There are no answers

I woke up on Friday morning and was greeted by the news out of Colorado.  Then, predictably, the questions started.

Here's my take:

1.)  Costuming is to blame.  I've heard it over and over again... people in costumes cause this chaos.  People that wear the costumes must be mentally unstable.  I can't disagree more.  People dress up in costumes to events like this because they are fans.  HUGE fans.  Many states have laws on the books that prohibit the wearing of masks, so unless someone's got a HUGE set of wings.. it's pretty safe.  Besides...have we had a mass shooting at Comic Con?  I didn't think so.


2.) Guns are to blame.  Again... no.  This guy was methodical.  He spent time gathering guns, making explosives and making his own smoke bombs and tear gas. If he couldn't get guns, he would have found a bow and arrow or a sword, or just blew the place up.  No amount of gun control would have prevented a man with this kind of drive. (in my opinion)

3.)  The movie is to blame**.  The movie is violent.  Hell, the other 2 were violent too!  (I got 20 minutes in to the last one and had to turn it off.  too violent for me)  And what were children doing at a midnight showing???  Seriously!  I know it's not R... but it's too violent for a 6 year old!   (more on this later)

4.)  What I think the real problem is:  it's easier to buy a gun than to get mental help.  I've looked into it.  With the last few insurance plans that I've had seeing a mental health professional requires a pile of paperwork and hours on the phone getting pre-authorizations.  And even then, they prefer to medicate people rather than let them see a therapist.  And while medication does work for some, I think both need to happen for a person to work though what they need to work through.  Yes, therapy is expensive for an insurance company, and seeing any kind of doctor is prohibitively expensive if you have no insurance.

And don't get me started on the stigma surrounding it either.

 **- I was at a party this weekend and we were talking about the movie.  A friend remarked that parents will take their kids to see Batman and Spiderman because they are comic books... and comics are for kids.. so naturally the movies are for kids.

Are you kidding me????  First:  Comics are MUCH more adult than in the past.  Second:  Parents NEED to do research before taking their kids to a comic book movie.  Yes, it's PG-13, but according to the MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sensuality and language

This means that it's VIOLENT.  So don't take your 6 year old, and then bitch about the violence.  It is not society's job to make the world safe for kids, it's the parent's job.  And sometimes the parent needs to say no.