The Violence Prevention Project at Hamline University has compiled important data about mass shootings. As has the Rockefeller Institute.
Fact one: The U.S. leads the world–by far– in the number of mass shootings.
Fact two: Perpetrators of mass shootings are overwhelmingly men and boys. 98% of Mass shootings are committed by males. 2% by females. 1% by transgender people.
Fact three: Mass shootings are increasing.
Could it be because the U.S. has the weakest gun control laws in recent history and in comparison to other nations with similar populations?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I would be interested in knowing the color (and political party affiliation) of the American men who make up the majority of mass shooters in our country, but I could not find that info at the links provided. Based on what I know about most mass shootings here, I suspect they are primarily white men. I’m not sure about party though –but I would not be surprised if they’re affiliated with THE most hateful (and gun-loving) party today.
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Sorry, I should have said “males” instead of men, since so many have been boys.
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On another topic:
If you support armed, masked, anonymous federal Gestapo in our streets stopping people at random and disappearing them and terrorizing families and violently attacking women and old people and zip-tying kids and destroying personal property, all without warrants, then you do not hold traditional Republican values like small government, rule of law, local control, individual liberty, faith and love of family.
WWJD?
NOT THIS.
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WWJD is not much of a thing now. What I have seen recently is WWDD (what would Dolly do?). Anyhow, she seems to be more in line with Jesus than most people who claim the status these days.
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“WWJD is not much of a thing now.”
I thought these matters were supposed to be eternal and that being a Christian meant asking oneself this question, even if not framed in that way. Am I wrong about that?
Fads come and go. Ideas persist.
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I urge everyone to read “Separation of Church and Hate” by John Fugelsang which is a guide to challenging the MAGA “Christian’s” in your life using their own supposed beliefs. Here is a link to an interview with him by Ali Velshi.
https://youtu.be/5FvPa3ckZ-c?si=UmU_xj6gYGZtljCu
I want to see this book go to the top of the NYT bestseller list so the media finally pays attention to the blatant hypocrisy of these so-call Christians. You don’t have to be Christian to see what heretical blasphemers they are.
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I urge everyone to read “Separation of Church and Hate” by John Fugelsang which is a guide to challenging the MAGA “Christian’s” in your life using their own supposed beliefs. Here is a link to an interview with him by Ali Velshi.
https://youtu.be/5FvPa3ckZ-c?si=UmU_xj6gYGZtljCu
I want to see this book go to the top of the NYT bestseller list so the media finally pays attention to the blatant hypocrisy of these so-call Christians. You don’t have to be Christian to see what heretical blasphemers they are.
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Bob: You get my drift. Fad Christian thought is just fad, not so much Christian
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bethby: thanks for the video.
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I think Pope Francis often wonders WWJD And although I don’t know for sure personally, I think most probably he promotes it, too.
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Inaccessible info (per shared links) but assuming that the info is accurate, what now?
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My own take on this is that mental illness is much more common than anyone will admit. The least willing to admit the need for help is the subset of the population we call young and male. This manifests itself not only in mass shootings, but in a wide range of asocial behaviors. We don’t know, but Trey Reed, the kid who was found hung from a tree at Delta State, will probably be found to have been a victim of young males taking part in violence. Years ago, the daughter of a close friend was gunned down in a nearby town by a young male. And then there is Dylan Roof.
Ready access to weapons is an important aspect of the problem, but there is more. There are sub-populations within the country that are gun owners without violent behavior. There are similar populations in other countries. The group that seems to resort to violence somehow internalized that violence is good,
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It seems that living in one’s parents’ basement on Monster Energy drinks and Cheetos while consuming red pill Internet memes 18/7 isn’t particularly good for one’s mental health.
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Does toxic masculinity count as a mental illness?
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I think it is a symptom rather than a diagnosis
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My doctoral training was in Educational Psychology and many of my required courses were shared with students who were being trained in School Psychology, so we all learned a lot about identifying, diagnosing and treating mental health problems. I can’t think of anything that stands out which is related to this that’s in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5-TR, revised in 2022) which is published by the American Psychiatric Association. That’s the book that mental health practitioners in the US typically refer to when diagnosing clients. (Either that or the ICD, which is the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems)
I’m not aware of any disorder in those books which focuses on just one symptom like “toxic masculinity.” Incels, guys who are involuntarily celibate, are not in there because although they may have other kinds of mental health problems, their behaviors are based on experience, beliefs and hanging out with a lot with like-minded people –so that’s more learned than organic.
As such, I’m inclined to think that although people who demonstrate toxic masculinity may have other mental health problems, they have been similarly influenced by those very same things as Incels: experience, beliefs and a lot of exposure to like-minded people –especially, in their case, those who share their politics.
So, I don’t think it’s a disorder (or even a symptom of a disorder really), but of course, I could be wrong.
