Not Due to Climate Change: The Tammy Meyers Shooting

I rarely follow the latest media hyped (white) killing of the week, but I have found the shooting of  Tammy Meyers  to be a fascinating reflection of Americana.

First, it is a great example of something that really isn't what it appeared to be, and then it is an even better example of Thinking Fast, and not Slow. It seems that almost everyone involved did a lot of reacting and very little planning.  No one seemed to be thinking about probable outcomes.

Reality TV could not do a better job of highlighting the craziness in the current culture.  Guns and drugs in family life.

I have been doing a lot of reading about new discoveries which describe how our brains work. Our brains are marvelously complex products of evolution that can do amazing things. One of those things is the brain's ability to synthesize a huge amount of information very quickly.  However, it has been shown in many of these studies that in order to gain speed, the brain sacrifices accuracy.  We all do it, all the time.  In order to protect us, our brains rush to form an idea of what is going on, and based on that idea, we respond, usually quickly and emotionally. We have evolved to do that, so that we can catch food to eat, instead of being caught and eaten.

The downside of this, and I am paraphrasing one of the scientists, I think it was Dr. Michael Gazzaniga ( but maybe someone else) who said that humans are the only creature we know of who can make up a story, and then get themselves to believe it. But in many ways, that is what we all do, every day.  However, some people's stories offer a better picture of reality than others.

I fear that one of the stories that is common in the mind of some, certainly a minority, but still many, gun owners, is that guns really make them safer, and also that they are better shots than whomever their adversary may turn our to be.  

But in today's complex world, we don't need guns to catch food. They are only helpful in specific, structured situations, such as hunting seasons in the woods.  Taking a gun and going out to find the bad guys usually proves to be problematic. Adding drugs to the mix doesn't help either.  

The foolish, confusing, and truly tragic death of Tammy Meyers is an example of everyone involved getting caught up in their own story; stories that were believed too quickly; with no real consideration of what might happen next. And unlike the video game this resembles, there is no reset button.

too many like him

I have been back at work a while.

A mother called and told me her son wanted to see me.  He said he was ready to talk and wanted to change.  The young man was 23.  he was good looking, strong, and had a job that expected regular attendance, strong physical effort, and  good customer relations,  He was more than able to do that, and he said his company thought he was excellent.

The only trouble was that he was still living at home and was spending most of his money on Oxys and Perc 30s.  He said he felt better when he was high.  His job was boring; his life was boring and getting high made everything easier to take.  Except that he was broke.

He also realized that he was blowing out his brain cells.

But he really could come up with no alternative.  He a quit the pills a couple times, but got bored and a bit depressed and had gone back to them.  He said he hung out with six or ten other guys just like him, except half of them didn't have jobs any more.

He didn't like school.  He hadn't put the effort in and didn't think he could now.  He had been in a couple of relationships but the women didn't really think his being high so often was that attractive.  He understood that.  He didn't see any way that he could really get a good enough job in this economy that would allow him to really live independently.  His father had worked hard for thirty years or so, had a haeart attack and now was disabled and couldn't do much of anything.  His mother was still working but she thought she was about to be laid-off.

Why bother?

I offered him a way to figure out the answer to that question.  Although he was certainly a polite kid, and seemed to have real insight into his condition, he declined.  He did say he would consider taking Suboxone, if that would help him cut down on the pills.  I think he was hoping that his insurance would pay for the Suboxone.

America's future is it's youth!