspect of masculinity, it’s a part of masculinity that society has deemed toxic and want to get rid of, men who are naturally this way feel threatened becasue this is there way of life and that is valid, they have there place in society and society doesn’t accept that contribution from them because they see it as toxic and don’t want to be around those types of men. Aswell saying there is a toxic masculinity implies there is a toxic femininity, the only hiccup is society doesn’t seem anything about femininity toxic.
Does America have a gun problem, a violence problem, a mental health problem, or a toxic masculinity problem? Do we have a combination of these problems? Why or why not?
I think America has a combination of these problems. I think that all of these problems contribute to the violence crisis in America. Our country’s mental health ideals and treatment processes are not up to par with what they should be. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in America all because of poor mental health help. The mental health aspect also ties into the idea of toxic masculinity. Men are told all the time to stay strong for others and to not cry in order to be seen as manly; this epidemic of ideals in America causes lots of men to have secretly poor and low self esteem which leads to violence and often times suicide.
If you think America has primarily a violence problem, what kinds of solutions can you envision would help address the problem? Explain.
I think America’s worst problem is the overwhelming amount of violence. In our country there have been 131 mass shootings this year alone with only 222 days this year. If these alarming statistics do not make you think there is a violence problem I don’t know what will. Many children in America live in total fear of going to school everyday due to the extremely high number of school shootings. Even more so than that, tons of children have already lived through these shootings and watch their friends and teachers lose their lives in front of them; yet they still have to go to school every single day. Guns are so easily accessible these days that anyone can get their hands on one with little to no trouble at all. It is a very scary thought that bad people are so easily capable of getting assault weapons in their possession.
Listening to some of the gun control measures we had discussed the past 2 days, which of those would you support? Why?
Out of the gun control measures we have discussed I think measures similar to the Brady bill would be ones I am most likely to support. This is because it does not completely ban guns altogether because that would result in a huge uproar throughout America; but it does make it much harder for bad people to get their hands on weapons through background checks on buyers. I think this is a good start to ending gun violence in America but it is far from over.
America’s main issue in my opinion would be mental health and the violence that comes from that and crime struck environments. NO matter what the crime is, or what it’s committed with, we need to figure out WHY the crime was committed, not why the criminal chose a certain mean of committing the crime. When we look at recent shootings or gun violence in the states we see two common trends- one being mental health issues or a crime infested environment in which they live in. Statistically, most deaths related to guns aren’t even those in school shootings, they are in (mainly African American) impoverished neighborhoods, with the crime being robberies and gang/police violence. As for school shootings, the last three shootings we have had all had strong indications that the shooter was not mentally well and had either illegally obtained the firearm, stole it, or had their health decline after it’s purchase. These reasons bring me to the question of what can we do to prevent ill people from obtaining firearms? My answer? Red flag laws and extensive background checks. Learning a persons past illnesses and crimes can overall prevent mentally unstable persons from obtaining a firearm in the first place, while red flag laws are put in place to re check someone who already owns a firearm to see if they are still in the mental state to possess the weapon. As for why I disagree with the other policies, I simply believe that taking away guns or limiting guns from the law abiding citizen not only hinders our rights, but it would also prove unfruitful as I’m 99% sure black market sales would go up and illegal guns will find themselves in the hands of the criminal, especially in a place such as the states. Americans hold this right dear to us and like prohibition, it would not work well were the federal government to try and take that away from us. But as mentioned prior to this, the main issue is who is using the gun and why. So how do you prevent mentally ill people from obtaining ANY weapon to go out and harm people? Simple. We try to fix the crippling mental health crisis in America. Everywhere I go (especially in youth areas), there is someone claiming to be mildly depressed, or altering their life in some other way as a result of this depression, this is the (slightly) better alternative to other ill people, who decide violence is the only end. To fix this issue, I propose more affordable things like therapy and further funding into mental health research and facilities. I would also add the any criminal that has been linked to mental illness should be placed not in prison, but in a special facility where their behavior can be studies for further research; Solve drug and alcohol usage in lower income areas and in schools to reduce community violence. Overall the main point is that there are many things we can do to avoid violence all together rather than to take the cop out solution of hindering the law abiding citizen’s rights that have been set in stone since our founding.
