Convicted Felon: Ritalin and My Violent Culture are creating School Shootings

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

Just two days after a young man opened fire on his classmates and teachers at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, the National Rifle Association’s incoming president, Oliver North, blamed Ritalin and a “culture of violence.”

On “Fox News Sunday,” the controversial Iran-Contra figure told host Chris Wallace that the solution for the increasing number of school shootings ― there have been 22 so far in 2018, by one count ― is not gun control.

“We’re trying like the dickens to treat the symptoms without treating the disease,” he said.

“And the disease in this case isn’t the Second Amendment. The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence,” he said. “They’ve been drugged in many cases. Nearly all of these perpetrators are male. ... Many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten.”

North’s comments on Sunday echoed those made by President Donald Trump after the Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012. Following the shooting, Trump tweeted about violent video games and the “glorification” of violence.

North, a retired Marine whose role in the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s made him a household name, appeared in ads for the war-centered video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” and has also worked as a consultant for the game.

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5b018dece4b0a046186d22be/amp?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001

Why do people listen to these hypocritical conservative talking points? I mean, they've glorified North for being the ultimate soldier going on secret missions so he could give weapons to madmen and used him as an expert on his violence. But his violent culture includes loving guns a little too much. So he's their spokesman. I don't get it.

 

[braces_for_impact]

So they put the guy that was illegally running guns in the 1980's in charge of the NRA. Makes sense.

 

[untermensche]

Oliver North sent a terrorist army into Nicaragua.

It was against the law.

He was convicted by a jury.

He escaped punishment because it was ultimately ruled he had immunity because of his testimony to Congress.

And he talks about violence?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Well, he is an expert on pre-adolescent and teenage neurology, so you should cut him a little slack. I mean why else would they have the orchestrator of the Contra portion of Iran-Contra on television to talk about gun violence in schools?

 

[Angry Floof]

Is it true that most school shooters were taking Ritalin?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Is it true that most school shooters were taking Ritalin?

Once again, Oliver North wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. He represents the NRA you know. I'm sure he has receipts to back up the claim.

 

[Opoponax]

Amazing.

We just watched this guy (this fuckin' guy!) just make some shit up out of thin air and conservatives have already taken it as gospel.

I think the shooting could be blamed on that icky feeling you get when two balloons are rubbed together. Hey, it's as good as North's pulled straight from the ass of nowhere hypothesis.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Amazing.

We just watched this guy (this fuckin' guy!) just make some shit up out of thin air and conservatives have already taken it as gospel.

I think the shooting could be blamed on that icky feeling you get when two balloons are rubbed together. Hey, it's as good as North's pulled straight from the ass of nowhere hypothesis.

I'll bet they were all vaccinated for polio too!

These vaccinations must stop.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I imagine that more than half of these kids/adults have some mental issues, whether its psychopathy, antisocial disorder, sociopathy, psychosis, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, and probably many with multiple issues. I mean if they had behavior problems leading up to killing people, such as harming people in minor ways or going after animals or whatever, then they likely had medication. ADHD/ADD and some of these issues do not make people evil and some of these issues could really be made worse by violent video games, especially ADHD which can be increased by video game playing and tv show watching. Remember the study about watching SpongeBob versus Caillou? For that matter video game addiction can lead to increase in obesity and diabetes and lower self-esteem which can make social problems worse. Same with a lot of other things, but that's not my main point. My main point is that ADHD might be common among persons relative to other indications like psychosis and psychopathy and further that if their mental health issues lead to school shootings and their mental health issues lead to medication, then this could be a case of correlation versus causation, eg:
psychosis, ADHD, antisocial behavior ==> medications
AND psychosis, antisocial behavior ==> school shooting
does not mean medication ==> school shooting.

 

[J842P]

Well, there's a pretty clear link between the sorts of stimulants prescribed for ADHD and and social aggression. If things still work like back when I was in high school, a lot of kids are put on these medications at a very young age by parents who are pressured by educators. Unfortunately, you can get these medications from a GP, and many act as simple drug pushers in this regard.

That being said, I agree with Don that even if these medications do have an effect, there is probably many factors that build up into a self perpetuating perfect storm.


And of course, young males can be extremely violent and emotional.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So is this too much treatment for mental illness or too little treatment for mental illness that is the argument now?

 

[Playball40]

Is it true that most school shooters were taking Ritalin?

No. https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-oliver-northritalin-is-not-leading-to-school-shootings?ref=scroll

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Is it true that most school shooters were taking Ritalin?

I've seen multiple suggestions about antidepressants (It is known they can cause serious problems in a small number of people and they're handed out without keeping an adequate eye for such consequences.) This is the first I've heard Ritalin blamed, though.

 

[Treedbear]

The current tack of the Republican/NRA party is to blame everything else except the wide availability of guns. It's the parents, the video games, the movies, the media, the number of doors in schools, and of course not enough guns. It's starting to look like they're flailing about in desperation. Prayer doesn't seem to be working. Hardening of schools failed at Santa Fe HS. Having saved some lives by having someone there to return fire turns out to be cold comfort. I think looking to put the blame on parents shines a light on the cold hard truth of the matter. Especially as we're focused on Texas' pride. America just can't handle a 2nd amendment given today's environment. Human beings just aren't able to deal with this particular kind of freedom while at the same time providing all the other constitutional freedoms that we cherish. You can't legislate morality, and all those other things are beyond a democratic government's control. Congress is still diddling with bump-stock regulations for Christ's sake! People who pray had better start asking that Texas look at what they've brought on with their own hands.

 

[RavenSky]

Is it true that most school shooters were taking Ritalin?

No. https://www.thedailybeast.com/no-oliver-northritalin-is-not-leading-to-school-shootings?ref=scroll

^^^ needs repeating

 

[bilby]

In the first hours after the Texas school shooting that left at least 10 dead Friday, online hoaxers moved quickly to spread a viral lie, creating fake Facebook accounts with the suspected shooter's name and a doctored photo showing him wearing a "Hillary 2016" hat.
...
It has become a familiar pattern in the all-too-common aftermath of U.S. school shootings: A barrage of online misinformation, seemingly designed to cloud the truth or win political points.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/05/18/fake-facebook-accounts-and-viral-lies-multiply-in-hours-after-santa-fe-school-shooting/

Reality no longer matters. People only care that their opinions are backed by enough evidence to avoid being laughed out of the room - and if that evidence doesn't exist, it's an easy matter to create it.

Churchill once said that, in war, the truth is so precious that it needs a bodyguard of lies. But who guards the guards? The lies are running the place now, and the truth is outnumbered, out gunned, and out of favour.

The Information Age is now the disinformation age; people never wanted to know what was happening, they only ever wanted to hear support for their prejudices. Our civilisation is at serious risk of drowning in its own bullshit.

 

[braces_for_impact]

So is this too much treatment for mental illness or too little treatment for mental illness that is the argument now?

Yes, still two primary arguments from gun fetishists. One is needing god back in school, the other is mental health. Note that those that have been calling for better mental health are the same ones that are refusing to fund it.

Here's a very good snapshot of the two types of prevalent stupidity on display for us all to lament.

 

[Underseer]

These arguments get more flaccid every year.

Do I even have to mention that every industrialized nation has Ritalin and violent movies, but not the same level of mass shootings per capita?

These arguments were never intended to fool anyone.

America decided a long time ago that we would rather watch our children die than admit that we are wrong about guns. So instead of doing anything to protect our children, we are using flaccid arguments spouted by criminals to protect the guns. Because making Ezekiel-Joe-Bob feel better about his small penis is more important than the life of your child.