Prozac, Poverty and Pistols
The shootings in Minnesota are another example of a violent crime committed by a Prozac user. The study released by Eli Lilly in December after keeping it under wraps for 15 years indicates just how more likely a patient is to become violent while prescribed Prozac compared with active ingredients in other anti-depressants. The news has been quick to blame the Jeff Weise’s low income environment as a prime reason for the shootings, but I’m not convinced socio-economic factors are behind this crime.
Native Americans do live in poverty and it is important that this case highlights the tragedy of how the majority of them live, however the the cause of this crime has no socio-economic basis.
I realize that conservatives expect liberals to whine about gun control laws and how acts like this could be avoided with stricter gun laws. How many children would Weisse have killed with an axe? I’m not sure but I’m willing to bet it may have been one or two as opposed to ten. Guns enable people like Weiss to commit mass murder, Prozac was a major factor in triggering the violent act and he’s impoverished background will be the media’s excuse.
Native Americans do live in poverty and it is important that this case highlights the tragedy of how the majority of them live, however the the cause of this crime has no socio-economic basis.
I realize that conservatives expect liberals to whine about gun control laws and how acts like this could be avoided with stricter gun laws. How many children would Weisse have killed with an axe? I’m not sure but I’m willing to bet it may have been one or two as opposed to ten. Guns enable people like Weiss to commit mass murder, Prozac was a major factor in triggering the violent act and he’s impoverished background will be the media’s excuse.
posted by mochi at 9:32 AM
10 Comments:
The last two shootings (Minyhaha and Hotlanta) have both involved the liberation of firearms of LEOs. The solution is clearly to disarm these individuals as they are clearly not responsible enough to own them. Let me keep mine, as I am a responsible civilian.
Advocating gun control, Anonymous?
Yep...I think cops should NOT be allowed weapons. Think about it...the last two shooting would have been averted. I mean, why do they need them, anyway? It's not like they have any use. Again, don't take away my firearms, as I am a responsible citizen.
People were being killed enmass long before a firearm existed. Many gun control advocates think that violence started with the invention of the gun. If someone wanted to kill someone, they don't need a gun, only time. And how about the guns that save people's lives?
Oh, and another thing, Shea, I realize that everyone looks for reasons for such a heinous act. We look for reasons for Jeffery Dahmer, Gacy, etc. We look for reasons for Columbine... Bottom line is that evil does exist in this world, and the only thing to guarding against it is near impossible. John Couy didn't have a gun when he raped and killed the child. Many kidnappings, murders, rapings, child molestings, happen without guns.
When I was in the 7th grade my "first love" (very poignant--remember?) was killed by a drunk driver. I was in my last year in college before I acknowleged that it wasn't alcohol that killed my girlfriend, but the irresponsible individual who used it. To date I have never touched a drop of alcohol--for that reason, but now my understanding of the issue is of much greater maturity.
For a good laugh (in relation to your post) go check out mine:
http://newssnipet.blogspot.com/2005/03/foxnewscom-high-school-rampage-leaves.html
Regards,
-Jack
This is all true, however, there is an enormous problem when children from elementary school to high school have such easy access to guns. Kids on the street do run rampant with them these days, especially in urban areas. A gun is quickest and most effective in the line of defense, or for violent crimes, and when one falls into the wrong hands (like a high school kid), the feeling of empowerment that one has is bound to lead to chaos. There certainly are irresponsible individuals no matter what, but that is not a legitimate excuse because these are children and they do irrational things of course. The means by which these guns fall into their hands have to be examined and re-examined. These cases are not about the consitution or 2nd amendment, or liberal versus conservative. It is about what the hell is going on within our country that leads to these incidents?
Another issue is Prozac. One, those who have been prescribed it are probably unstable in some way before it is prescribed and it has probably worked effectively for many people. However, there have now been several (I dont have an exact number, but I am familiar with 11 cases including this one) incidents with people that are prescribed Prozac who have gone homicidal, and then usually suicidal. Many families accounts suggest that, while their loved one had mental imbalances before taking Prozac, once prescribed there were sporadic flashes of abnormal behavior that eventually erupted into murder. Just the fact that a handful of these incidents have occurred should really inspire one of our so-called representatives in Congress to escalate the issue. These incidents should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI, FDA, DEA, CIA, WHO. If, after a thorough investigation, it can be proven that Prozac is not the cause of these disasters, then they should consider instructing doctors to conduct close and careful examinations of patients to see who may be prone to a violent outbreak if prescribed Prozac. As I said before, and it is perhaps even more pertinent to the Prozac case, this is not about the constitution or politics at all. This is sociology and psychology. It is now time that tragic situations like these encourage our leaders to stop pointing fingers and bad mouthing their opponents and do something about it.