1) America has a combination of all these problems. I believe this all startds at the roots as a toxic masculinity problem. This need to act what society calls manly is branded into the mind of boys when they’re young. They’re told to not cry, to not be vulnerable, and to be a man. This is engrained into them by their parents too, men and women alike. So many stressful things can go on in a man’s life and they’d just be bottled up to keep the facade of being a man. These can become Mental health problems, then to finally let all this out they end up taking they’re problems out on people with violence. This is such a huge issue in a country like the United States, where there are more guns than there are people. Since guns are so accessable innocent people can be harmed by people like this. At the same time it’s not always a mental health issue for example the buffallo shooting it was just a man who wanted to kill black people.
2) A big issue in the United states today that wasn’t mentioned in the last quesiton is false information. Fake news nowadays is becoming more and more difficult to point out. It’s estimated that 45% of News websites are Ai generated. In a day and age where the internet is so big it can be extremely simple for people to get misinformed. A recent example of this was in the Coronavirus Pandemi –Almost 80 percent of consumers claimed to have seen fake news on the coronavirus outbreak.
6) I believe that toxic Masculinity is a real thing. Toxic masculinity is molded into men as they grow up from a young age. I don’t think men are naturally aggressive, there is so far no proven research on men being naturally aggressive. In society for the longest Boys are imprinted with the urge to behave in a macho manner from an early age. They are instructed to be strong, to not be weak. Many guys are told at a young age that “boys don’t cry” and that acting weak or “acting like a girl” means they are susceptible. This reinforces the idea that showing one’s emotions is undesirable, weak, and unwise. I believe people aren’t naturally aggressive or passive, I think it’s how their environment molds them. I know many men who are extremely aggressive and I’d end up finding that they’re from an environment that conditioned them to that way, like a abusive unstable backround.
1. America faces a tricky combination of problems that contribute to the overall issue of guns. I believe that violence and mental health are the biggest factors in this overall gun problem. While it is true that there are countries with access to firearms that do not experience the same level of gun violence, it is important to recognize that America’s cultural, historical, and social factors play a considerable role in differentiating the two. The second amendment makes gun control difficult which leads to easier access to guns which only strengthens the problem of mental health and Violence. Violence in American society is evident through high crime rates and gun culture. Mental health issues often go concealed or untreated due to various reasons such as situation, limited access to healthcare, and insufficient mental health support systems. This creates a dangerous environment where individuals with untreated mental health conditions might resort to violence, including the use of guns. It’s important to note that the vast majority of people with mental health issues are not violent, but a small percentage of individuals who do have untreated conditions can pose a significant risk. Addressing America’s gun problem requires community-based programs, extended gun control measures, and improved access to mental healthcare services. By addressing the underlying issues of violence and mental health, we can work towards creating a safer society.
2. Racism and hate crimes in America worsen the problem of gun violence, affecting both individuals and society as a whole. They fuel racial divisions, leading to avoidable conflicts within the nation and creating social cohesion. Minority communities suffer from fear and insecurity due to racial discrimination and violent acts. Although not all instances of gun violence stem from racism or hate, the existence of racial tensions can contribute to an environment that enables violence. Addressing these issues necessitates encouraging inclusivity and prioritizing education to develop a society that wants equality which ultimately results in a safer and more unified nation.
3. The need for stricter gun laws is something I support. I believe that the implementation of background checks for all gun purchases is a crucial step toward improving public safety by preventing guns from falling into the wrong hands. Mass shootings may be less frequent if there is a ban on assault weapons because it would effectively limit the supply of high-capacity weapons. Given their importance in preventing mishaps and unauthorized access to firearms, I support safe storage regulations. As a means of addressing the underlying problems connected to gun violence, I also think it is important to invest in resources for mental health.
