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Are ‘senseless acts’ of violence really that senseless?
A preliminary typology of mass shootings
Gun violence has become a central issue in American politics, and will no doubt continue to be in the run-up to the 2020 elections. In the past year alone, mass shootings in Odessa and Midland, Texas, in Dayton, Ohio, in El Paso, Texas, and in Virginia Beach have shocked the public, reigniting debates about how to solve this growing problem.
Democrats advocate for gun regulation policies ranging from background checks and bans to buy-back programs, believing that gun access is a key factor in the rise of mass shootings. Republicans perceive most of these proposed regulations as overbearing and instead argue that mental health is a more worthwhile consideration.
But despite these two proposed solutions, when it comes to the question of why mass shootings happen, both sides seem content to just say that they’re senseless: that there isn’t some underlying reason or motivation worth investigating. This is especially true for attacks that target random people, serving no apparent personal, political, or ideological goals.
This mindset is an avoidant one: it postpones a much-needed discussion about mass shootings in favor of politically-expedient talking points (the success of the March For Our Lives movement…
