It can't or won't happen here! The New Zealand catch cry for many of the incidents around the world & repeated again in the editorial in regards to the shootings in the US as referred to in the previous post.
Further information has now come out about the shooter who has had issues with people trying to get help for him in the past.
As I have said in previous posts I used to work security at a major hospital here in New Zealand & looking at the reports his situation leading up to the shooting is no different many of those presenting here for assistance.
That is assistance with possible mental health issues. The individual or family know they need help but because they don't tick the boxes they don't get any help.
Now you add in a worsening financial crisis with people struggling & those on the edge just find the stress enough to put them over the edge.
Although a lot of people in the US blame Sarah Palin for her campaign using rifle sights, you can't really blame someone for that, as inappropriate as it might seem especially in hindsight.
When you work with people with a mental illness though sometimes even in the short periods we had to deal with many of them, depending on the illness they can become very focussed on the smallest thing.
So something innocent can become a security threat. One thing I learnt working with the mentally ill was that you started to pick up signs or vibes that would indicate watch out. Those same vibes are what you get when seeing someone up to suspicious activity or about to carryout a crime.
It actually was the best training for security I ever received actually working with the mentally ill. It also taught me something about empathy which government departments could learn or they are likely to trigger episodes such as the one in the US. Because we know for sure they don't have any empathy at present.
Attitudes Toward the Mentally Ill: Research Perspectives (Report of an NIMH Workshop January 24-25, 1980)
So certainly from what I see on the streets there are enough people out there who could carryout actions such as those in the US if under enough stress. It only takes a very small thing to set them off.
I know myself especially from recent experience that dealing with government departmetnts can be frustration enough to upset people. Whilst someone like myself might just keep plugging away at the departments(this blog is good for getting the frustration out & so is giving the odd person or two their pedigree) or at very worst go bush, others will snap & take action.
50 Signs of Mental Illness: A Guide to Understanding Mental Health (Yale University Press Health & Wellness)
The going bush is a good way for those that can to clear their frustrations, just by getting away from society. I once saw someone with PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) where I was living(until this actual day no one knew they had this condition) set off by the smallest bureaucratic type action. We had to endure a sleepless night as they worked themselves into a frenzy(couldn't call for police as they had ripped the phone out or restrain them as it is only when you work with the mentally ill you find out how strong they can be)trying to kick in everyones doors. The Marijuana they had been using didn't help the situation. Totally paranoid.
But by morning they had calmed & we were able to talk to them. They had little memory of the night & thought it was all down to the Marijuana, but that experience at the hospital told me other wise. They then admitted their condition, packed up & went bush for 6 months. Next time I saw them they were acting as a counsillor to others & told us off the drugs. In their view that 6 months out of society was the most cleansing thing they could of done, otherwise they were a ticking time bomb.
It is not for everyone & you need to have the skills to survive.
Broken Glass: A Family's Journey Through Mental Illness
Then again in yesterdays 'Press' is a small clipping in reference to an individual standing outside the IRD(tax department) here in Christchurch with a pistol & was seen to cock it. Ends up it was a pellet gun which the individual thought it was legal to have.
Some simiilar weapons are under New Zealand gun control laws, but standing outside a government department with them is not normal.
From the Judges comments he is a regular in court & the Judge wanted more background information. Which leads me to believe there is a possible mental health issue involved. That or the person in question can't handle the stress of society & so took action that will get him put back in prison. The only thing there is if he isn't put back in prison he may take more drastic action so he is.
Shadow Voices: Finding Hope in Mental Illness
So is it not likely to happen in New Zealand? Yeah right it already has & will again. A firearm just means more people quicker in theory. Recent incidents in China, all involving knife attacks on groups, show it can be just as deadly & quick.
Unbelievable though it may seem comments from the recent shooting in the US people were just lying there waiting their turn to be shot as they froze with fear until one person acted. No reason that same thing would not happen during a knife attack or any other weapon.
New Zealand needs to wake up!
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