1. We absolutely have a combination of these problems, especially the problems with guns, mental health, and toxic masculinity. It’s a big problem that the age requirement to get a gun is so low, and that it’s going even lower in some states. Should kids really be allowed to own a deadly weapon before their brains are even considered developed enough to safely drink alcohol? Access is just too easy. It’s also an issue that kids can just take their parents’ guns or have someone older buy them one, but I’m not sure if that’s a solvable issue if the parents let it happen. Related to this issue, the accessibility of guns and their very sudden nature has led them to be the most common method of suicide, accounting or around half of all attempts. Toxic masculinity is also a big problem, as we can see by the incredible percentage difference between male and female mass shooters. I don’t happen to buy that men are simply awful, and I’ve heard time and time again how men and even my male friends have been told that they aren’t supposed to cry or have feelings, and that they’re constantly teetering on the edge trying too hard to not be feminine in any way.
3. I’d definitely be on board for stricter background checks, though I think we already have some in place, so not too sure on how helpful that would be. I’d also like more limits on which guns are available for sale, like the temporary ban on assault weapons, which aren’t especially necessary on a small scale, day-to-say sort of life. I also looked to google because my brain can’t think back that far, and one site offered liability insurance as a method of gun control, which, so long as we don’t already have it for gun and I’m being silly, would be a fantastic idea and really just makes sense. According to the site, it would “be added onto the price of the gun and would increase depending on the level of risk that gun owner is deemed to pose by owning it”, which I think is pretty reasonable.
5. This one pretty much goes along with what I said in the first question, but I really do think that it’s real. I’m not a man myself so I can’t attest to how much it affects them, or even if it’s really noticeable, but of all my male friends, hardly any of them are what I would call “naturally aggressive”, and I’ve heard since elementary school stories about how they’ve heard that they’re not supposed to have feelings or be feminine in any way. It makes sense to me that with the way some people are raised, they would grow up to be uncomfortable with expressing themselves fully. Hell, I’ve even heard my dad making a few comments to my brother that could definitely be a bit toxic, although I’m pretty sure he was mostly joking.
I think America absolutely has a gun problem, violence problem, mental health problem, and toxic masculinity problem. We see every single day in this country the impact of these issues, with more shootings than days of each recent year and violence getting worse. It is difficult to point to one specific cause for any large issue like gun violence, but it is easy for me to conclude that something needs to change. We have many more shootings and gun related issues in our country than in any other country (article from IHME). There are violent and troubled people in every country, yet the others are all able to keep their levels of shootings far lower than ours, so there is obviously some sort of important difference between them. I think that guns are so deeply ingrained in American culture dating all the way back to the writing of the Constitution that it can be hard for some people to compromise on legislation. Gun advocates are sometimes too stubborn about keeping their rights that they forget that we all have the right to life. If nobody can feel safe going to a grocery store or even going to school anymore, how can anyone justify the need to carry a gun wherever they’d like with no registration requirements at all?
3 I would absolutely support a ban on high capacity magazines, a longer waiting period before one can obtain a gun, and much more strict background check laws that should apply to all gun sales. The loopholes that allow guns to be bought online and at gun shows without background checks need to be fixed, due to the huge amount of guns that can fall into the wrong hands without one. It is scary to think about the number of people who have violent criminal records and currently own weapons of war that they could choose to use at any moment, and in some cases are even allowed to go out with them almost anywhere they want to.
6 Toxic masculinity is absolutely a real thing and I believe it is a problem that we need to address and resolve. I don’t believe that it targets men for being “naturally aggressive,” but it brings up the way some men are conditioned to see themselves as needing to be more “masculine” and hiding their emotions to the point where it is unhealthy.
