Ask The Psychologist Issue #57: How the Media Continues to Create Victims
Forty years ago, I witnessed how the media glorified a killer, which I described in detail in the Introduction of this book. On August 27, 2025, a mass shooting took place at Minneapolis’ Catholic Church of Annunciation. Did anything change in forty years on how the media reported on this tragedy. If anything, the media spent much more time showing the face of the murderer and discussing him by name and who he was. The only person I observed (There may have been more), that refused to mention the shooters name, was the Minneapolis Chief of Police, when he was being interviewed. He stated when interviewed by the media that he didn’t want to give any attention to the shooter because that is what the killer wanted, even after he was dead from an apparent suicide. It was a shame that all major media ( Both conservative and liberal ) didn’t pick up on what the Police Chief stated. The media followed the next week, showing the full face of the shooter, again and again on television. I had in the past, purchased a very large screen Television to watch sports and movies, not to have 85 inches of a killer’s full face shown on every major news network I attempted to watch. It got to the point for me that I had to turn the television off because it was frustrating to me how foolish the media outlets treated this event. As I have mentioned previously in the book, unstable individuals see that they can get their 15 minutes of glory like this shooter. All they must do is copy what this shooter did, and this has been the case multiple times over the years. This shooter left notes behind indicating he was seeking the notoriety by killing children. As the cover of this book states, the media builds their castles on the bones of the victims they create, and this current story is no different than any of the others over the past 40 years.
OTHER FACTORE IN MASS SHOOTINGS
The week following the above-mentioned shooting incident, it was good for me to hear Robert F Kennedy Jr’s (RFK) comments on national media. He stated, pretty much verbatim, what I wrote over 10 years ago in my book, Invisible Scars. In the book, chapter 3, pages 93 through 101, I list a large number of mass shootings, giving the shooters name, location of shooting and what type of Black Box, brain altering psychiatric medications they were taking at the time of shooting or previously. I discussed in detail the adverse reactions to these medications being suicide and homicide, among many others. RFK described the types of medications and their side effects, as mentioned in my book. I hope he read Invisible Scars for this and more information on the subject, since I was told by a friend in DC that he gave his staff the book weeks before this shooting.
Another factor, in addition to the use of Black Box warning brain altering psychiatric medications, is the potential for previous brain misfunctioning occurring. I have mentioned in my past writings that individuals who have brain damage, i.e., Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), and are taking brain altering psychiatric medication, have an increase of four times more potential for committing homicide or suicide.
Since many of the current mass shooters have been involved with transsexual procedures, I decided to contact a friend of mine who is an MD endocrinologist. I asked him if hormonal therapy for transsexual individuals could cause any type of brain dysfunction. He responded by stating that when individuals are being treated with hormones, there is a strong possibility that brain cells will become inflamed. Therefore, he feels that it would be very similar to the brain injury that I described above and increase the potential for homicide and suicide, if these individuals are taking black box brain altering psychiatric medication. Since there are so many current mass shooters that are described as transsexual, this is a very strong possibility, since their psychological status by the nature of their transsexual leanings would result in them being prescribed psychiatric medications, such as antidepressants, with the side effects mentioned above. Below is a list of recent mass shooters, without the individual’s names, but the location where the shooting took place and the identification marker of being trans. Also below the list is a current statement made by the president of the United States regarding this situation.
Madison Shooter – Trans
Denver Shooter – Trans
Aberdeen Shooter – Trans
Nashville Shooter – Trans
Georgia Shooter – Trans
Philadelphia Shooter – Trans
Iowa Shooter – Gender Fluid
Uvalde Shooter – Trans
Colorado Shooter – Trans
Minnesota Shooter – Trans
“donaldjtrumpjr Maybe it’s time we start having the real conversation. Like what pumping kids full of hormones in an attempt to defy science and nature actually does to them? It seems to me there is no more violent group in the world per capita that the radicle trans community and this crap has to stop”.
Over 40 years ago, I recall seeing a patient that stated, his primary problem was due to him being homosexual. After discussing ways which he could become more stable emotionally, he came up with the conclusion that most of his problems, if not all, that caused distress were due to him being homosexual. When discussing at the time what options he had, he felt if he was heterosexual his life would be much better. He decided to take classes at the local college on human sexuality and learn how to become heterosexual. After a period of time attending these classes, he felt more comfortable with his new lifestyle and eventually within the next few years, he married and had two children. My last follow up visit after several years with this patient yielded information that indicated he was very comfortable what his heterosexual lifestyle, his wife and children.
When I was seeing the above-mentioned patient, one must remember that the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 2nd edition,1968, DSM 2 identified 302 Sexual Deviation, subsection 302-0 Homosexuality: as a mental disorder .
History of the Term
- DSM-II: The DSM-II, published in 1968, listed homosexuality as a mental disorder.
- 1973 Change: In 1973, members of the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove homosexuality from the DSM.
- “Sexual Orientation Disturbance”: A compromise was reached to introduce the diagnostic category “sexual orientation disturbance,” which could be applied to individuals with same-sex attractions who were experiencing distress about their orientation.
