A Shot in the Dark
After talking to Ivan A. Lopez and putting him on some medications, Army officials found no indication “that that there was any sign of likely violence, either to himself or to others.” Lopez went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, where he killed three people before taking his own life.
+ In reaction to the shooting, Speaker John Boehner stated that “there’s no question that those with mental health issues should be prevented from owning weapons or being able to purchase weapons.” But where exactly would you draw the line?
+ “I knew in my bones that it would happen to me one day. I didn’t realize I already had it — a deep sadness, not stepping on the cracks, counting polystyrene squares on ceilings in classrooms, trying not to breathe in a way that would be noticed, digging my nails into my fist so hard they left marks and having flashes of thoughts that made me think I was a monster. Nobody would have known. I was bright, funny, good at storytelling and sports; it was not obvious at all to the outside world.” In the NYT, Jenni Fagan shares a very interesting perspective on a topic we don’t like to talk about even though one in four of us experiences it directly.