1. America has a problem with all of the topics above. Starting with guns, the fact that mass shootings make up 1% of all shootings but we see them represented in the news often enough to begin feeling desensitized shows how extreme our gun problem really is. There are no significant restrictions on who can get a gun, and as a result, there have been 380 school shootings since Columbine. Our problem persists because we do nothing to change the root cause, the guns themselves. America’s violence problem is a result of the founding of this country. Since America’s founding, a certain type of violence has always been acceptable. From the Revolutionary War to the extremely unethical vile treatment of enslaved people in America, certain white narratives have led to the national acceptance of violence. That’s part of the reason rates of police brutality are significantly higher than all other countries. Our mental health problem is part of the bigger problem of our crappy healthcare system. With inflation and the growing wealth gap, more and more Americans are forced to feed between diapers for their kids or formula. Between keeping the lights on and keeping the air conditioning on. When basic necessities such as food and water are things that Americans in poverty are struggling to afford, physical health check ups can seem like an unaffordable luxury, and the cost of a THERAPIST or MEDICATION isn’t even an occurrence. In this country, physical health isn’t seen as a human right, and on top of that, the true extent of mental health struggles is constantly diminished. Our toxic masculinity problem is also significant, especially today. Men are taught to bury their emotions and avoid acting on every emotion that isn’t anger, and this can contribute to the mental health problem. The acceptability of anger and exertion of toxic masculinity contributes to the gun problem through the justification of using/having guns in the first place and through the higher concealing of mental health struggles.
3.
Quite honestly, I would support the banning of advancements in weapons technology following the enactment of the second amendment, or at least following the death of the people who wrote the amendment. The 2nd amendment had a completely different meaning during its creation for so many reasons. At the time, as I just mentioned, obviously, the technology wasn’t nearly in advance. In addition, they didn’t even have the same type of public schooling that we have today to shoot up a school. Thirdly, the amendment was created with the intention that Americans would unite to protect themselves from outer forces, but today, it’s interpreted to protect us from each other.
5. Universal healthcare. Call me a socialist, but I believe healthcare to be a human right, and given that untreated mental health conditions can lead to physical death, mental health services fall under this umbrella. I think by giving Americans healthcare as a human right, mental health issues would face a decrease. In order to intentionally kill a person, something mentally has to be not right. No one who is in the correct state of mind decides to wake up one day and shoot up a school. If the people who do these horrible things had better access to mental health resources, the shootings wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
1. America has a mixture of all these problems; considering the violent upbringing of our country, it’s understandable why we rely on such dangerous weapons as a means of safety. We believe that our government is inherently unreliable because that’s what our ancestors believed out of necessity. Yes, the American Government has proven to not be akin to the strong pillar we view it as, but as the 2nd Amendment states, we have the option of “bearing arms” or owning guns in the circumstance that the government infringes on our other rights; it’s a means of protesting government action, of keeping ourselves safe. But, this begs the question, why should we feel the need to keep ourselves safe if that is quite literally the job of said leadership? Not only that, but the police during the Reagans’ “War on Drugs” and post 9/11 America became increasingly militarized (via surplus equipment from respective military branches) in order to prevent both drug abuse and terror attacks. However, this had the opposite effect; in the majority of police departments, military-grade equipment is not necessary, and considering the inherent racism within the American policing system, Black Americans and people of color were (and are) disproportionately affected by violence from the hands of police with their military gear. As for mental illness, America is most certainly affected by mental illness and ailments. 1 in 5 adult Americans report experiencing some kind of mental issues and 17% of people aged 6-17 report the same kind of issues (According to the National Institute of Mental Health, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness). Which brings another issue to light, America’s lack of affordable, accessible, and good mental health treatment and care. Our nation is clearly struggling with a “melting pot” of these chronic issues, but fixing one won’t fix the rest of them. Guns, especially in the south, are a cultural and social commodity, as well as a means of self-defense and protection. They provide control in an increasingly out of control world, and even if most gun owners won’t shoot up a school, they won’t give up their guns because they fear they aren’t safe. The final issue I must bring up is the sheer ease and accessibility surrounding guns. It’s the same reason they put candy by the register; if it’s easy to get, if it’s appealing, people are going to get it, no matter if they should have it or not.
