Gun violence and the United States.

In 2012, there were several mass shootings.
(the following text was pulled from the following source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/us-mass-shootings-2012/)


Feb. 21: Norcross, Ga.
4 killed, plus shooter
Jeong Soo Paek, 59, a man with a history of violence and who had been asked to leave the family’s spa, returned later in the evening and killed his sisters and their husbands before shooting himself. The gun was purchased legally.


Feb. 27: Chardon, Ohio
3 killed, 2 injured
T.J. Lane, 17, a sophomore at another area school, reportedly walked into the Chardon High School cafeteria and fired 10 shots at four students sitting at a table. Lane has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity; his trial is scheduled for January. Lane reportedly stole the gun from an uncle.

March 8: Pittsburgh
1 killed, plus shooter, 7 injured
A former Duquesne University teaching assistant who had been barred from campus, John Shick, 30, began shooting as he marched through a psychiatric hospital. He was shot dead by police. Police said at least one gun was stolen.

April 2: Oakland
7 killed, 3 injured
Former nursing student One L. Goh, 43, who had dropped out of Oikos University, returned to the school, reportedly pulled an administrator into a nursing classroom, lined up students against the wall and began shooting them. He has pleaded not guilty and awaits trial. Goh purchased the gun legally.

April 6: Tulsa
3 killed, 2 injured
Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 33, are accused of targeting random black men in four locations as they drove around town in an Easter weekend shooting spree. They are awaiting formal arraignment. A handgun is suspected but no weapon has been found.

May 30: Seattle
5 killed, plus shooter, 1 injured
Ian Lee Stawicki, 40, who had a history of mental and behavioral problems, was asked by a barista to leave a coffee shop before he stood up and opened fire. He fled and killed himself as police closed in hours later. The guns were purchased legally and Stawicki had a concealed weapons permit.

July 20: Aurora, Colo.
12 killed, 58 injured
Grad student James Eagan Holmes, 24, reportedly entered a mall theater during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” set off gas canisters and opened fire. He awaits trial and has not entered a plea. Holmes bought the guns legally.

Aug. 5: Oak Creek, Wisc.
6 killed, plus shooter, 3 injured
White supremacist Wade Michael Page, 40, walked into a Sikh temple and opened fire just before Sunday services. Police wounded Page, who then fatally shot himself. The gun was purchased legally.

Aug. 13: College Station, Texas
2 killed, plus shooter, 4 injured
Thomas Caffall III, 35, opened fire on police who approached his house to serve an eviction notice about two blocks from the Texas A&M campus. Police shot the gunman and he died in custody. Police have not publicly stated how Engeldinger acquired the guns.

Sept. 27: Minneapolis
6 killed, plus shooter, 3 injured
As Andrew Engeldinger, 36, was being fired from his job at a sign-making company, he pulled out a gun and shot his two managers, the owner, other employees and a UPS driver as he walked around the building before shooting himself. The gun was purchased legally.

Oct. 21: Brookfield, Wisc.
3 killed, plus shooter, 4 injured
Radcliffe Franklin Haughton, 45, a former Marine whose wife had obtained a restraining order against him three days earlier, entered the suburban Milwaukee spa where she worked and shot her and six other women before killing himself. The restraining order made it illegal for Haughton to buy a gun, but he bought it from a private seller so no background check was required and no waiting period was enforced.

Dec. 11: Happy Valley, Ore.
2 killed, plus shooter, 1 injured
Former gyro shop employee Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, wearing a white hockey mask, opened fire randomly inside a shopping mall. Officials said his gun, reportedly stolen from an acquaintance, jammed during the spree but he killed himself with a final shot. Police said Roberts stole the gun from someone he knew.

Dec. 14: Newtown, Conn.
27 killed, plus shooter, unknown number injured
According to police, Adam Lanza, 20, entered Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, and then himself. Police said that Lanza killed his mother at a secondary crime scene. The guns were legally purchased by Lanza's mother.

