addressing motivation

last summer, I think, some guy who was supposedly a budding terrorist almost did something really bad in pioneer square. maybe a bomb? possibly some sort of planned shoot out. at any rate, the law stopped him and it was an opportunity for people who are at that event to talk about how they were saved from absolute destruction in the hands of a madmen and their children were there and oh my lord think about the children.

all I could think was. man. this guy was not a very good terrorist if he couldn't find a way to threaten and hurt people in a largely open square with at least 7 entry and exit routes. if he couldn't find a way to get ahold of a bunch of guns or explosives without alerting the authorities. well, he just didn't want it that bad.

it just isn't that hard to accomplish a goal like that if you are a little bit savvy and truly have the motivation.

infact, some graduate student accomplished it with amazing success last week in a bat man movie. tragic, awful, grotesque, confusing. we don't need to go into that.

and yes, I understand, very high odds this guy isn't a terrorist. who knows what his motivation was. he might just be a violent sociopath. there are, as they say, bad apples.

and when it comes down to it, when they can't figure out what this guys motivation was some will say it was because we are faithless society and some will lobby for mental health screenings and some will look at gun control

all worth examining but besides my point.  I just come back to this: some, very specific weirdos will prove to us, time and again, that killing one or many people is an easily accomplished goal

so the real trick is to make as few human beings as possibly want to accomplish this goal by finding avenues for expression outside of violence.
it makes me sad to see our society so desperately trying to seek out signs of violence and and so intensely controlling the tools when it could put those funds towards addressing a variety of elements that make people far less crazy then our would be joker want to take down a room of people: poverty, inequity, famine, pain, sickness. in short. desperation.

when people get angry at authority and the man they aren't saying they approve of terrorist or hate safety. they are questioning a society who that allows too many to feel too desperate and investsefforts in removing tools from those on the edge instead of pulling them off.