SHELLY HANSEN, West Richland
How can we as a nation respond to the random shootings occurring in our beloved free country? Often the shooters commit suicide, so we are unable to ask "why?!" As a society, we want tangible things we can do to prevent these murders of innocents we love. Something we are doing right is reaching out to include and engage as many kids, students, family members, co-workers we can ... our group and individual efforts are making a difference.
We do have a virtual culture of violence. Can we make a shift away from violent video games and media? We have widespread access to guns. Do we have widespread access to mental health services? What about this idea: let's take on this topic with a public awareness campaign. Just like with drunk driving, we can create a cultural message and start teaching our kids: If you need to take a life, take just one: your own. Suicide, not murder. Just say no to guns pointed at anyone but yourself.
In the meantime, I'd like to ask PNNL to start developing a cellphone defense mechanism that would create a bullet-proof barrier along with a detachable taser so we can defend ourselves against senseless murderers.