Dec. 21: Frankstown Township, Pa.
3 killed, plus shooter, 3 injured
A gunman shot a woman through a church window, a man in a nearby home and the driver of a car he had hit while fleeing. He then hit a police car and was killed in a shootout. Three troopers were injured.

Dec. 24: Webster, Ny
2 Killed, plus shooter, 2 injured

A man with a criminal history shot and killed two West Webster, N.Y. firefighters and seriously injured two others as they responded to a fire at his home.

Yes. It's horrible. Yes, these events all involved fire arms. Yes, they are tragedies.

However, I feel that the bigger tragedy is that people take advantage of the loss of human life to make political statements about gun control. They ignore the actual cost... the end of a mind, and some would say a soul due to the actions of a mentally ill individual and cash in on it in the political arena...

I know, people do this all the time, and I have my personal theories about other tragedies and political agendas, but I won't bore you with those... I will say, instead that these people make me sick.

And let me tell you the reason... Simply put, these gun control and "Let's ban guns" people are wrong. 

Wait... you are saying if it weren't for guns, those people would still be alive?

Right. So... guns are the cause of this violence... that's what you're saying, right? 

WRONG!

I am have asperger's. I have been diagnosed with several issues that involve violent tendencies... I also have firearms. I am proficient with them... VERY proficient with them. I have mixed bipolar and PTSD... I have, in the past, almost committed murder due to situational stress that triggered a hypomanic episode (with mixed bipolar, that is a dangerous situation) and eventually a psychotic break... 

And guess what? Never once have my guns been involved. I didn't even consider it. 

Further, let's take a look at australia... who instituted a gun ban in 2002... 

Guess what? It didn't work. 

In 2006, assault rose 49.2 percent and robbery 6.2 percent. 

Sexual assault -- Australia's equivalent term for rape -- increased 29.9 percent. 

Between 1995 and 2007, Australia saw a 31.9 percent decrease; without a gun ban, America's rate dropped 31.7 percent. 

During the same time period, all other violent crime indices increased in Australia: assault rose 49.2 percent and robbery 6.2 percent. 

Overall, Australia's violent crime rate rose 42.2 percent. 

At the same time, U.S. violent crime decreased 31.8 percent: rape dropped 19.2 percent; robbery decreased 33.2 percent; aggravated assault dropped 32.2 percent. 

Australian women are now raped over three times as often as American women. 

I mean it when I say this: I respect your opinion, but you state it as if it is fact... And since we have proof to the contrary, you may wish to research and revise...

Images in this issue SHAMELESSLY stolen from the following sources:

http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/fatal-shooting-generic.jpg?w=300
http://katscafe.org/files/2012/12/in-times-of-tragedy.jpg
http://bitchspot.jadedragononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/wrong.jpg
https://www.wtsinternational.org/assets/1/7/research_word_in_dictionary_magnified_sepia.jpg

I GOT FEATURED!!!

There is a a site called Nerd Bastards... (www.nerdbastards.com) It's pretty much a geek's paradise. They cover nerd news, geek couture, art, etc... They cover all things nerdy.

Recently, I created a photomanipulation using an image of Doctor Who's Tardis and Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory.

It looks like this.

And today... The Nerd Bastards featured it on their Nerdy Art Dump!

I am OVER THE MOON!!!

Here it is http://nerdbastards.com/2012/12/20/nerd-art-dump-burlesque-princess-leia-the-dixon-brothers-sword-swinging-link-moar/.

I am humbled.

On Sandy Hook, mental health and firearms

Blaming guns for all this violence is like blaming McDonalds for making people fat.

It's the mentality of our culture, not the items that are causing the problems.

We have 50-100 (according to FBI estimates) serial killers operating in this country at any one time. Few, if any, of those use guns.

15k murders in this country last year. 9k with guns. If guns were the issue, we wouldn't have the other 6k murders.

I am not a gun nut, but we need to look at the real issue here. The stigma attached to mental illness and lack of treatment for those people is the real problem and the real cause of the violence in this country. Further, the prison system in the USA doesn't due anything except create BETTER criminals.