If It Were Up to Me
Words and Lyrics by:
Cheryl Wheeler
Maybe it's the movies, maybe it's the books
Maybe it's the bullets, maybe it's the real crooks
Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the parents
Maybe it's the colors everybody's wearin
Maybe it's the President, maybe it's the last one
Maybe it's the one before that, what he done
Maybe it's the high schools, maybe it's the teachers
Maybe it's the tattooed children in the bleachers
Maybe it's the Bible, maybe it's the lack
Maybe it's the music, maybe it's the crack
Maybe it's the hairdos, maybe it's the TV
Maybe it's the cigarettes, maybe it's the family
Maybe it's the fast food, maybe it's the news
Maybe it's divorce, maybe it's abuse
Maybe it's the lawyers, maybe it's the prisons
Maybe it's the Senators, maybe it's the system
Maybe it's the fathers, maybe it's the sons
Maybe it's the sisters, maybe it's the moms
Maybe it's the radio, maybe it's road rage
Maybe El Nino, or UV rays
Maybe it's the army, maybe it's the liquor
Maybe it's the papers, maybe the militia
Maybe it's the athletes, maybe it's the ads
Maybe it's the sports fans, maybe it's a fad
Maybe it's the magazines, maybe it's the internet
Maybe it's the lottery, maybe it's the immigrants
Maybe it's taxes, big business
Maybe it's the KKK and the skinheads
Maybe it's the communists, maybe it's the Catholics
Maybe it's the hippies, maybe it's the addicts
Maybe it's the art, maybe it's the sex
Maybe it's the homeless, maybe it's the banks
Maybe it's the clearcut, maybe it's the ozone
Maybe it's the chemicals, maybe it's the car phones
Maybe it's the fertilizer, maybe it's the nose rings
Maybe it's the end, but I know one thing.
If it were up to me, I'd take away the guns.
My contention is that Prozac is one of the major contributing causes of this crime. I'd even suggest that if he was prescribed something else the probabilty of this happening would have been significantly reduced.
There is more data coming out these days about prozac. I agree with Anonymous, a prescription to a psychoactive drug and a gun license should be mutually exclusive.
As for the old "guns don't kill people," I am keeping an eye out for historical accounts of somebody walking into the village tavern and taking out a dozen of his fellow villagers with a bow and arrow. Or with a club, a knife, or an axe. I don't think even the Vikings worked solo.
"Guns dont kill people, people kill people, and people who want to kill people kill a lot of people in a concentrated area very quickly and efficiently, using guns."
I did forget to add that these school rampages seem unlikely to have the ability to reach such a magnitude without guns. Surely, a kid might construct a bomb and walk into school with one, who knows. But given how easy it is to get a gun and how simple of a process it is to pull a trigger to achieve a violent means, whereas constructing a bomb or other means of violent uprising probably require serious brainwork, we should start right there with the gun issue. The fact is that guns make it just too easy for someone who has all the wrong intentions. I by no means advocate a repeal of Amendment #2; I advocate concern and caution among those in power.
And Mochi, I could not agree more about the Prozac issue. I am familiar with anti-depressants and their cause, and some of these serotonin-inhibitors do indeed help people conduct a stable lifestyle and lessen the potential for an outbreak of depression. But at the same time, they are not to be an experiment. Drugs are to be experimented and tested upon BEFORE they are released to the public. There are many other anti-depressants on the market that do not have the rapsheet that Prozac has. The fact that there is even one (1) violent incident that Prozac is the potential catalyst for should result in that drug being pulled and examined. And hell, if that mad scientist Eli Lilly and his tainted wallet have to take a hit because I have to investiage one of his drugs and potentially pull it from the shelves, you bet your ass I wouldnt hesitate. This is not a conspiracy theory, this is real life. And while there is no doubt that there are thousands of people prescribed Prozac and violent outbreaks of Prozac users are more than few and far between, do bear in mind that human beings are not lab rats; lab rats are lab rats. To reiterate what I have been preaching the past 48 hours, situations like these are not Red and Blue or Left and Right, but common fucking sense.
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