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cx: In “their behaviors are based on experience, beliefs and hanging out with a lot with like-minded people” the first “with” was a result of my jumping cursor and should not have been there. (Sorry but my computer crashed when I was trying to fix it.)
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BTW, the only recognized crazy I know of that can be largely socially induced is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.(PTSD). But maybe traumatic social stressors could be considered the cause of Toxic Masculinity and Incel, at least in some cases. However, that means they would need to demonstrate the symptoms as described in the DSM5 here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207191/box/part1_ch3.box16/
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When I was a kid at overnight camp, for 5 years, I took riflery classes, where we shot 22 caliber rifles at paper targets –and there were never any issues with it.
I think that’s very different from regularly engaging in “blood sports” though. (If animals are only shot by those needing food, in which case it’s done for survival, then I don’t think it’s considered a “sport.”)
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Here’s a personal experience of an example of “blood sports:” We had some wealthy neighbors in a suburb where we lived who had a lot of animal heads hung on the walls of their Family Room. They often invited us over to BBQs, where they served the meat from those animals. I could not go into that room or eat their food because I knew they really did it to show off those damn heads, not because they needed food to eat. (They took their kids to shoot with them when they went hunting, too.)
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We seem to be the only country that when repeatedly plagued by mass shootings does not ask how mentally unstable individuals gain access to weapons of war but instead ask “what party did he vote for?”
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Callisto: Interesting and good points!
I’d like to know what mental health problems they’ve had, too, including whether they received treatment (and what kind), as well as if they felt that they had been bullied –or if they were themselves known as bullies.
In some cases, it might be challenging to find out all that info since some may have had mental health issues that were not diagnosed and treated, and some of them have died, too, so it may be speculated posthumously.
I’d still like to know what political party they identified with and whether it’s the same party as their families though.
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Looking through the statistics, I found there is a higher murder for the most recent shootings. It is concerning to note that the more recent murders seem to be killing more people per each single violent rampage which may have something to do with access that people have to automatic, assault style weapons. They allow a perpetrator to kill more victims during a single attack. People were safer when we had the assault rifle ban.
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“A 2019 study published in The BMJ found that states with more permissive gun laws and higher gun ownership had significantly higher rates of mass shootings. Another study found that states requiring permits to purchase guns saw a 60% lower rate of mass public shootings.
“Research shows that while more restrictive state gun laws may not decrease the number of mass shootings, they are associated with fewer fatalities when an incident does occur. States with large-capacity magazine bans, for example, have experienced 38% fewer fatalities in mass shootings.
“A Johns Hopkins University analysis showed that states with stronger gun laws have a 36% reduction in gun deaths since 1990, while states with weaker laws saw a 19% increase. Research has also shown that laws strengthening background checks or requiring permits to purchase firearms were associated with a reduction in firearm homicides.
“California, which has some of the nation’s strictest gun laws, has one of the lowest gun death rates in the U.S. In contrast, states with less restrictive laws like Texas and Florida have significantly higher firearm mortality rates.”
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In this morning’s newspaper it was announced that Publix supermarket will allow shoppers to “open carry” guns in their stores in accordance with Florida’s laws. Crazy, but true.
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I saw that, RT. It’s only a matter of time until there’s a mass shooting in a Publix supermarket. Or a shootout between customers.
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I don’t know about today, but when my family moved to Arizona, it was very common to see a counter in popular grocery store chains where people could BUY guns while getting their bread, eggs and such –so they open carried there too. It really did feel like the Wild West! (This was like mid 80s – mid 90s.)
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The so-called Wild West was actually far more civilized.
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Did everyone see all the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize? It’s been in the news a lot today (on PBS) because the winner will be announced tomorrow.
Both Trump & Musk are on the list of Individuals in contention. Organizations are also on there, such as the January 6th Committee (I sure hope they are the ones who win!) See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Nobel_Peace_Prize
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If it goes to an individual, IMHO, Pope Francis is a worthy contender.
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Thanks, Diane (& commenters) for this very important post. Will be sharing w/a # of GVP groups & people working on new laws (the RIFL Act) in IL (we have some of the best in the country). Also, Gov. Pritzker just signed a law–effective starting 2026-27 school year–offering mental health testing for all public school students. We’re the only state to pass such a law &, hopefully, a LOT of kids will be able to get the help they need.
(Hearing arguments already–it’s not mandatory {parents can opt out; this was a BIG part of the problem resultant from parental [yes] neglect in the case of the Highland Park shooter–school wanted him to have sped help/parents ignored; Parkland shooter [school administrators/superintendent turned a blind eye to teachers begging for help w/him}–&, yes, possible mistaken diagnoses/over diagnosing, but it’s better than not having anything in place & if it helps some children {the tragedy of the Michigan shooter, Ethan, who was begging for help, comes to mind} & prevents any # of injuries & senseless killings, then it’s more than worth it. )
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