- Removal of Homosexuality (1987): By 1987, homosexuality had been completely removed from the DSM.
There is a strong likelihood that the early developers of the DSM relied heavily on Natural Laws of Human Existence with number 7 on the below list dealing with the subject of homosexuality.
- “The Seven Universal Laws: (as described by various philosophy’s ):
- Law of Mentalism: The universe is mental, and your thoughts create your reality.
- Law of Correspondence: Your inner world reflects your outer world.
- Law of Vibration: Everything vibrates” – everything is in motion at a universal level.
- Law of Polarity: Everything has opposites, and these are two extremes of the same thing, such as hot/cold or good/evil.
- Law of Rhythm: Every process has a natural cycle or rhythm, and these cycles are always in motion.
- Law of Cause and Effect: Every action has a reaction; nothing happens by chance.
- Law of Gender: Everything has masculine and feminine aspects, and balance between them is necessary for creation and harmony.”
Also, the developers of the original DSM would likely have been influenced by the 10 commandments, as were the founding fathers of the United States when writing the Constitution. The question is, are the 10 commandments an extension of the Natural Laws of Human existence, and if you violate either for extended periods of time , would the human species cease to exist.
The Ten Commandments are as famous as they are powerful:
1. I am the LORD your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the LORD’s Day.
4. Honor your father and mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (via Catechism of the Catholic Church)
The comments made by the Minneapolis shooter reminded me somewhat of my patient of 40 years ago, that I mentioned above. The shooter’s comments were in his journal. They included the following statements:
- “I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brainwashed myself.”
- “I know I am not a woman, but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”
- Kept long hair as a “last shred of being trans”.
It leaves me to wonder what the outcome would have been if this person were seen for therapy, which would be similar in nature, to the patient I saw over 40 years ago. But over the years, the definition of mental illness has changed, and no longer would I be able to see the type of patient I saw 40 years ago, with the outcome I achieved, being acceptable in today’s society. In fact, if I saw a similar patient today and had the same outcome as I did with the patient I had with, over 40 years ago, I would possibly lose my license as a clinical psychologist and not be allowed to practice. As insane as this may sound, it’s no more insane than the media, immediately after the shooting, constantly referring to the Minneapolis shooter as “SHE” and chastising anyone who refers to the shooter as “HIM”. As the president said, “this crap has to stop.”
When the shooter had stated in writing, “I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brainwashed myself”, this reinforced my thought that the media had a significant influence in him trying to change his gender. People who are brain washed don’t do it to themselves, without significant influences for external sources , in this case the press, i.e. the reporter who continues to chastise anyone who refers to the shooter as him.
I feel that an integrative treatment approach provided to the person who wrote “I know I am not a woman”, i.e. Reality Therapy/ Choice Theory Psychology, as developed by William Glasser, MD, PhD, would have been beneficial and hopefully have prevented the shooting. I have been utilizing Reality Therapy/ Choice Theory Psychology throughout my career, going back to 1973. In all those years, like doctor Glasser, I have never recommended brain altering psychiatric medication. Over the years, I have never had a patient commit suicide or homicide. Doctor Glasser had been my mentor and friend since 1974 until his passing. Besides being a mentor, he has been a good friend of my family and a reliable source of continued education. One of his initial books called, Mental Health or Mental Illness, written in 1960, has inspired many people throughout the world to practice Reality Therapy. One of his other books, out of the many he wrote, called WARNING: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health, published in 2003, gives a clear warning as to the detrimental uses of brain altering psychiatric medications. Doctor Glasser spoke at the Combat Stress conference I directed for 24 years, and I will never forget his warning in the early 90s, stating at the conference that, “when our veterans come back from combat and are given brain altering psychiatric medications, there would be a significant increase in suicides’. He was correct and over the past 20 years, there are on average 22 veterans who commit suicide each day. To illustrate this fact, I did some research when writing Invisible Scars and discovered that no prisoner of war during Vietnam committed suicide while in captivity but when they returned to the United States, there was a significant number who committed suicide, who more than likely, were given brain altering psychiatric medications.
The picture below was taken at the Combat Stress Conference with Dr Glasser and General Lynch, my mentors.
Bart P. Billings,Ph.D.
COL SCNG-SC, Military Medical Directorate (Ret.)
Licensed Clinical Psychologist CA PSY 7656
Licensed Marriage, Family Therapist CA LMFT 4888
-Director/Founder International Military & Civilian Combat Stress Conference
-Initial Enlisted Ranks and Retired as Medical Service Corps Officer with a total of 34 years in US Army
-Recipient of the 2014 Human Rights Award from Citizens Commission on Human Rights International & The University Of Scranton “Frank O’Hara Award” in 2016.
bartbillings@yahoo.com
http://bartpbillings.com (“Invisible Scars” & “Unhealthy Eating …” Books Website)
www.combatstress.bizhosting.com (Combat Stress Conference website)
Cell 760 500-5040
Ph 760 438-2788
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