Gun Control: A
Social Worker’s Perspective
The
issue of gun control has been an on-going situation over the years, but has
gained increased attention due to recent events. Over the past few weeks there has been much
attention given to tougher laws, increased mental health screenings and
increased security. I want to take time
to address the complicated issue of gun control from one social worker’s
perspective and take the discussion on this issue in perhaps a different
direction than where it has been going so far.
I
want to point out a myth that this debate has brought out. A myth that has come out is that mass murders
are committed by seriously mentally ill people.
In an article by Michael
B. Friedman that appeared in the January 17, 2013 edition of the
Huffington Post, Friedman points out that people with mental illness are not
likely to be violent and that acts of mass murder are carried out by some who
are mentally ill, but these types of acts are also likely to be carried out by
those who are not mentally ill. This is
an important point to make because there have been calls for increased
attention to those with mental illness.
Does this mean that people who have identified themselves as having
issues with mental health have limited rights?
I am not talking about the right for a person with mental health issues
to own a gun, but rather are persons with mental health issues going to be
labeled violent and have their access limited to the community at large? This is a question that remains to be
addressed in the debate.
Aside from the issue of mental health and gun use, I want to bring out
a deeper discussion of why people may choose to use violence to deal with some
situations. I have pondered this for
some time and have wondered how much the role of shame has played in a person’s
choice to use violence over other options.
First, I need to define a key difference between shame and guilt. The word shame is defined per the Social Work
Dictionary 5th edition (Baker 2003) as:
A painful feeling of having
disgraced or dishonored oneself or those one cares about because of an
intentional act, involuntary behavior or circumstance.
Guilt is defined per the Social Work Dictionary 5th edition (Baker
2003) as: An emotional reaction to
the perceptions of having done something wrong, having failed to do something
or violating important social norms.
When you look at these two definitions there is an important difference
between the two states. Guilt is an
emotional reaction to violating social norms and to put it simply says “I did
something bad.” Shame on the other hand
is a much deeper feeling in which a person internalizes feelings of negative
self worth. Basically, shame says “I am
a bad person.”
When I look at the incidents of mass violence and violence in general,
I have wondered if the person or persons committing the violence have
experienced shame in some way. My point
is that if shame is left unattended and not dealt with, that a person may
choose to use violence to deal with the feeling of being wronged or slighted by
others. This choice may not be used for
a few incidents, but over time if a person experiences many incidents of being
wronged either by others, systems or even by themselves they may feel the only
way around these intense feelings is to hurt others to feel vindicated. The other issue that is related to shame is
power or the lack of it. When a person
lacks the power to make changes to deal with the shame they have experienced
they may choose violence as a way to achieve power.
For me the issue of gun control is more than banning guns or not, it is
more about looking at why people choose to use violence in the first place. I believe that when the underlying issues of
violence are addressed, you may see a reduction in all violence in
general. I also believe that when a
person is given the chance to be heard and they are able to get their story
out, it goes a long way to reducing the feelings of shame and guilt that if
left unchecked can lead to violence.
Brené Brown, Ph.D. has done some excellent work on vulnerability and
work on shame. I have included a link to
her work on shame. She addresses the
issue of how shame impacts our lives.
She has focused her work on listening to people’s stories and learning
about what pain they have been through as well as what people have done to deal
with these intense feelings. The link is
below.
When you get to the site, please click on the “listening to shame”
video.
I have stated this in a previous post on new path notes that I believe
it is very important for people of all ages to have a safe place and a safe
person in which to share their hurts. I
believe if a person is truly heard the feelings of shame and hurt can be
reduced. I am speaking of all violence
types not just those involving guns.
When people start to deal with the feelings that are behind the
violence, violence can be reduced. When
people are given the chance to be heard they begin to heal.
Please remember that there are people out there willing to listen to what is going on in your life. All you need to is start asking people to listen. I wish the best to you all!!
© 2013 Mike Arieta MSW, LICSW, LMSW
