Gun Violence and Mental Illness

I've seen a lot of impassioned posts on social media since the El Paso and Dayton tragedies decrying the notion that mass murderers are mentally ill. The argument is that mental illness does not cause this behavior and to suggest that it does unfairly and unnecessarily stigmatizes those with mental health diagnoses.

I disagree, but first let me show you a post I recently liked on Facebook.

So why would I "like" a post if I disagree with its premise? Ms. Campoamor has a point. I know many people who struggle with their mental health (more people who struggle than who don't struggle, in fact), and I do not believe any one of those people would commit a massacre. 

However, to say that many if not all of these shooters are/were not mentally ill is just as illogical as saying "Guns don't kill; people kill." True, your average anxious, depressed, eating disordered, bipolar self harming man or woman will not commit violence in his or her lifetime does not mean that the people who do aren't mentally ill. The common cold and terminal cancer are both illnesses, but they are not the same illnesses and do not have the same outcomes.  Yet, they are still both sicknesses.

Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook monster, was according to Dr. Harold Schwartz, chief psychiatrist at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living who investigated him after the tragedy, “'completely untreated in the years before the shooting' for psychiatric and physical ailments like anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and was also deprived of recommended services and drugs...also...undiagnosed anorexia could have affected his mental state..he showed signs of 'severe and deteriorating internalized mental health problems.'"

It is true, people we know with OCD, anxiety, and/or anorexia do not become mass shooters, there is no doubt, according to Dr. Schwartz that "It’s not that his mental illness was a predisposing factor in this tragedy...it was his untreated mental illness that was a predisposing factor.”

In efforts to bring attention to the scourge of toxic masculinity, white supremacy, and gun proliferation we cannot ignore the role mental health plays in these tragedies just because it does not suit our narrative or our own identities. This line of thinking parallels NRA talking points that they have hundreds of thousands of members who own assault rifles who do not commit mass shootings.

After these tragedies, which are becoming more and more frequent, people come together to support the victims and communities. We need to come together to find ways to prevent gun violence. Let's not take anything off the plate, including a focus on improving access to mental health care, so that we can feel at ease attending a festival, going to Walmart, and teaching in our classrooms.

Source for the the information on Adam Lanza. 

Semantics, the Holocaust, and suffering children at the border

I apologize if this sentiment has already been written. I’m having trouble keeping up with the 24-hour news cycle.

On June 18, NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) tweeted: The U.S. is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are. If that doesn’t bother you … I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that ‘never again’ means something.
On June 19, Yad Vashem (Israel’s Holocaust Memorial) tweeted back: “Concentration camps assured a slave labor supply to help in the Nazi war effort, even as the brutality of life inside the camps helped assure the ultimate goal of ‘extermination through labor.’ Learn about concentration camps."

By June 20, the internet was arguing whether or not the word “concentration camp” was appropriate or not. The yes camp argued what is the point of “never again” if the language of the Holocaust can’t be used to describe the conditions of asylum seekers. The other side wrote that this term is only for what happened in the Holocaust era Concentration camps, and this is another example of Representative Ocasio-Cortez (ACO) being ignorant or worse, antisemtic.

Over the weekend, the internet argued that the semanticians were being ridiculous and not really care about the situation on the border. The other side said that they agreed, they just didn’t like the word “Concentration Camp.”

Here is what's happening:

A chaotic scene of sickness and filth is unfolding in an overcrowded border station in Clint, Tex., where hundreds of young people who have recently crossed the border are being held, according to lawyers who visited the facility this week. Some of the children have been there for nearly a month.

Children as young as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears, are caring for infants they’ve just met, the lawyers said. Toddlers without diapers are relieving themselves in their pants. Teenage mothers are wearing clothes stained with breast milk.

Most of the young detainees have not been able to shower or wash their clothes since they arrived at the facility, those who visited said. They have no access to toothbrushes, toothpaste or soap.

“There is a stench,” said Elora Mukherjee, director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Columbia Law School, one of the lawyers who visited the facility. “The overwhelming majority of children have not bathed since they crossed the border.” (New York Times)

…..

So who is right? Do semantics matter? I would argue that they do, but of course they shouldn’t be the focal point of this particular issue. Nevertheless, when Ocasio-Cortez (D) misuses language, she creates these arguments which then distract from the cause in which she is fighting. It’s also hard to argue that language doesn’t matter, when I spend so much time trying to speak to people in a way that will not offend them to honor their identities. I don’t see how people who claim to be liberal can’t see that using the wrong word for the place where suffering children are being held is not important.

