Nothing speaks of heartbreak more profoundly than a child-sized coffin. But multiply that heartbreak by 19, and we are approaching the level of grief that upended Uvalde, Texas. The Robb Elementary School was the site of America's latest mass shooting. The gunman, a lone teenager, with an AR-15, a military-style assault rifle, killed two teachers and 19 children, aged between 7 and 10.
Even before the shooter's last spent shell casings had hit the ground, speculation about his motives and mental health had begun. Such theorising, however, is unnecessary and distracting. These increasingly frequent mass shootings are related to US gun laws. In many states, owning a gun can be easier than owning a dog, The Economist reported.
Focusing on mental health in the wake of a mass shooting is problematic
According to census data, the US represents 4.4 per cent of the world's population but accounts for more than 30 per cent of the world's mass shootings. The US also ranks number one globally for civilian gun ownership, with 42 per cent of the world's guns in American hands. A study published in the journal Violence and Victims in 2016 established a clear link between the frequency of civilian gun ownership and the rate of mass shootings worldwide. More guns generally equal more mass shootings, even after considering societal levels of violence, for example, homicide rates.
More guns and more mass shootings become a vicious cycle. US gun sales data suggest a significant surge in the purchase of firearms after each mass shooting, with some people keener than ever to protect their families. The increase in gun sales, statistically speaking, makes the next mass shooting even more likely. More guns means more mass shootings.
FBI data confirms this trend, with the annual rate of mass shootings increasing sharply over the past two decades. It is also worth noting that gun-related suicide is more common than gun-related homicide in the US. So tackling the gun problem could be a big win on several fronts.
Despite all the evidence indicting lax gun laws, there will still be those who point the finger at mental health. Certain sections of the media will no doubt publish psychological autopsies on the shooter, with experts attempting to retrofit a plausible diagnosis. Anybody who can kill 19 unarmed, innocent elementary school children and two teachers is, by definition, not in their right mind. However, mental health problems exist everywhere; frequent mass shootings don't.
In some instances, mental health becomes the scapegoat for lax gun laws. In the wake of mass shootings, there is often talk of beefing up mental health laws. For instance, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012, in which 27 people died, Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator, asserted that "Guns don't kill people – the mentally ill do." Such provocative statements are dangerous, ill-founded, and only serve to stigmatise mental health problems. With reference to the Robb Elementary shooting Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, said: "We as a state, we as a society, need to do a better job with mental health."
Society has generally become more accepting of people experiencing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. However, our attitudes towards people with severe and enduring mental health issues, such as psychosis/schizophrenia, have not followed suit.
A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year looked at trends in US public stigma between 1996 and 2018. The authors note that public attitudes towards people diagnosed with schizophrenia have become more negative. For example, people diagnosed with schizophrenia were increasingly stereotyped as being violent. Is this rise in stigma an unintended consequence of mass shootings, and how they are framed by politicians and the media?
The notion that people with mental health problems automatically pose an elevated risk of violence to society is an inaccurate and enduring myth. Only a tiny minority of people with severe mental health problems commit or have the potential to commit violence toward others. Furthermore, identifying such at-risk individuals is, at present, difficult bordering impossible.
George Szmukler, emeritus professor of Psychiatry and Society at King's College London, used sophisticated statistical analysis to predict violence among psychiatric patients. Unfortunately, when the predictive model was used to identify those who were likely to be involved in extreme acts of violence, it was close to useless, getting it wrong 97 times out of 100. This issue of "false positives" has profound implications for civil liberties. For example, how many non-aggressive patients is it acceptable to detain to perhaps prevent one violent incident?
Focusing on mental health in the wake of a mass shooting is a problematic distraction. Advocating for greater control over psychiatric patients might make us feel safer, but we won't be safer. Instead, tighter gun control and the cultivation of more compassionate and caring societies will help reduce the risk of such tragic incidents.
The time for decisive action (reasonable gun control) was in 2012, after child-sized coffins containing the 21 children of Sandy Hook Elementary school were being interred or incinerated. Ten years later feels too late, but late is better than never. I sincerely hope that this time there will be decisive action to reduce the number and type of guns in the hands of civilians in the US.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Manchester United v Liverpool
Premier League, kick off 7.30pm (UAE)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Asia Qualifier
Fixtures
Friday, April 12, Malaysia v UAE
Saturday, April 13, UAE v Nepal
Monday, April 15, UAE v Kuwait
Tuesday, April 16, UAE v Singapore
Thursday, April 18, UAE v Oman
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Aaron Benjamin, Akasha Mohammed, Alishan Sharafu, Anand Kumar, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Rishab Mukherjee, Niel Lobo, Osama Hassan, Vritya Aravind, Wasi Shah
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
MATCH INFO
Leeds United 0
Brighton 1 (Maupay 17')
Man of the match: Ben White (Brighton)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
India cancels school-leaving examinations
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