6. Sociologically, this is quite the interesting concept, though in practice it is not so nice. Men are expected to adhere to rigid standards of supposed masculinity, but it’s not just the men who are socialized to be this way, women are as well. Vulnerability, empathy, even simple things such as personal hygiene are frowned upon by other men for their perceived proximity to femininity and womanhood. Though, this increased stoicism and supposed strength/dominance often leads to feelings of inadequacy among men, specifically young men. Rather than feeling and experiencing emotions for what they are, men will often swallow their emotions and will lash out in anger when they come back in a tidal wave of emotionality, guilt, and insecurities. That’s what toxic masculinity truly stems from, insecurity: the men who actively practice it (rather than unlearning their preconceived notions surrounding manhood) are insecure about their masculinity and manhood, and it’s incredibly easy to fall prey to toxic masculinity due to it’s hold on American society. Considering the violent upbringing of our nation, we are bound to have a sense of melancholic nostalgia towards “the good old days”, when “real men were strong and tough and independent” (Toxic masculinity in America is directly tied to this incredibly unique sociological concept of “rugged individualism”). To answer this question, yes, it is real, and it is incredibly harmful to everyone in America, even non-toxic men, even women.
3. There are plenty of solutions to these problems, other countries don’t have these same issues that we do, and it’s largely in part due to sensible legislation. Background checks are a good first step in the right direction; Americans, especially those who are a part of the cultural and/or social aspects of guns (such as hunting), have a sense of loyalty towards the 2nd amendment, and a full-on repeal of such would definitely anger a good chunk of the population. Not only background checks on mental health status as well as criminal history, but I feel as though proper training and education on how to handle firearms would be a necessary component of such reform.
1. Yes I believe America has a combination of all these issues. Gun violence can be associated with violence problems as well as mental health problems. All of these factors have a role in a lot of the mass tragedies we see. I feel like towards a lot of these problems America chooses to turn a blind eye, and is more ignorant to the severity in which these problems go. Because there are so many issues in our world, the root of issues (like these four problems) are often overlooked or thrown aside because many traditional Americans don’t want to believe that these fundamentals are issues. They grew up in worlds where toxic masculinity was normal, or a gun with something normal to keep next to your front door, or violence broke out in the streets more often. But this is unfortunate because it is not the case in today’s time yet those same people continue to bring their older views into political power.
3. I think one important way we can enforce stricter gun control measures is by upping the age you need to be to buy a gun, and providing more in-depth background checks before allowing just anyone to purchase. This would prevent someone with a mental illness background, traumatic background, or just someone who shouldn’t be trusted with a gun from getting one. Upping the age range would also increase the amount of time kids are able to mature before deciding if they want to own a gun. If the legal drinking age is 21, why can you be 18 to buy a gun? A gun has the ability to hurt someone much easier than alcohol and we are still allowing fresh adults to purchase one.
5. One way we can help decrease America’s Mental Health crisis is by providing more easily accessible therapy options for more people across the country. One major reason many suffer silently when it comes to mental health is because they don’t have access to any sort of help. Opening up this access could allow more people to speak with the therapist, receive medication, etc. This solution doesn’t even have to be a face to face conversation, I know more apps and companies are branching out to this, but more hotlines and people who are willing to just talk could make a lasting impact on someone. Finding a solution for this mental health crisis would also decrease the violence rate that goes hand in hand with it. People with severe mental health issues could act rationally and potentially become a threat to others and that is why this issue needs to be addressed and acted upon to prevent. As I’m typing this out I don’t even think using the word crisis or issue is the right way to address the mental health situation in america. I don’t see mental health as an issue, more of something that people need to be more aware of, and realize that it’s okay to not be okay. normalizing that would create a better atmosphere so that someone struggling with their mental health could seek help.
