Literature Review On Mass Shootings

This article gives a different perspective on the topic of mass shootings. Because the numbers for mass shootings have been climbing dramatically over the past decade, it has come to the government’s attention that something needs to be done. Now most articles would be ranting about how we need more guns, less guns, or no guns at all, but here writer Stacy Teicher Khadaroo brings something new to the table. Here she expands on the frequency of men that commit these crimes, and how our society’s idea of masculinity could be what is causing these men to act out in such horrible ways. She uses multiple sources to back up her claims, and specifically focuses on the most recent shooting which took place in Roseburg Oregon at the Umpqua Community

Men are expected to be stoic and withhold emotion, that talking about their emotions is a feminine trait. Because of this, men are not able to express themselves, and feel judged when they seek outside help. The article quotes “two-thirds of the students coming to the counseling center for help were female, so he and some colleagues asked men why and found that the thought of going to counseling made them feel ashamed or inadequate.” For those who lack support systems in their home lives, and are emotionally unstable, are the type of men that take part in shootings. Khadaroo quotes “For people who feel powerless, getting a gun is seen as a way to suddenly have that power.” This shows her readers that the gun is a symbol of power and use it as a tool to take control of other people’s lives, inflicting their emotional pain onto others. Khadaroo uses many quotes from psychiatrists to back up her speculations about the shooter, giving her idea more leverage with the reader. In other research it was discovered that only 4% of active shooters since the year 2002, have been female. A fact like that would have been useful in this article. Not only focusing on the male perspective, but also the females. To speculate on why females don’t feel a need to seek power as much as men do. Considering women in America are just as pressured by society, maybe even more so then men, and do not act out in this

Specifically in a college atmosphere. But something like this is not easy, and cannot be done overnight. Khadaroo does not touch on her own opinions about the gun laws in her article. In president Obamas speech he gave about the shooting in Oregon, he said “Right now, I can imagine the press releases being cranked out: We need more guns, they’ll argue. Fewer gun safety laws. Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country --they know that 's not true. We know because of the polling that says the majority of Americans understand we should be changing these laws -- including the majority of responsible, law-abiding gun owners.” I find that this perspective is what is most important to stop the gun violence. Yes our society’s view of masculinity is skewed and unrealistic, but to actively stop shootings from happening, we should be focusing on the guns. If anything is going to make a direct impact it is going to be more gun