The Bean made a suggestion. Title and tag each gun. (I believe this should include ballistics records and a national registry of the ballistics information) Written test. Practical test. Health restrictions. Periodic inspections and renewals. She had other points, but these are the ones I agree with.

HOWEVER - even these won't change the fact that most of the murders in the USA have nothing to do with legally owned guns. Sandy Hook wasn't committed by a legal gun owner. They guns were his mother's, whom he killed first.

He was sick. According to all accounts, Nancy Lanza struggled to get treatment for her son. We blame guns, but it is a system that prevented this mentally ill person from getting the treatment he so desperately needed, as evidenced by the fact that he snapped and killed 26 other people.

Yes, those deaths are a tragedy, but we, as a nation are missing the point... the state of our healthcare system is in a state that leads to these events. Since we can't be bothered to get to the root of the problem, and only focus on the tools, we can expect more of these... and since we are a short sighted country, we will never end it until we (as a whole) decide to fix the problem instead of being distracted by the minutia of the situation.

I think Glenn Close summed it up best when she said, "Yet when it comes to bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress, schizophrenia or depression, an uncharacteristic coyness takes over. We often say nothing. The mentally ill frighten and embarrass us. And so we marginalize the people who most need our acceptance.

What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, more unashamed conversation about illnesses that affect not only individuals, but their families as well. Our society ought to understand that many people with mental illness, given the right treatment, can be full participants in our society."

I used to say, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!" Now I can only say, "I am paying attention, and I am just....disgusted... Get your heads out of your asses, America.

Images in this issue SHAMELESSLY stolen from the following sources:
http://www.thctalk.com/gallery/data/500/medium/scary-ronald-mcdonald.jpg
http://i2.listal.com/image/73439/600full-glenn-close.jpg

Look what I can do!

I was bored and got inspired.

Here it is:

Sandy Hook Elementary... This explains my feelings better than I can.

The text of this article was originally posted here - http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html

Thinking the Unthinkable

Michael holding a butterfly

In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.  

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—“Were there any difficulties with....at what age did your child....were there any problems with...has your child ever experienced...does your child have....”  

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

For days, my son insisted that I was lying—that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map). Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

When I asked my son’s social worker about my options, he said that the only thing I could do was to get Michael charged with a crime. “If he’s back in the system, they’ll create a paper trail,” he said. “That’s the only way you’re ever going to get anything done. No one will pay attention to you unless you’ve got charges.”

I don’t believe my son belongs in jail. The chaotic environment exacerbates Michael’s sensitivity to sensory stimuli and doesn’t deal with the underlying pathology. But it seems like the United States is using prison as the solution of choice for mentally ill people. According to Human Rights Watch, the number of mentally ill inmates in U.S. prisons quadrupled from 2000 to 2006, and it continues to rise—in fact, the rate of inmate mental illness is five times greater (56 percent) than in the non-incarcerated population. (http://www.hrw.org/news/2006/09/05/us-number-mentally-ill-prisons-quadrupled)

With state-run treatment centers and hospitals shuttered, prison is now the last resort for the mentally ill—Rikers Island, the LA County Jail, and Cook County Jail in Illinois housed the nation’s largest treatment centers in 2011 (http://www.npr.org/2011/09/04/140167676/nations-jails-struggle-with-mentally-ill-prisoners)

 No one wants to send a 13-year old genius who loves Harry Potter and his snuggle animal collection to jail. But our society, with its stigma on mental illness and its broken healthcare system, does not provide us with other options. Then another tortured soul shoots up a fast food restaurant. A mall. A kindergarten classroom. And we wring our hands and say, “Something must be done.”

I agree that something must be done. It’s time for a meaningful, nation-wide conversation about mental health. That’s the only way our nation can ever truly heal.

God help me. God help Michael. God help us all. 

twas the week before christmas

Kind of...

It was the 5th annual Film Industry party in New Orleans...

Normally, I don't do parties. I make a couple exceptions every year: Halloween and Christmas. The industry Halloween party is a "come as your favorite dead celebrity" theme. Christmas is just a meet and greet. It's producers, directors, writers and actors.

