Orlando: Where was the prevention?
The killing of 50 people occurred in Orlando Florida last week and another 50 were shot but not to death. The media and the political class are discussing whether or not it is important to be saying "Islamic Jihad" or "Muslim fundamentalism"; banning, excluding or spying on more Muslims; having guns be more or less available, why the FBI did not know or do more; whether the person who did the violence hated seeing men kissing men, or was gay; which presidential candidate is more liked by the LGBT community; and also whether we should bomb more. We are also discussing whether the President or Congress has done enough; questioning presidential, congressional and other's motives, as well as the actions and words of a gun lobby group and its effect on government function. Also in the mix are who is to blame for the beginning and escalation of violence in Iraq, Syria and now in about a dozen other countries, and (did I say this?) whether we should bomb more. (I'm just wondering does violence cause more violence . . . ?)
Further the FBI apparently tracked and followed the shooter several years before the Orlando shootings - probably for months at a time - - and they were doing what? Following him? Seeing if he is bad? Trying to catch him being bad? Yet this young boy and young man had an absolutely full life history of confusion, acting out, and serious social and behavioral problems going all the way back to early school days - as well as violence at home, with spouses, and serious workplace social and behavioral problems - and was anybody anywhere trying to help him at all?
Dozens of scientific studies have shown that violence is just a behavior - and a contagious health behavior, and one that occurs among highly socially discriminated against and marginalized persons - and that there are warning signs - and that it is preventable through interruption and behavioral methods. Further hundreds of research studies in dozens to over a hundred countries have shown that the health and public health sectors have extraordinary expertise in both detecting rare events and preventing the spread of many contagious processes - as well as in changing behaviors, social expectations and norms including among otherwise thought to be marginalized subgroups of society - from the poor to the mentally ill to ethnic minorities and persons doing violence. Further the public health sector regularly works with these communities with trust access and care - but without fanfare keeping all types of dangerous, risky, unhealthy and unsafe behaviors at bay.
Where is the health discussion of this person? Where is the health discussion in this story? Where is the health and public health sector in this community? In the work of preventing these events?
In public health, we don't follow someone who we think might come down with a disease which can cause a serious problem to the health and safety of the community (think tuberculosis), and then "catch him" and produce a press conference surrounded by officials in professional uniform. We look for early signs through epidemiologic and health informed methods of assessments of risk and need, and immediately begin helpful measures to treat people and reverse processes - and ensure they are working, so that the diseases and public health problems do not progress, so events that cause damage to the health and safety of the pubic do not occur, so there is no case, so that there are no deaths and that there is no further contagion or spread.
Where is the public health system in this work of preventing mass shootings? (And in this story?)
