Quote:
Originally Posted by Joekerr
Even as hailing from the country with strict gun control, I'm not sure that's the answer for these types of situations. Whether ISIS related or not, as the world has seen, a great number of other things can be turned into weapons. And as others have pointed out, criminals are not going to obey the law anyways.
So your point about mental health is a decent one - but how do you assess it? Can't screen for it. Not an obvious illness either...at least not till something happens in most cases I'd say. Yes, they might start to get reclusive, but that doesn't mean they will go on a rampage one day either. So while this could be good at stopping future crimes, it is probably extremely difficult if not impossible to implement. 
So is there really anything that can be done? Let's assume this was terrorism for a moment, or think back to known terror attacks. Killing the perps just makes them heroes back home and inspires more sickos to do the same when they see all the praise and attention and since they have a meaningless life as it is, they sign up too.
Process them through the current judicial system? Well, maybe they get a payout like Omar Khadr. That wasn't cool. So that's not a great option...life isn't peachy behind bars, but I somehow don't see it as being enough of a punishment for this type of crime.
So then what?
Torturing them - well that's an interesting idea quite frankly. Torture without killing, let them rot, no easy way out, just every week some new pain. But it would have to be public, so that the message gets back, this is what will happen. But being the civilized people we are, we won't do that. And would likely inspire a few more people who are family of that person to do the same out of rage, until the message gets clearly sent and it dies down a little. Message being, you commit act of terrorism, the laws applying to civilians of our country will not apply to you - instead, this is what will happen. Combat terror with terror?
If not, what is the solution. Because I can't think of anything to stem what appears to be a growing amount of terrorist attacks - regardless of whether this was or was not terrorism.
I know madam Lups will disagree with me, but I just don't see a pacifist solution here. |
Fixing the state of mental health services is absolutely a good start. Won't be the answer for every situation but will help reduce the chances of someone going "postal". Fixing mental health services goes beyond just proper assessment. It goes towards actually getting services. Trying to find mental health professionals which are not already booked or have a very long backlog/wait for an appointment can be extremely challenging. And when you do find someone who can see you within a week, you then have a challenge with insurance coverage.
The above also doesn't address the taboo subject of even admitting you need mental health services. The public stigma behind someone seeking or utilizing these services needs to stop.