Games People Play

 

I recently asked a group of friends who they felt was the worst mass murderer in history? Some said Hitler or Stalin; Mao or Pol Pot. And there were others. Some even said  Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s tyrant. There was no right or wrong answer but the person I was thinking of was Jack “The Ripper.” My friends were dismayed. How could you say “The Ripper” when he only killed five people when Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot were responsible  for kills numbering in the millions. He was the worst, to my way of thinking, because he was the first in modern history; became a tabloid sensation and since then the thirst for  violence and notoriety by his fellow mutants has become an all too frequent  occurrence in our daily lives, especially  in the United States.

We are saddened once again to mourn  the innocent victims of another mass shooting. This one  in the Washington Navy Yard. Add another to the growing list of multiple shootings that occur where unsuspecting people congregate for work, school or amusement. Add Aaron Alexis to the swelling list of infamy that includes: Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook Elementary School murderer; James Holmes the Aurora, CO. theatre sniper; Jared Loughner, the murderer who severely wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford; Nidal Malik Hasan, the cowardly, Fort Hood radical Islamist major who killed and injured 43; the Virginia Tech murderer Seung-Hui Cho who killed or maimed 56; and perhaps the catalysts, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold,  the Columbine shooters who may have  awakened an abhorrent, latent  urge in  others to spill innocent blood.

The politicians who favor gun control legislation have dusted off their  sound bites seeking more  restrictions on the sale of firearms. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has done likewise supporting their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The NRA’s  feeling is there are never enough guns present in these situations to thwart  such attacks. The dizzying merry-go-round will whir again but to what end.

Isn’t it time to start thinking about extensive background checks.  It gives officials time to find out salient information about the firearm purchaser and it also guards against impulsive acts.

 There seems to be a correlation between these psycho killers and mental disorders. Substantially longer waiting periods  will provide  some measure of certitude that people like Alexis would not have been  able to buy a gun last week and open fire at innocent people this week, leaving behind the carnage of grieving families and loved ones.

And, in the aftermath of this tragedy, what about looking into violent video games. Not to say there is a causal effect but it seems  there is some relationship between games and forms of violence. It has been reported that Alexis would spend as much as 16 hours straight playing these sophomoric  amusements.