1.America has a gun problem. America’s problem is not mental health issues that people are either born with or develop throughout their life because by preventing mentally ill people we are not preventing mass shootings. To prevent mass shootings we must not make it as easy as driving up to your nearest “gun shop” or Bass Pro Shop and walking out with an assault rifle or pack of magazines. In other countries, guns are not as accessible to humans. If guns were taken out of the picture, lives would be saved and issues would be solved. If the idea of guns was not plotted inside of people’s heads, the idea that they can buy a gun and kill people, then maybe when someone is having a psychotic break their idea is not to buy a gun and kill people. This seed should not be a plot in anyone’s head.
2. Another issue unmentioned is the power abuse issue that our governments are using with this topic. With each mass shooting more and more petitions go up, more and more rallies are held. Does the government not understand? Do they not feel empathy? Is the government okay that this is happening in our country? Are they not bothered over the amount of people killed due to the fact we cannot pass strict limitations on gun ownership? The government should be representing the people that it serves, the peoples voices should be heard. This is not a largely controversial topic when it comes to the fact that change needs to be made for the astronomical number of shootings occurring.
3.Of the gun control measures that have been brought to our attention some that I think are essential are the elimination of assault rifles and magazines in the country at all. There is no logical reason for these to be produced, any gun that just allows someone to attack multiple victims should be unwanted. I also agree with the proposal of more lengthy background checks, and have one put in place when purchasing any variation of gun. An 18 year old should not be permitted to purchase a gun and should require a license with a process such as one to become a driver. I agree with the idea of expanding the portion of people prohibited from owning a firearm, there should be firm reasoning on why a person needs a gun, not just any average person buying it for suspicious reasons.
\I believe that America does indeed have a violence problem. Instead of guns being the problem, mental health should be the main focus of today’s society. In my opinion, guns are not the problem. The lethal combination of insane people shooting up schools results from inaccessible/impractical health care. Toxic masculinity, I feel, is not relevant to the mass school shootings but instead relevant as a negative influence on most young men. This idea of what an ideal man is is dramatized through social media and is consistently often misinterpreted by its oppressors. Figures like Andrew Tate and David Goggins often give off toxic masculine vibes, but these figures’ ideas themselves do not cause mass school shootings. Many Americans have the misconception that these masculine ideas are ruing our society and killing men. I think that these influential figures are inspiring men to be men. These ideals go against the idea of a modern man and are over-hated by social media clowns.
3.) A gun control measure that I would most definitely support would be the increased availability of mental health care facilities. Especially today, people are constantly changing genders and often going through mental health crises. In some extreme cases, violence can often arise from such circumstances. If Americans come together and civilly discuss guns and mental health, then America could agree and develop adequate mental health care similar to Canada or Japan. Another idea I agree with would be the implication of gun buying limitations for people with violent and drug abuse backgrounds. Like Clinton’s controversial three-strike rule, America should restrict violent offenders to prohibit them from buying certain weapons if they have a history of violence.
5.)To directly address the idea of the mind would be complicated in itself. America has always been a subdivided country, and so many people’s racial backgrounds and social life influence someone’s ability to succeed or fail in life. This lack of balance creates unequal opportunities for people to get mental health treatment who need it. America needs to correlate gun violence with mental health. Once that is done, we as a country can accept that America is mentally ill and needs help. Until then, I genuinely believe that more school shootings are inevitable. School shootings could be eliminated if students were required to have a physical meeting every year. Although harsh, if students had to give a survey telling adults how they feel about their mental state, such instances as school shootings could be prevented.
