I've reacted to the party line where white-men-are-mentally-ill if they shoot/murder innocent people. Anger and domestic violence history are rarely discussed, but for two postings I read - and one was my son's. Anger - having nowhere to go - will make someone insane. Domestic Violence points to control issues. Is not the synthesis of both not present in school shootings? The choice of going to a place where being unarmed is a given - seems considerable. Check out any DV sites. Non-partisan. I will read Jonathan Foiles'article. TY.

Therefore all men, unless put on a leash, are potential mass murders. Or rapists. And how do we fix this?

Sorry, but self flagellation is not my thing.

The supposed link between mental illness and violence is so ingrained in our culture that stories like the above need only suggest that the perpetrator was depressed in order to satisfy a need for an explanation. Research reveals a far different story, however. People with mental illnesses are actually far more likely to be victims rather than perpetrators of violence (Appleby et. al., 2001). Those with severe mental illnesses (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis) are actually 2.5 times more likely to be victims of a violent crime than the general population (Hiday, 2006). A 2011 study found that in order to prevent one violent homicide by a person with schizophrenia, 35,000 patients deemed to be at a high risk of violence would need to be detained (Large et. al., 2011). And yet the link persists. A 2013 survey conducted after the Newtown shooting found that 46 percent of Americans believe that persons with a serious mental illness are “far more dangerous than the general population” (Barry et. al., 2013).

The stereotype about violence and mental illness is not just inaccurate; it is dangerous. Every story that suggests a causal link between mental illness and violence further increases the stigma of having a mental illness, making it less likely that those experiencing a mental illness will seek help. This supposed link also hurts the general population, because it communicates the implicit message that mental illness is something to be feared. This further isolates those with mental illness from the surrounding community, when we know that being integrated into society increases functioning and well-being for those with a mental illness. Finally, the stereotype is just lazy; it lets us off the hook far too easily. If we can blame violence on the perpetrator’s mental illness, then we don’t have to dig back too far into his history to find the ways in which we failed to notice warning signs, or the ways in which our gun laws enable civilian access to military weapons, among other things.

But the link is also illogical. Mental illness is not something that changes much from country to country, it’s part of the human condition. Americans are no more likely to suffer from mental illness than, say, Canadians. So why is this problem of mass shootings so prevalent here and nowhere else in the developed world? Why doesn’t Finland have regular mass killings? Or Scotland? Or Switzerland? Or Japan? The answer can’t lie in genetics, which means it must lie in culture and policy.

So then we must ask ourselves what is the common thread in almost all mass killings in this country and the answer is as plain as day: Gender. Virtually every mass killer in the entire history of this nation has been a man.

Read more at [patheos.com]