peasant on Nostr: Not what I usually post about, but it's been on my mind, so I'm going to share it. ...
Not what I usually post about, but it's been on my mind, so I'm going to share it.
The dreadful events of Nashville reminded me of Dunblane, the UK's worst school shooting in March 1996 in Scotland, in which a man named Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, then himself. Hamilton had legally-held firearms, and the Dunblane shooting was used to justify a major tightening of UK firearms law, including banning all pistols.
But there is much that is still unresolved about the case. Hamilton was a leader of several youth clubs, including the local boy scouts, and his interests were not wholesome: there were multiple (at least ten) complaints made to police about his inappropriate sexual behaviour towards the boys. The Scout Commissioner for the area took these seriously enough to expel Hamilton from his leadership position, and the police child protection unit recommended revoking Hamilton's gun licence, but no action was taken. Even when local shooting clubs expressed reservations, the local Chief Constable didn't investigate or revoke Hamilton's firearms certificate.
Why? Credible rumours have circulated since the time of the shooting that Hamilton and the local Chief Constable were members of the same paedophile ring. This was lent further credence by the fact that the investigating judge very unusually sealed the case files for 100 years (some files were released in 2005, but not all). Allegedly this was to 'protect the victims' families'.
Hamilton apparently harboured grievances against boys and teachers who complained about him. But family conditions were also a factor: Hamilton never knew his father and was brought up by his mother's adoptive parents, believing they were his biological parents. He originally thought his biological mother was his older sister. The headfuck of discovering the truth can only be imagined.
Why am I relating this? It is clear to me that a lack of transparency can be corrosive: secrecy within Hamilton's family must have been a huge factor in making him mentally disturbed. Secrecy within the police was, quite possibly, another enabling factor (though we won't find out for at least another 73 years). It is also clear to me that governments will exploit any event for the acquisition of more powers over its citizens, often as a diversion from the failings - or criminality - within their own public bodies.
Remember this.
The dreadful events of Nashville reminded me of Dunblane, the UK's worst school shooting in March 1996 in Scotland, in which a man named Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pupils and one teacher, then himself. Hamilton had legally-held firearms, and the Dunblane shooting was used to justify a major tightening of UK firearms law, including banning all pistols.
But there is much that is still unresolved about the case. Hamilton was a leader of several youth clubs, including the local boy scouts, and his interests were not wholesome: there were multiple (at least ten) complaints made to police about his inappropriate sexual behaviour towards the boys. The Scout Commissioner for the area took these seriously enough to expel Hamilton from his leadership position, and the police child protection unit recommended revoking Hamilton's gun licence, but no action was taken. Even when local shooting clubs expressed reservations, the local Chief Constable didn't investigate or revoke Hamilton's firearms certificate.
Why? Credible rumours have circulated since the time of the shooting that Hamilton and the local Chief Constable were members of the same paedophile ring. This was lent further credence by the fact that the investigating judge very unusually sealed the case files for 100 years (some files were released in 2005, but not all). Allegedly this was to 'protect the victims' families'.
Hamilton apparently harboured grievances against boys and teachers who complained about him. But family conditions were also a factor: Hamilton never knew his father and was brought up by his mother's adoptive parents, believing they were his biological parents. He originally thought his biological mother was his older sister. The headfuck of discovering the truth can only be imagined.
Why am I relating this? It is clear to me that a lack of transparency can be corrosive: secrecy within Hamilton's family must have been a huge factor in making him mentally disturbed. Secrecy within the police was, quite possibly, another enabling factor (though we won't find out for at least another 73 years). It is also clear to me that governments will exploit any event for the acquisition of more powers over its citizens, often as a diversion from the failings - or criminality - within their own public bodies.
Remember this.