According to a recent blog post by Bobby Jindal, mass shootings have a number of causes, all centering in what he calls cultural decay: absent fathers, abortion, movies, and video games. With references to God’s law, common decency, political correctness, and young boys who “will never become real men” because of a lack of truth in their lives, Jindal offers a baker’s dozen of bullet points that he believes need repair in order to put an end to the killing.
Jindal opens by warning readers that what follows “will be a sermon,” then proceeds to declare that the real reasons behind mass shootings are things that politicians refuse to discuss (such as abortion, apparently).
He begins to list them, and though some of his 13 bullet points are a bit redundant, they can be condensed to the following:
- Media: movies, video games, and music that glorify killing and death.
- Lack of regard for sanctity of life; abortion.
- Lack of father figures.
In multiple bullets, Jindal addresses video games, music, and movies, which he says have centered “for at least a generation” on glorifying death, murder, and lack of respect for human life. Taking a detour to swipe at programs that are intended to protect schoolkids, he throws out the following.
“Oh, we make sure that we stop them from bullying at school, but we are completely fine with them watching people get murdered and raped on the internet after school, and we are willing to let them go to the basement and join a fantasy world where they pretend they are killing people for 2 hours after school.”
As for abortion, that is, of course, a key talking point for all presidential candidates at the moment, as the controversy continues over the Planned Parenthood videos and threats by some politicians to shut down the government over funding of the organization.
However, other than declaring a lack of value for the sanctity of life, Jindal doesn’t go into further detail about how he believes abortion and mass shootings are connected. He also offers no explanation for his assertion that there is a lack of care for elderly lives, though that could perhaps be linked to long-debunked (Snopes covers this here ) claims of death panels and ethics boards connected to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
Lack of father figures is a particular key point for the Republican presidential hopeful. It conveniently ties in to the GOP “family values” talking point, and allows for the attack on males who aren’t “real men.” He declares that most of these mass shootings are carried out by individuals who either have no father figure in their lives, or who have a poor relationship with their fathers.
In fact, the most recent mass murder to make major headlines is directly connected to this point, in Jindal’s view.
In his final four bullet points, Bobby Jindal focuses on the recent mass shooting in Oregon, declaring that the shooter’s father, who “..is now lecturing us on the need for gun control.” Turning the narrative around, Jindal points out that the father said he hadn’t spoken with his son in a while, and that he didn’t know his son owned guns.
“Why didn’t he know? Because he failed to raise his son. He should be ashamed of himself, and he owes us all an apology.”
Without going as far as stating directly that Christopher Harper-Mercer’s dad was responsible for the murders, Jindal firmly implied it, demanding an apology from the man.
Bobby Jindal’s declaration on the causes of mass shootings is getting largely negative feedback, with tweets from followers who say that the real “cultural rot” is rooted in bigotry, racism, the gun lobby, and low availability of medical care, including mental health care, for Americans living below the poverty line.
[Photos by: Steve Pope/Getty Images, Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images, Bobby Jindal (Twitter screenshot)]