Unfortunately, since most popular beliefs and trendy solutions appear well-founded, we fail to see that they are based upon cultural myths that focus on symptoms and keep us from preventing the root causes of violence.
Violence is caused by too many guns being easily available.
The fact is that mentally ill individuals rarely engage in violence. They are far more prone to be victims of violence or self-destructive behavior. The other reality missed by these myths is that, with rare exception, those who engage in violence infrequently perpetrate harmful acts toward others. Myths 2 and 3 confuse environmental influences with root causes of why individuals need to act violently. The fact that entertainment is filled with violence today says more about the thirst for violence that exists.