So what is the right word or words?

I think it should be called “The United States Child Neglect Abuse Center” This is the place where children are not given enough to eat, proper medical care, basic hygiene, education, often separated from their parents, without access to fresh air. 

This is the place where Lady Liberty goes to cry tears asking what has become of our country? What has become of us?

Read more about the conditions that these children are living in here.

Keep Your Guns, Keep Your Life

Every morning I wake up in Netanya, Israel, pick up my phone and click on the New York Times app. Lately, I find myself holding my breath with anxiety before I do in anticipation of another mass shooting. I relax a little bit because now many US schools are already on summer vacation. However, I wonder if it will be another synagogue, church, night club, or disgruntled employee at a business who decides to murder innocent people.

This morning did not “disappoint” as I read that 11 city government employees and one man filing for a permit were gunned down by a disgruntled employee (I’ll have to amend my mental checklist of places for people to be massacred.)

If you are still reading, don’t fret. This is not an anti-gun, antiNRA piece. I understand that to many Americans guns are more important than anything or anyone else. I also understand that I’m never going to understand those people.



March for Our Lives protest in Houston, Texas, in March. Photograph: Alyssa DuPree

But if gun-loving Americans do not demand gun control laws, then we at least have to address how we avoid these mass killings. The crossover between Pro Life and Pro Gun must be high (I couldn’t find the statistics during my 30 second Google search). Let’s help people live and keep their guns:

The United States is going to need to adopt the same measures that are put in place in Israel. I’m not someone who is going to tell you that Israel is soooo much better than everywhere else. However, say what you want, Israel cares about the safety of its citizens (and has strict gun control, but nevermind). In Israel there are metal detectors and armed security everywhere, and I mean everywhere. At my school alone, we have up to four armed guards at one time. At many government agencies, you can’t even enter with a small bag just to ensure that there’s no contraband.

Putting security everywhere will create a boon for private companies who produce metal detectors and can offer employment opportunities for unskilled workers or retirees looking to supplement their Social Security. Sure, you’ll never be able to enter a Target or Costco again without having someone search your bag and being exposed to radiation, but at least you won’t die buying deodorant. However, the cost of your 24 rolls of toilet paper will go up as these costs are passed on to the consumer. Perhaps the NRA can help subsidize the cost of security?


I am going to be in the Midwest this summer. I will be asked by many people, “Isn’t it scary living in Israel?” This is the first time I will be able to look everyone in the eye and say it’s way safer here than in the US.

I hope to hear this chanted at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions in 2020:

“Keep your life. Keep your guns. Metal detectors are good and fun.”

Until then, perhaps I should just go straight to the crossword instead of reading the news.

In memory of the victims of the Virginia Beach Massacre .

The last night of winter vacation

It’s the last night of winter vacation,
tomorrow we must return to school.
Remember the kids whose vacations were filled with nothingness or worse yet trauma.
Remember your colleagues whose personal lives are filled with drama.
Remember the kids whose parents decided Christmas was the best time to announce their impending divorce.
Remember your colleagues drowning in ungraded papers and unplanned lessons frozen with the fear of never being enough.
Reach out to the kids whose lunches weren’t packed.
Bring extra for the colleague whose credit card is maxed.
Give solace to the one rejected from college and to the one who got in but can’t afford to go.
Support the colleague asked not to come back next year who must put on a brave face until June.
Give the cheater, the liar, the faker a second chance.
Don’t demand the colleague who's struggling emotionally to chaperone the dance.

It's going to be really hard for them to put away their phones. If what you are teaching is worth learning, then lovingly make them. 

It's going to be really hard for them to put away their phones. But their lives aren't what they portray on social media. Adult life is messy. Ask how they really are.  

Only if we care for one another can our school be centers of growth and learning.
Tomorrow for whom will you care and who will care for you?

If Not Peter Beinart

In Peter Beinart's hyperbolic piece Birthright Will Fail..., he makes the claim that unless the Israel trips include the Palestinian perspective, liberal Jews will stop going.

While the criticism that Birthright should include the Palestinian narrative is a fair one, the conclusions he draws are ill informed or wrong.

He claims the coming demise of Birthright can be seen with the 22 participants who walked off or were kicked off the trip since last summer. This number really isn't that significant. We are literally talking less than 1/2 a percent. I wouldn't call that a movement but a blip.

