I’m a River Reporter subscriber who lives in Scottsdale, AZ, and the front-page news here has been the Charlie Kirk memorial service, to be held in Phoenix on September 21. I’ve been thinking about what happened and what we can do about it. 

Before I had children, I was a child and family therapist working with families in the Child Protective Services system—children with severe behavioral problems and families in crisis. 

What happened with Charlie Kirk and the many other examples we have of political and community violence (Butler, North Carolina, Minnesota, etc) is how a mental health crisis presents itself. 

When people are psychologically healthy, they are able to hear divisive words or ideas they disagree with, and not make vile comments online or commit violence. With every single act of violence, you will find pain in the perpetrator’s heart, and pain in their past. We ask for a motive but we do not ask about the pain that caused the motive.  

The people with microphones tend to brush over the talk about mental health in our country. It doesn’t drive clicks and it doesn’t make people want to come back and listen.

Because this really isn’t an “us-vs.-them” problem. It’s an “us” problem, and we need to invest in the infrastructure of “us.”

Mental health services need to be available and affordable. Those with microphones need to remember that their words touch those who are vulnerable differently from others.

Do they have the courage to stop the name calling and degradation of some among us?

Do the members of our community have the courage to help those in need instead of judging and criticizing?

Does our community of “us” have the courage to call and report concerns when leakage of impending violence occurs?

And do President Trump and Congress have the courage to create real legislation, funded with real money and real resources to tackle this problem?

Ellen Douglass

Scottsdale, AZ