Episode 10 Show Notes- Examining the Reaction to Gun Violence and Mass Shootings

Episode Description

Last week Professor Giordano explained some of the cultural shifts that lead to gun violence and mass shootings. Following a weekend of mass shootings, politicians and the advocacy news media have hijacked the narrative. In this episode, Professor Giordano takes on the lies and deceit being thrusted on the American people. Taking the emotion out of the issue, he examines the current proposals to end gun violence, and more importantly, he asks the most profound question of all. Want to know what it is, tune in to find out. As always, show notes can be found at The PAS Report.

Intro

Welcome everyone to another episode of The PAS Report Weekly Roundup Podcast. This is your host Nick Giordano. Sadly, last week, we were ahead of the curve when we did the episode on gun violence and mass shootings. We saw more gun violence with a mass shooting in El Paso, TX killing 22 and a mass shooting in Dayton, OH killing at least 9.  As stated last week, the problem is one of culture and a crisis in young adult males. If you haven’t listened to last week’s episode, I suggest you do and as always, if you want to see the show notes or my sourcing, go to https://pasreport.com.

Last week I got into the numbers behind mass shootings, so I am not going to rehash everything.

This week, I want to tackle the reaction to gun violence and mass shootings. You have politicians and the advocacy news media that’s flat out lying to you. They think you’re stupid and are pushing a false narrative in order to get you to arrive at a conclusion.

This episode, we take the advocacy media and the politician’s head-on. I report facts, and you can decide where you stand on the issue. I’m sick and tired of the lies and the spin. Sadly, immediately after the shootings, the politics began. I expect the over-the-top rhetoric from politicians, and unfortunately, I expect it from the media as well.

The PAS Report will continue to explore issues in-depth and last week I illustrated that the gun violence and mass shootings are a cultural problem and stated that only when you truly understand the issue can you begin to develop sound policies. As a society, we must not compromise our core principles because of our inability to think critically. The media has not heeded this advice.

Once again perspective is key

Many in the media are reporting that there have been more mass shootings than the number of days in 2019. They are using the numbers from a nonprofit group called the Gun Violence Archive, and this group alleges that there have been over 250 mass shootings in 216 days. (CBS)

This group has made up its definition of what constitutes gun violence and mass shootings, and they don’t rely on the FBI. They also incorporate media reports in their numbers. Let’s be clear; I use the FBI definition of what constitutes a mass shooting. When we begin to make up our own definitions, it leads to confusion and conflicting numbers. The FBI is the authority on the subject and the most credible source on this matter.

The FBI defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s), and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.”

The FBI defines mass murderers as someone who “kills four or more people in a single incident (not including himself), typically in a single location.” (Rand)

The media makes it as if there is a mass shooting epidemic, and while these events are horrifying, they are still rare. Using actual FBI death toll numbers, mass shooting deaths are .0003% of our population. The coverage outweighs what is actually occurring, and there is no epidemic.

Combining these definitions give us a clear picture as to what constitutes a mass shooting. The fact that the media and politician’s use misleading information illustrates their dishonesty. Media outlets, including the New York Times, have repeated this lie and they should be ashamed of themselves given the number of journalists they have that can quickly verify this information.

Politicians are also spreading this lie. One Congresswoman tweeted the stat, adding that President Trump was to blame and saying, “more people are dying because he fails to fight white supremacist terrorists.” (Twitter)

Blaming President Trump for the mass shootings

So, these are media figures and politicians blaming President trump for mass shootings. Take a listen.

These imbeciles should be ashamed of themselves. I don’t care whether you like the President or not, but to blame President Trump is ridiculous. It’s as if these are the first mass shootings we ever had. Our politics has always been rough, and the rhetoric these days is intense. If the politician’s words were the cause of mass shootings, we would already be in open civil war.

We shouldn’t blame any politicians for these evil acts. Use logic. These people are deeply disturbed. If we start blaming politicians for everything they say, will we blame Julian Castro for releasing a list with names and addresses of people who donated to President Trump? Will we blame Congresswomen AOC when something happens to an ICE or Border Patrol agent because she has called them Nazi’s?

White supremacy and the media

The media and politicians are also being dishonest in its reporting when it points to white supremacy. Watching the media coverage, you would think the mass shooters in El Paso and Dayton, OH subscribed to white supremacy, and the media has focused on the El Paso’s shooter’s hatred of Hispanics 10:1 over the Dayton shooters ideology.

In fact, when it came out that the Dayton shooter identified himself as a “leftist,” NBC News had the nerve to write, “There was no indication that his political views had any connection with the killings.” (NBC News)

It turns out the Dayton shooter subscribed to radical leftist ideology and was a supporter of groups like Antifa. But you wouldn’t know that because of the dishonesty of the media.

The media is attempting to portray that racism in America is growing. That we are more racist today than ever before. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Americans are more accepting and open-minded today than ever before, younger generations in particular. White supremacists have much less power than ever before. They hold rallies all the time, and 5-10 people will show up.