This isn't Birthright's problem to solve. 

Also, the participants walking off the trip aren't protesting Birthright; they are protesting "the occupation." They do not care about how fair the program is. I would guess that they would still protest even if Birthright spent half their time in the West Bank -- if there was still an occupation. If Not Now and the British group he mentions have political agendas, right or wrong. Hijacking a Birthright trip is their best way to get publicity. They know that the walk offs will be dramatic, selfied, and covered by the Jewish and some of the Israeli press. Their gripes have nothing to do with Birthright itself, nor can Birthright solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

As for his suggestion that all trips meet with young Palestinians, that may prove to be difficult. While it would definitely possible to meet with Israeli Arabs (who identify as Palestinian) many young Palestinians from the West Bank would be shunned or worse for speaking to a group of Jews. I attended one of the programs that he mentioned in his article. We couldn't publicize the names of at least two of our young Palestinian speakers because it would put their lives in jeopardy.

If Birthright is not colluding with the Israeli government to subjugate Palestinians, then why isn't the conflict addressed properly on the trips?  Beinart mentions the funders. He's not totally wrong. Many funders don't love when a speaker disparages Israel. However, the biggest issue is that the guides are not equipped to facilitate this complicated conversation. They are tour guides. Some of them are great educators. However, many are also nationalistic (that's why they became guides of Israel) and not that familiar with the Palestinian narrative themselves (It's not taught here just like the Jewish narrative is not taught there.) They aren't trained to talk about the conflict in a meaningful manner or to deal with hot button issues. I will use his America approach. Imagine going on a trip to America and a liberal guide being asked to talk about the positive attributes of the NRA and why the Pro Life movement has a point. How many self-defined liberal could actually do that?

Logistically, it is also problematic. It can be very difficult, if not impossible, to get permission to go into Area A of the Palestinian Authority for an Israeli. Even if a person has never lived in Israel, but is an Israeli citizen, he/she can be refused entry to Area A.  Many Birthright participants are Israeli even though they have never lived in Israel.

So, sorry Peter Beinart, Birthright isn't and shouldn't be the address for learning about this complicated issue. There are other addresses, and participants should be encouraged to seek them out. If a the funders of Birthright decided to prioritize this, it would require a lot of funding, training, and 10 more days.

Stop texting your teens during the school day

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you are a parent of an adolescent, please listen to me. Stop texting your kids during school hours. There is no good excuse from detracting from your child's education because of what may be your good intentions or convenience. Example: I was working with an 11th grader on the student's research paper. Every three seconds, the student's mom was writing her on a text messaging service that has an app he/she can use on her Mac. (I ask them to turn of their phones during class.)

"Hi honey."

"How are you?"

"Are you having a good day?"

"How did your test go?"

"Hello?"

"Are you there?"

"Why aren't you answering? Is everything okay."

Do you think the kid could focus on the research paper? I couldn't even focus on the research paper because I was reading the texts. Also, because my interaction with her took longer as she was unfocused, and so was I, I couldn't help as many students as I wanted to.

Your kids are okay. And if they are not, your text messages aren't going to help them. You are negatively impacting their education and denying them their God given right to become independent, secure adults.

If you are compulsive, and I am as well, so I get it, download an app where you can schedule your texts to arrive to your kids' messenger service a minute before school ends. That way you won't forget what you need to tell them, and you won't be bothering them all day.

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The OP-ED is worse than you imagined

The anonymous opinion piece in the New York Times is not just a distraction to the Kavanaugh hearing, it is something much worse. Next month Russia is set to engage in its biggest war games since 1981. They have added significantly to their naval presence in the Mediterranean. Their show of military might is when all three branches of our government are in some sort of crisis. Also, don't forget Trump's NATO antics which effectively morally weakened the alliance. At this point, if you are a foreign power, who looks more powerful to you: The United States or Russia? With whom will you ally? With whom will you offer intelligence? 

I'm not saying they knew someone would publish an op-ed, but they knew that the administration would be in disarray further allowing them to make their power grab in the world. Is this revenge for Bill Clinton going back on his word to Boris Yeltsin that NATO wouldn't expand? Russia is showing who is in charge in the world by bringing back the former "glory" of the Soviet Union while our government falters. If you were to tell me I'd ever write something like this, I would say "No way. I am not a conspiracy theorist."

I really think these collapsing dominoes are in line with Putin's master plan, and it's unfolding perfectly for the Kremlin. The question now is where, when, and how will it all end?