a good question

  So an old classmate of mine posed a question on Facebook that piqued my interest. She wondered if there has been any study done on why most mass shootings are committed by men. It's a question I hadn't thought of but immediately agreed with the premise. I can't say I have heard of any mass shootings by a woman. In fact it appears that women are seldom involved with any sort of gun violence, although I dislike that term, gun violence, it is the people that are violent, not the gun. But I'll try not to get off topic here. Without doing any research of my own as far as statistics go, I do believe she is correct in her statement and asks a valid question.

  I thought about that question for a few moments before responding. I do have an opinion on just about everything as anyone that knows me will testify. It has been my observation that the more society insists that men should be more "effeminate" and remove a great deal of accountability for horrendous acts of violence and other crimes, the incidence of these mass shootings has increased. Now I'm not saying that is it, but it is my thought. When I was a young man I was taught to be a protector. I was taught to protect those perceived to be weaker than myself. Women were called the weaker sex.

  I realize that gets me labeled a misogynist these days, and that is a portion of what I'm talking about. It's all about equality isn't it? That is what I hear all the time. Well a gun has been called the great equalizer. Perhaps it is the use of that gun that provides the testosterone boost missing in these more effeminate men of today. The cave man instinct to dominate! As a young man I was expected to defend myself, defend my woman, and defend my property. I was also expected to do that according to the code, the man code. I was expected to stand toe to toe, no cheating, no weapons, no sneak attacks, no backstabbing, no underhanded trickery! Using those tactics would get you ostracized. It was a sense of honor. Old fashioned ideas? Some certainly think so as they slink around the alleys figuring themselves to be bad men. Well they are! Cowards one and all. That is a lesson they have never been taught. It's the old adage, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game. That applies to life as well. These men, boys really have no concept of any of that. 

  I have talked about heroes in the past. When I was growing up we had heroes, They were the people that exceled at what they did, or had done something so extraordinary that they merited that title. Heroes then were larger than life. Our sports heroes played sports and that was pretty much all we knew about them. They didn't involve themselves in politics and hawking every product known to man. No Mickey Mantle was a hero because he hit home runs! I never actually met any of my childhood heroes, they lived in their world and I lived in mine. Nonetheless I tried to be like those heroes, the real people and the fictional heroes. None of those heroes ever hurt anyone. My fictional heroes always fought fair and square and we're always justified in fighting for some cause. 

  I wonder if traditional gender roles don't figure into all of this. I believe in the natural order of things. Nature, the universe is an ordered thing that can't be disputed. The only dispute lies in who or what is responsible. Still the fact remains there is a natural order to things, men and women, night and day. That natural order has been perverted to a point that is causing problems. What I find ironic is that man is busy searching for the causes to the problems man has created. I do think we would all be better served if we followed the natural order of things. Yes of course there will always be exceptions, aberrations' to the norm but they should be recognized as just that. That isn't happening today. Often labeled as progress the "progress" is having side effects that are completely unexpected. I'm just saying perhaps we should stick closer to the original design. 

  The other component in all of this is accountability. That has certainly changed over the years. When I was young consequences were clearly understood. Punishment was imminent. The actions that would be punished were well known. There wasn't any grey areas back then, it was a world of black and white. There was right and wrong. Both states were clear! I think that perhaps young people today have not learned coping skills the way previous generations have. Having been fed a steady dose of, it's not your fault, they feel like they have to do nothing. By the time they reach their breaking point, what we called "acting out" they are reaching for weapons! Whatever situation they find themselves in isn't their fault! And that is the belief. 

  Well like I said all this is just my first thoughts on this stuff. I'm not a big fan of studies and searching for the root causes. In my way of thinking there can be no reasonable or rational explanation for this happening. I also don't believe you are going to make it stop by simply restricting access to guns. It isn't that simple a fix. In my opinion the value of life is what needs to be taught. So many today place so little value on that, indeed the government finances a portion of that through Planned Parenthood, justifying that as health care. But the question was why are men committing these mass shootings? I'd say it is a part of the natural order of things, of nature. The male is the dominate sex, always has been. It is in the nature of males to protect, to hunt for food, to defend against perceived enemies. That is in a general sense anyway. Not very scientific, not a popular thought or idea, but one I feel is at least partially valid. All you have to do is study history to discover that is pretty much how it has worked century after century. Just something to think about.