In fact, at the height of the Klan’s power in the 1920s, they had a membership of over 4 million people, many serving in high-level positions within our government. (University of Washington) Today, using Southern Poverty Law Center numbers, which is a horrible organization and overinflates everything, they estimate between 5,000-8,000 Klan members and 2,500 Neo-Nazis. (BBC)

There are other hate groups, but these are the two largest. In a country of 329 million people, you are going to have demented people whose ideology is consumed with hate, and they should be marginalized and called out. Reality is that we have marginalized these people and rightly so.

It is important not to undermine or diminish the real racism that occurs within society. And when the media pushes false narratives, people begin to tune it out.

Media and politicians lying about potential solutions

Unfortunately, the media, the elite pundits, and the politicians are still failing to explore the root of the issue. Obviously, they are not listening to The PAS Report and are viewing gun violence and mass shootings as a gun problem as opposed to a cultural problem with young male adults.

If it were a gun problem, we would see much more mass shootings given the number of guns prevalent throughout our society. Also, it would cross gender boundaries.

But the reality is it doesn’t. In fact, 22% of women own firearms, and another 18% have access to firearms in their homes, so that’s 40% of women with firearms, yet they make up less than 3% of mass shootings. (Pew Research) Why is that?

Regurgitated ideas are not going to solve the problem

The lack of intellectual thought and ability to think critically fosters the same regurgitated ideas that will not solve the problem. These media elites and politicians are lying when they tell you that all they need to do is pass a law, and the gun violence will end because the laws they propose will have little to no impact.

• Ban the AR-15 and other assault weapons

Many are calling for a ban on assault weapons, yet most cannot even define what an assault weapon is. Military-grade automatic weapons are already banned for personal use. The assault weapons ban of 1994 had little to no impact on gun violence numbers.

In addition, as I stated last week, according to FBI data, 80% of mass shootings are carried out through the use of handguns. So a ban on guns like the AR-15 would not stop mass shootings as the politicians like to say.

And if they ban firearms like the AR-15, what happens when a handgun is used in the next mass shooting? Do we ban those as well?

• Ban large-capacity magazines

Once again, this is misleading. You want to ban large-capacity magazines, then don’t say we are talking about these mass shootings from occurring. The only thing a ban on these magazines would do is at the very best potentially limit the loss of life in a mass shooting.

However, if we are honest, anyone that knows how to change a firearm can change a clip within seconds. Granted, those seconds can make some difference, but again it would be limited at best. This idea still won’t prevent these shootings from occurring.

• Red Flag Laws

Once again, Red Flag Laws will not end mass shootings. The idea behind red flag laws is to take the firearms away from those who may pose a threat to themselves, others, or society as a whole. While these laws may sound good, I am not optimistic they will make a difference, and I have a whole host of other concerns.

If someone posts online that they wish to inflict harm on others or potentially kill others, it’s obvious, but what happens when the messages are much more cryptic?

Who defines what a threat actually is? I routinely criticize the government and politicians. I bash Congress regularly. Will I be perceived as a threat even though I pose no danger whatsoever?

What about due process? Red Flag Laws are essentially trying to predict a crime will occur. How do we place guilt before the actual crime takes place, and what happens to a person’s due process once they have their firearms seized? Do we now change the standard to guilty until proven innocent and how does that impact the broader justice system?

Who are going to be the ones the sift through the social media channels for these threats? Are we really going to empower social media companies? Are everyone’s social media accounts now going to be monitored? What happens when innocent people get swept up in the Red Flag Laws?

Even if we identify the threat, will the government be able to stop them? Numerous people reported the activities and behavior of the Parkland shooter to the FBI and local law enforcement, yet nothing was done. (Business Insider) The Dayton shooter reportedly was suspended from school for having a “hit list” and a “rape list.” All the signs were there. (NBC News) Do you really think the government is going to be able to stop every individual wishing to do harm?

• Mental Health

While I believe mental health is an important component in preventing mass shootings, it is not as easy as it seems, and mental health will not be able to stop mass shooting incidents.

Republicans will have you believe that, if we change the mental health laws making it easier to share information, we can prevent guns from getting into the hands of these sociopaths.

Only 25% of mass shooters were diagnosed with a mental health illness. It’s not that the others didn’t suffer from mental illness, they most certainly did, but they never sought diagnosis or treatment for any mental health condition, and those people would still be able to fly under the radars.

It is also going to be difficult to classify what mental health conditions would prevent someone from obtaining a firearm. It wouldn’t be right to demonize every person who suffers from mental illness, including depression and anxiety as 99% of these people will never commit a violent act in their life. Many of these people live normal productive lives.

In addition, what happens when someone develops a mental health issue after legally obtaining a firearm? Do we really want the federal government creating a mental health database? Will that information be abused to stigmatize individuals?

• Enhanced Background Investigations

I want to state definitively that I am not against this and support expanded background checks, but I am under no illusion that they will prevent a mass shooting. Any politician that tells you an enhanced background investigation will stop evil people from obtaining weapons is lying.

