In the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, questions concerning gun control in not only America, but Australia and the rest of the world have once again been raised. Yet the real question that needs to be asked is not regarding gun control, rather who is behind this weapon of devastating effectiveness.
There seems to be a remarkable trend of those behind these massacres having a history of mental illness, but once again this issue has not been raised.
Mental illness affects a magnitude of people, and does not discriminate between race or any social classes or structures. Mental illness can range from depression, bi-polar disorder to extreme bouts of schizophrenia. Yet this sad and sometimes deadly topic is sans spoken about.
President Obama has made recent reforms to the U.S. budget, allocating the same amount of funding towards mental health than that towards clinical healthcare, which is a welcome adjustment.
One of the major talking points in Australian politics (when they actually talk about policies and are not slinging mud at each other) is reforms towards mental health, but we are still yet to see major advances in funding and research towards this issue.
However..
The real issue that lies within mental health on a global scale is people’s unwillingness to speak about it. Those who suffer from it, those who know someone who suffers from it, and even those who have only read up or heard about mental health issues do not wish to speak about the effects of it, almost as if it was taboo.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was appalling and absolutely unforgiveable, but a boy like this should never have been allowed to gain access to weapons.
If there is anything to be gained from this, it’s that there’s never been a better time to raise the issue of mental health on a global scale.
