Rantz: Why aren’t we blaming the shooter?

It seems weird that I have to ask this but why aren’t we blaming Nikolas Cruz for murdering 17 innocent people in Parkland, Florida? At least more than we seem to. I’ve been watching and reading a lot of the coverage and, missing from the conversation, in large part, is blame for the individual who made the choice to arm himself with a weapon to abuse.

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I’ve seen plenty of attacks on the NRA. It’s been called a terrorist organization (it is not). Its members are said to have blood on their hands (they do not). Their spokesman heckled as a murderer (she is not). I’ve seen the AR-15 get called the weapon of choice for bad guys (it is not).

Cruz terrorized students and staff. He had literal blood on his hand and is the actual murderer.

I’ve seen Sen. Marco Rubio get called out for not supporting past gun control measures that wouldn’t have prevented the shooting. I’ve seen President Trump get called out for inaction. I’ve seen Republicans basically being called monsters after the shooting.

Cruz broke the law. He is the monster.

So why don’t we see much criticism of Cruz?

This isn’t to say there’s no blame to go around: there is. As much as I have an undeniable law-enforcement bias, the FBI dropped the ball. CNN says authorities visited with Cruz 39 times over the years. Why didn’t they do more to stop this? Mental health officials knew about Cruz, but didn’t commit him for treatment. Why didn’t they intervene?

Are the FBI, local law enforcement, or mental health professionals responsible for the murders? No – but they could have helped to prevent this.

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Perhaps this is the natural extension of a belief that we not say mass shooters’ names because it’s attention they crave. I’m not sure I believe that and there’s some seriously flawed thinking there. If what these monsters seek is attention, and you deny them that, wouldn’t they then think about ways to commit an even more heinous attack – something so bad that you’re forced to say their name?

I’m not sure.

But let’s be clear and refocus our attention, if not just for a moment, on one simple fact: Nikolas Cruz is to blame for what happened in Parkland, Florida and no amount of strict adherence to one’s political worldview will change that.

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