I have conducted an enormous amount of national security background investigations, and there is information that is difficult to obtain. Sometimes you are limited to the information that is provided on the paperwork and so if someone doesn’t check off that they have received mental health treatment, how would we know?

Also, many mass shooters have never committed a crime and have clean backgrounds. While this may be able to prevent domestic violence incidents, let’s not pretend it would fix the current mass shooter problem because it would have little to no impact.

• The Founding Fathers never intended for weapons of war under the 2^nd Amendment

Once again, the media and politicians continue to repeat the same lies. I will state off the bat we shouldn’t have access to fully automatic weapons, bazookas, RPGs, etc. At the same time, the founders created the second amendment for the people to serve as a militia, and fight a tyrannical and abusive government.

In fact, the 2^nd Amendment solely exists for the purposes of war, and these people are too dumb to actually research the intent of the 2^nd Amendment. Shows you how clueless they are about our government and our institutions so why should I listen to them.

I am not saying that we do nothing, but placing your faith in government, the same government that created FERPA and HIPAA where information from educational and healthcare institutions cannot be shared is misguided. When politicians tell you that they know how to solve the problem, they’re lying to you.

Profound Question and possible solutions

One of the most profound questions that no one is asking is what if there is nothing government can do to solve this problem?

While our knee-jerk reaction is to look to government to solve problems, we never ask the question that government may be unable to do so, and we as a people and society must bear some of the responsibility.

My critics are probably thinking, ‘hey big mouth, you say nothing government does will work so what’s your solution.’

I wish I had the answer, but I do believe if we make small societal changes, it can make a world of difference.

I fear that we are willing to give up too much in order to feel a little more secure. But that security is just an illusion that will quickly vanish with the next mass shooting. We should remember the words of Benjamin Franklin when he stated, “Those willing to give up their liberty for security, deserve neither liberty nor security.”

Some changes we can make

Parents

First, parents need to be parents. Enough with the idea of trying to be your child’s friend. As parents, we have a responsibility to watch over our kids. Parents need to be more engaged in their kid’s lives. We should be paying attention to the games they are playing, the movies they are watching, what they do online, and the people they associate with.

They should be monitoring their children for mental health issues, and if they think something is off, take them to the doctor.

If your child seems to be isolated, with little friends, talk to them. See what’s happening.

Schools

Perhaps we need to incorporate respect and discipline back into school curriculums. Maybe schools should be teaching courses on coping rather than how to take a test.

Stop the culture of entitlement and victimization

We need to stop the culture of entitlement, where everyone thinks they should get their way. Where when something doesn’t go the way they would like, they claim they are the victim. We need to stop the customer is always right attitude because most of the time, they are not. We need to emphasize that life is rough and things may not go your way, but to persevere.

Restoring a sense of purpose

We need to give young people a sense of purpose. A British study conducted found 89% of 16-29-year-old kids claimed their life lacked any meaning or purpose. (The Sun) While the study was on British people, I can assume that we would mirror closely to the results.

We have trained our young to value “stuff.” That the more stuff we have, the happier we will be. We base our lives around materialism. As it turns out, the stuff doesn’t really fulfill us. Sometimes we need something that is a greater sense of self.

If nothing guides our own lives and we don’t respect ourselves, how can we respect others?

Religion

I’m not here to preach and tell people they must follow God. I’m a Roman Catholic, and I believe in the power of Jesus Christ, but it is not my job to get people to believe in my faith.

What I do know is that Americans, particularly the youth, are moving further and further away from religion- be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, or any other faith. 1/3^rd of those under 30 don’t identify with a religion. (NPR) Maybe the lack of belief in something bigger than ourselves is contributing to the problem. Perhaps our move away from God begins to open Pandora’s Box where evil is more prevalent throughout society.

Closing

In closing, maybe those little things can lead to big changes. Maybe we can see a reduction in gun violence and mass shootings. Maybe they won’t, but it certainly won’t help to try. We as individuals, have a responsibility in society and I wish I had all the answers. I wish I had the solutions to the problems we face, but I don’t. What I will say is not everything has to be a government solution, and there are those problems that government cannot fix. Our government is slow, awkward, inefficient, and ineffective by design.

We have entrusted government with nearly every aspect of our lives. We have debated the same issues for 40 years- education, healthcare, immigration, guns, infrastructure- Republicans have been in power at some points, and Democrats have been in power. Laws have been passed, and yet the problems remain, and we still debate these issues. We have become too reliant on government, and how has that worked for us so far.

Don’t let the politicians and the media continue to lie to you. Hold them accountable and tell them you want the truth. Tell them you are smart enough to come to your own conclusions. We talk about the real issues, and we sugar coat nothing. By returning to common sense and taking ownership within our society, maybe that’s the only real way to foster the change we need. As always, if you believe in the message, pass it to others who would benefit. As always if there is a topic or issue you would like me to focus on, send an email to podcast@pasreport.com.

Thank you for joining us, stay safe, and I’ll be back next week.

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