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Another shooting in another educational institute in America and everyone wrings their hands in horror, crying: "Something must be done." The problem is, what should be done and how can it be implemented? It is too easy to blame the ready access to guns in America despite recent moves to tighten up procedures and despite the National Rifle Association's claim that "guns don't kill people, people kill people". But without getting into the semantics of the NRA's argument, it is nonetheless worrying that students can and do decide to kill or seriously injure their professors and classmates.
"Something must be done" - but what? In this latest case at a university near Chicago, there were no early indications of any violent nature. To the contrary, the killer was seen as a model student, interested in social welfare, with particular emphasis on the adjustment into society of freed prisoners. Hence the extreme shock of his teachers, friends and family.
It does little good to blame society in general, because the majority is made up of honest law-abiding citizens. Law enforcement officers, psychologists, psychiatrists and educationalists have no definitive answer that will resolve these spasmodic random shootings. All they do is wring their hands and say: "Something must be done."
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