Violence is never the answer.

I’m left a little shocked at the events in Colorado this week. We’ve had several mass shootings around the country recently, starting with the one in Atlanta. I could join many others in their battles against gun violence, yet I want to step back and ask a simple question:

Why are so many men driven to extreme violence?

Mental health certainly plays a part, however there’s got to be something more. If it’s not guns, it’s planes, if not planes, cars, if not a vehicle perhaps bare hands. The instinct to kill for some of these men is not going to stop if we just take away all the weapons. 

It would absolutely help to limit access to weapons, yes. However this violence feels like an epidemic that’s being misdiagnosed. 

I’d go out on a limb here and say that it’s got something to do with what we’ve been talking about lately here on the show—damage done to us as young boys. It’s chilling to me that these violent men all seem to have something festering inside that drives them to take deliberate action to spread that pain to others.

It’s an enormous problem. Let’s try to see if we can get to the heart of it.

In this episode you’ll learn about…

• 7 mass shootings in 7 days. (0:57)
• Men and their wounded child. (3:52)
• Men and their need to feel of worth. (7:39)
• Violence and significance. (12:39)
• Do the work of healing and integration. (15:24)
• Thoughts and prayers to the victim’s families. (18:34)

Listen to the episode

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