The Silent Culprit in America’s Mass Shootings

Screen Shot 2014-05-29 at 1.42.33 PMIn the wake of the killing spree that took the lives of six people and wounded thirteen more in Isla Vista, California last Friday, the roll-out of blame has begun. Who’s to blame and how do we fix this? As society throws out slings of accusations, is there a real culprit for this kind of on-going violence lurking in the shadows that no one wants to talk about?

It seems with every tragedy fueled by a lunatics rage, like Elliot Rodgers, our society wants to fix what is broken. California has already begun the process of proposing new gun laws. On Tuesday, two Assembly members proposed legislation that would create a gun violence restraining order. The order would be sought from a judge by law enforcement at the request of family members and friends if they were concerned over an individual’s mental state while in possession of fire arms. More gun laws seem to be the answer despite the fact that in the Rodger’s case he killed and wounded using not only a gun but a knife and car as well.

The latest social media flurry of blame seems to point at the “supposedly” increasing male entitlement in this country. Elliot Rodgers left a written manifesto and video posts outlining his hatred of women and humanity in general. This gave an outlet for many on Twitter through the hashtag #YesAllWomen to bring attention to gender inequality and misogyny that females are confronted with on a daily basis. (#NotAllWomen, I must add.) The hashtag was tweeted over a million times and while social media activism seems to be the new norm nowadays, I find it appalling how narcissistic we have become in this society. Families and friends are mourning the loss of four men and two women while Twitter feeds “hijack the mass murder to boost self-esteem” and continue the petty age of victimhood. How quickly we can turn a tragedy into our own self-serving platform.

Our current administration and the progressive agenda have put the interaction of mental illness with gun laws at the forefront of blame for mass school shootings. Yet, there is a common thread in almost every mass shooting that gets very little attention and seems to be the silent suspect no one wants to talk about. What about the interaction of drugs with mental illness?

In a compelling article from CCHR International, it documents 33 school shootings and/or school-related violence committed by those “taking or withdrawing from psychiatric drugs resulting in 177 wounded and 83 killed.” Elliot Rodgers is documented as one of those thirty-three shootings where as it describes, “He explained in his manifesto that he had psychiatric drugs and made them part of his plan in ending his own life. On page 133 of the manifesto, Rodgers explains that he’ll shoot himself in the head and ‘I will quickly swallow all of the Xanax and Vicodin pills I have left….’ He explains that if the bullets don’t kill him, the mixture of pills will.”

The list is compelling and outlines how in each case there was some sort of anti-depressant or psychotropic drug administered to the offenders before the violent act. However, what’s important to note about this list is that it only documents the cases where information about drug use was made public. It also doesn’t document separate suicide cases that have been linked with the powerful side effects of psychiatric drug use.

Our media rolls out the progressive agenda to change the 2nd Amendment and enforce stricter gun laws. They accuse the NRA of power grapping for their own political gain, yet they refuse to hold the FDA accountable for these powerful drugs on the market that are a part of almost every mass shooting in this country. Those listed who were under the influence of psychiatric drugs not only used guns but knives, swords and bombs as well. The objective was violence no matter what weapon was used. There have been 22 international drug regulatory warnings issued on psychiatric drugs outlining violent type of reactions from suicidal behavior to severe violent aggression.

Where are the political legislators in holding the FDA accountable? No one is questioning the big pharmaceutical companies for drugs that are known to have terrible side-effects, even though there is factual data linked to mass acts of violence. Major media outlets are completely silent about the link between mass shootings and psychiatric drugs. Why? Is there too much to risk from Big Pharma contributions?

Another mass act of violence took place in America last Friday. The news media continued their blame of guns. Social media continued their hashtag activism of self-serving ideology. Meanwhile, another name was added to a growing list of the interaction of mental illness and legally prescribed drugs— Hear that? <Crickets>

Here’s a great video from an expert who has studied the recent increase in gun violence and the interaction with SSRI drugs.

Julie Klose

Virginia Politichick Julie Klose is a freelance writer and blogger. Julie covers all topics related to US and foreign politics but is particularly passionate about social issues. She is pro-life and has interviewed different people and organizations within the pro-life movement. Julie has been featured on several radio shows for her conservative opinions. She is a contributing writer and content editor for Barbwire.com. When she is not dabbling in political writing, she enjoys blogging on her personal blog site at www.thevelvetbrick.org where she mixes it up about faith, family, and politics. You can find Julie on Twitter @thevelvetbrick1 or on her Facebook page The Velvet Brick.

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