Pointing Fingers: Who is to Blame for the Northern Illinois University Tragedy

In the wake of the Northern Illinois University shooting, the blogosphere, along with every other form of news media, is abound with explanations as to how this sort of tragedy could have happened, again. Finger pointing is a favorite pastime of many fear-full and anxious Americans with the mic turned towards them. The usual suspects have been rounded up; gory video games, poor parenting, violent television and movies, antidepressants, the availability of guns, and the ever-feared evil youth all cited as responsible for the media-sensationalized school shootings during the last couple of decades. So for this week, I decided to explore two blog posts concerning the Stephen Kazmierczak (pictured to the left) NIU shootings and how psychology and its extended fields can play a role in understanding it all. The first article I examined and commented upon was one titled Northern Illinois Shooting: Anti-depressants And Violence, a post on the highly regarded mental health blog Furious Seasons written by Philip Dawdy. The Post examines the relationship between school shooting rampages such as Kazmierczak's and antidepressants. The second article appeared in The Huffington Post, under the title The Moviegoer: School Shootings, Violent Entertainment and Other FunnyGames. This Post was written by James Rocchi, a professional film critic and frequent contributor to multiple television networks and news websites. In his post Rocchi relates the NIU shooting American gun control policy and refutes the cliche attacks on the media. I have commented directly on the two authors' posts as well as a copied version below.

"Northern Illinois Shooting: Anti-depressants And Violence"
Comment:

Thank you writer of Furious Seasons for your intelligent and informed post.

It is clear that you, along with many other reporters, have elucidated an issue that clearly needs to be looked into further. Based on accounts made by yourself along with advocates such as the founder of ssristories.com, there clearly is a relationship between antidepressants and violence. But that correlation can not be considered a direct or causal relationship. The media's typically hysterical search for someone or something to blame, in the case of the NIU shooting, has lead to citing a rather weak correlation and not causation between antidepressants and violence (weak considering what behaviors or conditions one can more readily correlate with violence) that only sponsors fear of a good product.

SSRI's among other modern treatments for depression and anxiety provide a great deal of relief to the 15 million Americans that are treated by them, and it is not fair nor ethical to instill in them the lingering fear that their medication might incite in them a homicidal rampage. Years of clinical trials by pharmaceutical companies themselves, the FDA, NIMH, APA, and unbiased researchers have led to these drugs that clearly do more to alleviate debilitating psychological conditions than aggravate side effects. Your statement that improper use of antidepressants may be a "recipe for bad things" is entirely valid, and withdrawal from almost any drug can be dangerous, but to go from symptoms of agitation and unpredictability as quoted by Dr. Garland to linking the medications to murderous sprees seems irresponsible. I entirely agree that improper use and withdrawal from antidepressants needs more research, but pointing a condemning finger at the medication that was more likely keeping Kazmierczak's violent capabilities at bay, only creates unnecessary fear.

Furthermore, it is definitely not a "chicken-and-egg" relationship, as described in the New York Times article you cited; violence obviously preceded the advent of antidepressants. It is much more likely for an un-medicated individual with depression or anxiety to hurt themselves or others than a medicated one. As long as we are talking about correlation, studies have shown that as more antidepressants are prescribed, suicide rates go down. And that during the period between 1992 and 2006, in which SSRI prescriptions more than doubled, school-related violent crime has actually declined.

"The Moviegoer: School Shootings, Violent Entertainment and Other FunnyGames"
Comment:

Dear Mr. Rocchi

Thank you for your concise but comprehensive argument against our the constant condemnation of our "culture of violence". Considering that you did not grow up in the United States also gives you an important point of view on the exhausted topic of blaming all of our problems on the media and culture. You make a very valid point that American films are enjoyed equally across the globe, yet the alleged violence that they incite in viewers is not equally shared. It is true, our gun control policies along with inadequacies in the mental health system are to blame. But the NRA lobbyists and firearm supporters have too much of a stronghold in our policy making. Defenders of vague Second Amendment Constitutional rights allow guns to be bought and sold too easily, letting them fall into the hands of the mentally ill. The most recent case of this being the NIU tragedy. With such high rates of suicide among those diagnosed with depression, should a retailer be allowed to sell three handguns and a shotgun to an individual with such afflictions as Kazmierczak. Background checks have loopholes and basically anyone can bypass laws that restrict who can buy firearms through gun shows. The NIU shooting is especially scary because by most accounts, prior to February 14th, Kazmierczak did not show any outward signs of his impending violence. Considering that depression is a highly fatal illness combined with the danger that Kazmierczak went off his medication three weeks earlier, his psychiatrist could have taken precautions to avoid guns falling into his hands if we had better system in place. As you said, "we need better mental health funding in this country, so that the cracks people slip through are smaller." The Tarasoff warning is already in place, which makes it the duty of mental health professionals to protect and warn individuals in danger due to threats or the condition of their patient. Shouldn't we allow them to suggest to the authorities that maybe their patient should have his gun rights at least temporarily removed. You are entirely just in assuming that if Kazmierczak did not have such easy access to firearms, his violent episode might not have been nearly as tragic. It seems that the aggression and violence that results from mental illness is characterized by a lack of control of impulses, and clearly the personal firearm is a far-too-deadly and impulsive weapon to be allowed in the hands of those with a characteristic lack of control. Psychology should have a lot more to say about gun control.