I think that America has a combination of these problems. Firstly, and arguably the most prominent, is the gun problem. Obtaining a firearm, be it a hingun all the way to an assault weapon, is concerningly easy. People 18 and older can purchase a firearm without many restrictions. This grants generally irresponsible and underdeveloped people access to assault weapons. Another problem is that of poor mental health in today’s society. Access to mental health care has become increasingly expensive in a time where it’s most needed. Those who suffer are left ignored and without support. Toxic masculinity is another problem. The standard male attitude has been ingrained into peoples minds for generations. The supposed ideal male is one that never breaks and never shared his emotions, even if he is struggling inside. All of these in tandem lead mentally ill, unstable teenagers to lash out in incredibly violent ways.
There are other factors that affect America, especially violence targeted at certain demographics. Many recent mass shootings have been racially or religiously motivated, such as the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting in late October of 2018 where 11 were killed and six were wounded, including Holocaust survivors. In even more recent news, a shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo New York in May, 2022 killed 10 and injured 3. The shooter was a white supremicist and targeted African Americans. These are but a few examples of the many racist mass shootings in recent years. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/27/us/active-shooter-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting.html
After hearing some of the solutions people had for gun control, I think the most probable option would be to raise the age limit to purchase a gun. One major reason is the human brain is not fully developed until around age 25, so that would provide a reasonable age range to change to. 18 years old is frankly not enough life experience to own such an item. There have been countless studies that an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex is incapable of making fully rational decisions and considering the consequences of actions. It is dangerous for someone who can’t make completely logical decisions to own an assault weapon. Upping the age limit from 18 to 25 is perfectly reasonable and could potentially save hundreds of lives a year.
1. I think the U.S. has a gun problem but all of the other things feed into it, such as a violence problem, mental health problem, and a toxic masculinity problem. America definitely has a large violence problem and we can see that through the huge number of mass shootings and killings that have taken place in our country. According to the Sandy Hook Promise, there were more school shootings in 2022 (46) since Columbine in 1999. This shows how the violence is rising in our country. Columbine was a school shooting in Colorado and an attempted bombing that happened in April 1999. Another thing rising like the number of shootings is also the percentage of people in the United States with a mental illness. According to the CDC, more than 1 in 5 adults live with a mental illness. Since the last decade, there has been a 13% rise in mental illnesses. There must be something that the country can try to do to help those who are suffering. I think these things can be part of the reason we as a country have gun problems, many shooters are experiencing some type of mental illness and if our country had more resources maybe some shootings could have been reduced.
2. I think another problem that is plaguing America is the racism our country holds. Some shootings in our country are racially motivated, for example, the shooting in Buffalo. The shooter shot 10 black people in a supermarket many suspects think his motive was to prevent “eliminating the white race”. This racism isn’t only from the people who commit these crimes but some police officers have formed a racial prejudice against black people. Police stops resulted in searches for black people double the number of searches for white people. There has also been so much police brutality, for example, a 29-year-old black man died from blunt force trauma to the head from a police beating. Tyre Nichols was 2 minutes away from home and he was pulled over for alleged reckless driving. Racism is a problem our country has faced since the beginning and there is no denying that it still exists today.
3. I think the gun control measure I would most support is running background checks on someone before allowing them to buy a gun. Only 5 states require all firearm purchasers to obtain a permit, issued after a background check in order to qualify to acquire any firearm. Although this still has some leniency I think background checks on someone before purchasing a gun could do some control for our issue. I think these background checks should include things like criminal past and even mental health issues to ensure the person attempting to own a gun isn’t going to try and do something dangerous. These may not be perfect guidelines but I think acquiring in-depth background checks on people could reduce our issue in the United states.
1. I think America has both a mental health problem and a toxic masculinity problem. When discussing violence, mental health is vital. Untreated mental health issues can increase the risk of violence, but this does not mean that all violence is done by people with mental health issues. American mental health services are inaccessible and expensive. High expenses, scarce providers, and inadequate insurance coverage hinder many people, especially marginalized ones. We can reduce the risk of mental health-related violence by investing in mental health infrastructure, expanding insurance coverage, and integrating mental health services into primary care. Toxic masculinity is cultural pressure on men to exhibit traditional masculine behaviors including emotional coldness, violence, and domination. These expectations can harm men’s mental health and promote violence. Men who firmly follow these norms may suppress feelings and avoid seeking mental health care, increasing the likelihood of undiagnosed and untreated mental health concerns. Aggression, substance abuse, and other negative coping techniques can result. We may encourage men to seek treatment, express feelings, and resolve conflicts peacefully by confronting toxic masculinity and encouraging healthier masculinity.
