Disrupting patterns of male violence
Common sense gun laws are only part of the solution
As details emerge about the shooter who took three lives and critically injured five others at Michigan State last night, a few stand out as tragically typical:
age 43, still living at home, no mention of employment in news reports
note in his pocket threatening violence at two New Jersey schools
shooting guns in the backyard of his father’s house
lying about owning a gun despite shell casings lying in the yard
walking to store, carried gun without concealed carry permit (June 2019)
prior arrest for having a loaded gun in the car (Oct 2019)
successfully completed probation, no positive drug tests
history of mental health issues
(update) history of trauma in 2020 when his mother passed; they were very close according to his father and sister.
The details will be inspected, but we already know the story. Young women are taking their hurt, humiliation, and self-doubt out on themselves. Young men externalize, taking it out on society, often at a place where the trauma all began. We know enough to do something different, to change course. Gun laws are only part of it. The rest is situated on campus, and within communities. A solution is already in place…it just needs to be scaled. Now.
Stitching the fragments of this story arc is not hard. McRae unsubbed from society long ago due to some school-related insult, exclusion, or humiliation. Maybe he was bullied due to his short stature (said to be 5’4”). Maybe he dropped out. In 2019, he was walking to a store to buy cigarettes when he admitted to police that he was carrying a gun (without a concealed carry permit) because he “feared for his safety.” Maybe he didn’t have a driver’s license? He was also on foot last night when he lashed out in rage on the eve of a holiday celebrating connectedness. Was he taking revenge on young people enjoying a connection to school that he had apparently been denied back in New Jersey?
As the MSU Spartans pledge to come together as a community to heal, it is also time to think about bold moves which reach out beyond the campus to those who feel marginalized, invisible, useless, and humiliated.
The CDC just released a report sharing data indicating that young women are “engulfed in trauma.” The data—based on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey—reveal that girls are facing increased levels of sexual violence and attempted suicide. Boys are dealing with digital bullying.
Health ed may be doing some good—reductions were seen in high-risk health behaviors, such number of sexual partners and substance use—but concerning trends include students not feeling safe at school, sexual violence, and lack of connectedness among nearly 4 in 10 high school students.
“School connectedness, defined in this report as feeling close to people at school, has a long-lasting, protective impact for adolescents well into adulthood on almost all the behaviors and experiences included in this report.”
There is a solution. One that is more tangible than “thoughts and prayers” and appeals to supporters regardless of political affiliation and beliefs. The non-profit Communities in Schools, founded by Bill Milliken, places case managers in middle and high schools who can build relationships with students throughout their time in the school building. These case managers extend the reach of teachers who must get to know a new cohort each year. They know the living situation of the students, their dating status, favorite sports, providing the glue keeping the student in school and on track.
The troubled kids who are often flying under the radar of over-burdened school counselors are identified by CIS staff, who connect them and their families with needed resources. Teachers and administrators in CIS schools turn down opportunities in other schools that do not have CIS, even giving up more pay or shorter commutes. Behavioral issues are vastly reduced in CIS schools and teachers can focus on teaching. I (Michele) have visited CIS sites and met graduates of CIS schools and can attest to the fact the model works. And I (Prunella) have met CIS case managers and discussed their experiences returning to in-person school after the mask mandates dropped.
Founder Milliken knows how important relationships are. He had a difficult experience in high school himself which he shared on BARR podcast Most Likely to Change the World. One day he was asked to read in front of the class. He finished the passage and the teacher asked him something about what he had read. Milliken could not remember, and he felt ridiculed by the teacher’s astonishment. He dropped out of school, and began hanging out at a Pittsburgh pool hall where he met a man who worked for Young Life as a counselor. They eventually became friends and he felt seen, appreciated for his ability to forge relationships on the basketball court. The counselor noticed that the other players tended to follow Bill’s lead and told him that he was a natural leader. Nobody had ever told him what he was good at.
This observation gave Milliken the desire to help other kids live a better life. He eventually founded “storefront schools” and tenement homes where kids without a stable living environment could shelter. After accumulating experience and successes in New York City, Milliken was asked to present his work at state meetings, conferences, and schools. His message is simple: it’s all about hanging out, being available, listening, building a relationship, and believing in kids.
While McRae was on probation, would this not have been a good time to assign a coach or counselor to him? Get to know him, his passions, frustrations, past humiliations, resentments and traumas? From there begin working toward job training, developing a sense of purpose and place? In the meantime, law enforcement surely knew he had a record in two New Jersey towns. We will learn more in the coming days, but the current news reports suggest the note in his pocket was not altogether surprising. Given this record of previous school-related frustrations in another state and carrying a loaded firearm, it would make sense to put him on a watch list.
This “watch list” sounds unnervingly like a police state, but for how much longer are we going to talk about “red flags” that will surely be found in a shooter’s online interactions? Common sense gun laws may not have kept a gun out of McRae’s hands, but coaches, counselors and community might have kept him from becoming so angry on Valentine’s Eve that he lashed out in rage at the society from which he felt marginalized and excluded.
Check the list of Communities in Schools affiliates, see if there is one in your area. Write to your Superintendent, your School Board, and your state legislators.
Raised with guns in house, always at least one each of pistol, rifle, shotgun. Qualified with several weapons in Navy. Haven’t touched a gun since 1953 and feel no need for owning weapon.