Marcus Brown
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The latest in what can only be described as an epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S occurred in Roseburg, Oregon, at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1. The tragedy that left nine dead was carried out by Chris Harper-Mercer, a student at the community college.

A timeline made by investigators of the shooting indicate that “the first 911 call about Thursday’s shooting came at 10:38 a.m.” and “10:46 a.m., the officers exchanged gunfire with Harper-Mercer.” Harper-Mercer killed himself during the confrontation approximately two minutes later. That is 10 minutes. In approximately 10 minutes, 10 lives, including the gunman’s, were lost, and the conversation about the prevalence of mass shootings was brought back to the forefront of the nation’s minds.

There has been speculation on the motives of the killer given recounts of the shooting made by survivors indicating that religion may have played a factor in the shooting. The gunman allegedly  their religion before killing them, but regardless of the answers given, the killing continued. When reading coverage of these atrocities we look for motives, manifestos, history of mental illness, etc., in an attempt to ground these horrors in something rational or explainable. More than anything we want to be able to somehow reconcile these despicable acts with our perception of the world, and even if we cannot understand the mind of the shooter, perhaps it would be enough to at least be able to understand how such acts of violence can exist within our reality.

Some argue that there are too many guns, and some argue that there aren’t enough, but that isn’t what this conversation is contingent on. The problem is far too pervasive and frequent to be addressed by simply controlling the amount of firearms made available to the public. To put the frequency of mass shootings in perspective according to ShootingTracker.com “a Sunday to Saturday has not passed without a mass shooting incident,” in President Obama’s second term. The issue is not the guns because the number of firearms implemented varies drastically in each incident, although it is hard to see how reducing the amount of firearms potential shooters can acquire would make the problem worse. The problem is that a mentality that justifies individuals airing their grievance with society by indiscriminately murdering people has become the new status quo.

The population has not even had time to finish mourning the tragedy in Oregon, and yet four students have just recently been arrested at a high school in Tuolumne, California, for planning a mass shooting that was to be carried at a campus event. These acts of violence cannot be connected by location or motives, and are unified only by one common factor. This factor is a complete and utter disregard for humanity within a society that has unwittingly perpetuated that mentality. These tragedies are used to argue political platforms and push agendas all the while failing to implement realistic change. The tragedy gradually fades from our mind briefly only to return upon hearing news of the latest, and then we scramble back through our talking points only to realize that for the umpteenth time they are falling on deaf ears. The guns are not accountable for these senselessness and unnecessary losses of life. We are accountable, and we are failing each other.