3. I think the idea of getting rid of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. The Second Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to possess and carry firearms. Some individuals argue that prohibiting specific types of firearms violates their right to bear arms. It’s crucial to keep in mind that although individuals have the right to bear arms, this right is not without limitations and can be regulated in a manner that prioritizes public safety. Deciding which guns should be banned requires us to carefully consider everyone’s rights while also keeping in mind what’s best for society as a whole. It’s a delicate balance that requires thoughtful consideration. If we prohibit individuals from owning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, it could potentially enhance public safety. These guns have the potential to cause significant harm and can be used to take many lives in a short amount of time. If we make it more difficult for individuals to obtain these types of firearms, it can potentially reduce the likelihood of them committing violent and destructive acts such as mass shootings. When high-capacity magazines are involved, there is a higher number of fatalities in mass shootings. Limiting the number of shots a shooter can take before reloading can provide crucial time for people to escape or for law enforcement to intervene. If people were not allowed to own high-capacity magazines, it could potentially reduce the severity of mass shootings.
5. It is crucial to fund early intervention initiatives and make sure that mental health services are easily available. People who may be at risk of violence can get the assistance they need before their circumstances deteriorate by offering resources including mental health exams, counseling services, and treatment alternatives. Improved financial support, increased insurance coverage for mental health treatments, and more accessibility to mental health specialists are all necessary for this. It is essential to establish efficient lines of communication and coordination between mental health specialists and law enforcement organizations. This can make it easier to spot at-risk people, facilitate interventions, and provide the right kind of assistance and oversight. Collaboration between various fields can aid in spotting warning indications, supplying the necessary materials, and stopping possible violent acts.
#1.)
America has all of these problems, as no issue has just one solution but, the major underlying problem is a major mental health crisis. Many of if not all of these mass shooters, in non-gang violence cases, are completely mentally deranged. The shooter in Uvalde, Salvador Ramos, had shot his own grandmother before fleeing to the school where he committed the atrocities while failures of policemen stood by. Ethan Crumbley, the Oxford shooter, heard voices and drew “schizophrenically” in his notebook prior to the shooting. Mentally stable and healthy people do not shoot their own grandma and they certainly do not hear voices which are not their own. While this problem may be hugely mental there is also a problem with America’s and society’s treatment of mentally unwell people. The American government has thrown away and discarded the mentally well for many years. Especially the mental health of men. Men are treated as weak if they display mental health symptoms or use therapy or any other means of mental health support. This leads to many of these men’s mental health problems to boil over and result in the very worst of cases, in such atrocities.
#5.)
America has a mental health problem and these could be aided by societal de-stigmatization of mental health treatment and therapy. If it was such a problem for men to help themselves mentally we could see a decrease in the shooting rates and hopefully suicide rates in men. There are on average 138 suicides per day or nearly one every 10 minutes. There is also a correlation between the mental health stigma and the idea of toxic masculinity. These men think their masculinity will be harmed if they seek help for their mental issues, however that is just another level of stigmatization by society. Curbing this and the governments ignoring of the mentally ill would allow a slight aid in society’s overall mental health.
#6.)
I think the idea of toxic masculinity is 110% a real problem with some people, like pickup truck drivers, gun nuts, and many other stereotypes of the “aggressive man” are real true examples of toxic masculinity. Now, while this problem is deeply deeply exacerbated by the mental health stigma, it is also a completely over-hyped problem by the feminist crowd. While they make it out to be the end all be all of the world’s problems, while in reality the toxic masculinity is just a side-effect of the major mental health problem.