Last night was the annual industry Christmas party. 

This is how these events feel to me... I am...
awkward... socially, that is. 

I have to say, it was one of the most traumatic events of the year. 

It started out normally. There was a red carpet, photos and interviews. Gene (one of our executive producers and my assistant director) and I plugged our big production (Project Z). I chatted with my friends - Laurie Lee, John Swider, Tony Pallo and others.

As the night continued, people started drinking. 

That is always when it seems to go wrong. When people start drinking. 

I sat down my pack of cigarettes to take my lens cap off and someone snaked them. So, I went over and bummed a cigarette from an actress. She obliged without knowing who I am, which is a nice thing. Often, I have to question people's motives at these events - most of the time, they won't give you the time of day until they hear that you're a director. 

Anyway, I introduced myself. I am not sure when it happened, but it devolved. At sometime between introducing myself and the end of the conversation, the drunk actress tried to hug me. I tried to evade, but failed. I was wearing my backpack/camera bag, so she had a handle to latch on to. She grabbed the strap and pulled me in. Then she wrapped an arm around my neck. 

Normally, I would have been able to side step and avoid it, but I, HONESTLY, was not expecting it. So, she grabbed me by the neck and pulled me off balance. I almost fell over on top of her. (This would have been bad... I am 6'9" and 280 pounds. "squish... just like grape") 

I tried to explain that I did not like being touched by people I didn't know. She insisted, "But, I'm a hugger!"

In the past, I have successfully countered that statement with, "But I am not. I have Asperger's syndrome and this behavior makes me exceptionally uncomfortable." 

She would have none of that. She explained to me in slurred and great detail the fact that all an autistic needed was enough love. Several more times, she tried to hug me again - eventually, her boyfriend restrained her. She broke free once more and grabbed my face like an aunt would at thanksgiving dinner. 

She proceeded to tell me that all I needed was love. That all autistics needed was enough love and we'd all be cured. 

Seriously

That's right. She told me that I had autism because I hadn't been loved enough and that by giving me attention (against my will, no less) was more love and I would be mystically cured. 

I managed to get away from all of that and moved on. 

After I had interviewed Tony Pallo and John Swider for my Vlog (episode here - sorry about the framing), I was working at getting out of there and into my car, and it happened again.

A very pretty young lady (who is rather well known in industry circles), reached out and playfully ran her fingers over my neck. She was behind me, so I spun to face her. She demanded (DEMANDED) that I take her picture. (I ALWAYS have my camera with me at these events. Actually, I had three cameras last night - the Zi6, my gopro one, and my t2i.) So I took it. Then she asked me to ad her and tag her on face book. Instead, I gave her my business card and told her she could email me. There were several more attempts to touch me and pouting because I don't know her name. Honestly, after the sexual assault (yes, it is sexual assault... if a man did it to a woman, he could go to jail), I didn't want to know her name. 

Is our culture that set in exhibitionist sexuality? I mean, honestly? Is it like that? Am I wrong to be offended and put off by people wanting to touch me without my permission. The hugger looked offended when I didn't want to be touched by a bourbon dispensary in a short black dress and the other one seemed to be bothered by the fact that I didn't turn around and try to get into her panties. 

Now, don't get me wrong. Unlike a good many autistic spectrum individuals, I enjoy sex and touching. I LOVE sex. I am actually a bit of a slut... but not in a situation like this. I want to know the person and be comfortable with them. 

So. Why is it wrong, in a social situation, to want to avoid that kind of contact. Why is it alright for them to touch me when I don't want to be touched? Why? 

Images in this issue SHAMELESSLY stolen from the following sources:

http://alaskabibleteacher.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/social_phobia.jpg

http://rlv.zcache.com/staring_at_me_will_not_cure_my_autism_face_card-p137422469810921841envwi_400.jpg

http://socialad.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/social-anxiety.jpg

Look Ma, No Hands! Ep. 18... JIB!!!

Episode 18 is live. We used the funds from our fundraiser to build a new camera jib.