By Kristopher Seals OP/ED
UNITED STATES – Usually, there is a story here on the latest mass shooting … but honestly, I want to address a looming danger that is far worse.
Over the most recent weekend alone as of this writing, there were 12 “mass shootings.” By definition, a “mass shooting” is an incident where four or more people are shot. How they came up with “four” as the quantitative requirement, I have no idea.
With that in mind, I want to pivot to something else. There is a rising tide of something that is at the core of most mass shootings and other things I am seeing, and that is a pandemic of anger.
I have seen something similar to this more than 20 years ago. The September 11th terror attacks. Two days after, an American population of fearful people who were on edge and angry after the gut punch of the attacks lashed out at each other. I saw two guys at Newark Penn Station bump into one another and say things that would not be appropriate to print. The next day, the rally of collective patriotism began, with a beautiful image of people in Colonia on their lawns waving little American flags. It gave a sense that we would persevere, with each other, not against each other.
Back to the current day, since the COVID-19 pandemic shook the functional world, billions of lives have been changed. Some have been outright lost to the virus, others were afflicted, whether slightly or heavily, and then a chosen few made out like bandits. The focus of this is not the first group or the last, but that one in the middle.
In addition to losing resources, whether money, assets, or near and dear ones in their lives, people have lost something just as important: patience. Years ago, when people heard or experienced something they did not approve of, it was a minor inconvenience. In the COVID era, not so much. The slightest issue has become one of yelling, single-finger sign language, and outright full “Karen Mode.” Of course, the most frightening aspect is that these are the best outcomes. Other situations have resulted in someone getting a weapon and doing far worse.
The nature of America is resistance, with the birth of the nation coming as the colonies rebelled against Great Britain. Afterwards, the Civil War, quests for equality from women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ people, and more are among the most powerful forces of resistance in American history. Consequentially, one of the most vital ingredients of resistance is none other than resistance from the opposing side. As one side resists the status quo, another side resists change to their stable lifestyle. In all of those instances, there has been violence, usually with guns.
America literally has the right to bear arms codified in its constitution. It is engrained in the DNA of the nation. For all intents and purposes, “If you feel threatened, get a weapon and take someone out.”
Here is what you need to know: First, it pains me to say this, but I expect these incidents to not only continue, but get worse. The factors that propagate stress, like the lingering of COVID and its variants, threats like monkeypox, ever-increasing gas prices and inflation, and international unrest in Ukraine, will likely continue, and that will cause people who are at the breaking point to do just that: break.
Secondly, mass shootings might get worse. The AR-15 is the weapon of choice because, and this is also painful to say, it is quite effective. On the news, sometimes you hear, “A suspect armed with a handgun was stopped by authorities…” or “After shooting two people, the suspect was stopped when…” However, how often do hear “A suspect with an AR-15 was stopped…?” In nearly all of the mass shootings executed with the weapon, there is a high body count and lack of prompt stoppage by law enforcement.
Want to know how potent the AR-15 is? The authorities in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde took forever to get into the building and engage the suspect because they wanted no parts of facing down the automatic rifle. Police are trained to deal with the occasional handgun. However, there is nothing in the manual about taking down someone with a weapon far superior to your service firearm.
Here is my biggest fear: Future shooters get what we call in business “second mover advantage.” One example is Facebook. It was not the first social media outfit, as Friendster came out before it did. What happened was the people at Facebook saw the mistakes Friendster made and avoided them, thus giving them the edge to perform better than their predecessor.
Guess what? Mass shooters can do the same thing, clocking the mistakes of previous shooters, and staying a step or two ahead of law enforcement, who are already desperately trying to improve their response to such incidents.
Thirdly, escalation. You know what works better than a gun? A bomb. Thanks to the internet, and particularly the “Dark Web,” you can get all the specifics for a bomb, from ingredients to an instruction manual, to make a homegrown mini-weapon of mass destruction. While I do not expect dirty bombs laced with radioactive matter, I am definitely worried of conventional explosions. Remember the bombing at a race in Seaside Heights on the morning of Sept. 17, 2016? Chances are you don’t, because no one was hurt thanks to the race being delayed from its original start time, throwing off the timing the bomber intended for maximum damage. That said, I am sure you remember the one in Manhattan hours later, which injured 31, but no fatalities.
While bomber Ahmad Rahimi failed in in quest to take lives, not all bombers do. The Boston Marathon bombing saw three people killed, and over 250 injured.
So, in this pandemic of anger, how can you keep safe? The first rule will sound familiar: social distancing. This kind of distancing is not six feet, but more like, “you couldn’t literally touch them with a ten foot pole.”
People like to be social; I get it. Such interaction is one of the most fascinating aspects of humankind. However, this is not the time to engage so freely. The collective human populace is, well, hanging on by a thread. One little push, and they are ready to snap. So for now, just keep your distance.
This rule also applies to businesses, as they really gave up on social distancing. I’ve been in restaurants where even though the spot is not even close to full, they still group everyone together like the pandemic ended. News flash, it didn’t. I know your servers don’t like walking, but society needs them to walk a few more feet for the safety of others – and themselves.
Rule two: If you can avoid something, do so. For example, several schools switched to virtual classes on Primary Day, just in case there was violence at the polls. Excellent idea. Let’s face it, the last month of school is just to meet the state requirement of 180 days of instruction, with the exception of high school, where you have final exams. My opinion, once those exams are done, let’s just call it a year and go on break, or to college for the seniors. The 180 benchmark is antiquated, and serves no purposes for the students or teachers once all the required instruction is completed.
Also, do you really want kids in urban environments like Newark to be out and about in June? As we have seen in our area, when the temperature goes up, so does the tension. Then, there is the outside of the school as it concludes for the day. If you thought that students were a target inside the school thanks to things like Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde, I’ve got news for you. When school ends, they have to go outside, and the campus outside the school is a shooting gallery for any shooter who wants to flex their anger and AR-15. The sooner the kids get access the safety of not being in a set place and time via their summer break, the better.
The third rule, know your surroundings. If you can, avoid placing yourself in a high density area with little or no exit. If you are caught in such a place, you risk ending up in a “kill box” where a shooter could inflict maximum damage.
Rule number four: Be wary of powerful people – especially influencers – who seek your support. In times like this there is always someone or some group looking to make suckers out of people. The general population supports their cause, which provides short term help, but in reality, it provides long term advantages to the influencer doing the manipulation. Sniff them out, and shut them down.
Last but not least, rule five, prepare for a recession. History has shown that when there is a period of rapid inflation, a recession takes hold soon afterwards. If you were around then, remember what happened in 2009. Anticipate what you can do to mitigate the inevitable. You have one resource which I am giving you: a heads-up.
In conclusion, the purpose of this article is not to make you fearful of the world around you. It is simply to do one thing: make you aware. Until the state of the world cools down, you will have to either adapt, or else. Be smart, and be safe.
