Tragedy looms above all, striking at the most inopportune of ocassions before sulking off into the unspecified realm of dark situations yet again. It has no preference for a certain variety of victims; to seek and destroy is the only goal with matter. Such is the case of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting on December 14, 2012. With fear then cast into the community of Newtown, Connecticut, and all of America, it may only be said that tragedy is received in the massive doses of heartache, despair, and a continuing aura of hopelessness, and with these feelings combined create an even more volatile feeling of misanthropy.
This misanthropy hurts not only the person wielding it, but the others who may also express not as extreme feelings of misunderstanding. This unbearable, and, to some, unforgivable, act at the hands of a mentally unstable murderer is more of something of an inspiration of others to heed the calls of newfound hope in humanity, emphasize national mental health awareness, and the techniques utilized to prevent gun-related attacks. After leaving 27 dead, including his own mother, twenty children, and six faculty members, twenty-year-old Adam Lanza shot himself in the head when he heard the sounds of policemen arriving at the elementary school.Despite no criminal activity, Lanza was described as being an introverted student in high school, yet extremely intelligent with robotics and computers. Many speculate that the shooting was triggered by possible bouts with schizophrenia or Asperger's. Others say that while the mentally ill do engage in acts of violence, the murders could have been linked to anything from social issues to the fact that Nancy Lanza, the shooter's mother, was speculated to be a doomsday prepper in response to that she kept stockpiles of guns in her basement.
Whatever the cause, the shooting simultaneously disgusted and devastated children and their parents, who sympathetically were worried for the safety of future schoolchildren. Amidst this situation, it should be recognized that schools are surprisingly safer than ever in the last twenty years. Even when killing sprees similar to this are set in motion, the people must ensure life goes on. When one views the captured images of surviving students of Sandy Hook clinging to each other in expectations of support and comfort, the memories of the children are not ones with funerals, but ones that inspire hope for the future.Even as it is commonly said the most prominent focus of all mass shootings is stricter gun control, it should be said that mental health, while not always definitely the motivation, is a major candidate for the why? that society asks itself. If Lanza was autistic and/or suffered from another mental instability, as family friends and former teachers imply it, there could have been a chance of a misplaced mixture of loneliness and anger from the lack of stable friendships or family ties in Lanza's childhood.
When the subject of his intelligence in high school is brought up, it also implies that the attacked was not spontaneous, but planned over the course of meticulous planning. Also, if Lanza was diagnosed with a form of mental illness, it still does not wholly prove that it is the cause for unneeded bloodshed of children aged 6-7, as most high-functioning individuals with mental handicaps are close to the epitome of normal and have little to no trouble blending in with the common people.Mental stability or none, the factor of mental health awareness is just as much of a vital discussion topic as gun control. Lectures in schools and other public locations about common risk factors, such as divorce, relocation, or social issues that may bring on underlying mental health conditions will give more awareness to individuals that may have sorrowful concerns for friends, acquaintances, or loved ones potentially struggling with mental illness.
