A friend sent me a link this week of a podcast interview of researcher / journalist Dave Phillips. You can listen to that podcast at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/podcasts/the-daily/maine-shooter-brain.html?action=click&module=audio-series-bar®ion=header&pgtype=Article
Phillips reports about “about war, the military and veterans for The New York Times.” Much of his reporting is in the field of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury).
The interview was sparked by recent news that the Maine bowling alley killer (an army veteran we’ll just call Mbak) had some form of TBI. The research on Mbak’s brain included dividing his brain into slices about 1/10 the thickness of a piece of paper, then analyzing them under two microscopes, an optical microscope and a detailed electron microscope.
CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) is the new TBI condition for multiple concussions and head injuries. They didn’t discover CTE in Mbak.
New research suggests soldier’s brains can be damaged from their own weapons (such as mortars and grenades). The theory is that blast exposure leads to this new TBI condition; so new it doesn’t yet have its own 3 digit acronym. A condition which theoretically causes the tiny nerve fibers of the brain to become dislodged.
Apparently, this was discovered in Mbak’s head.
The Defense Department has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into this research to define which blasts are dangerous. There is even a “brain bank” collection of brains of soldiers who had this form of TBI caused by their own military training (not battle).
I am glad someone is trying to figure out what makes people do evil things. I hope they can stop a lot of evil.
But all that theory makes my brain hurt. I thought of something much simpler.
Think About it…
When someone is the victim of a crime, there are hundreds of millions of dollars and detailed research labs to discover why.
The surviving family of those victims will pay the rest of their lives; in sorrow, damaged relationships, and lost dollars, searching for answers.
There is no end to the money and research after there are victims.
But how much did it cost victims to become victims?
Nothing.
No training required. No personal investment of time, money or resources – all they had to do was to just happen across the path of a killer.
Most people in our culture never invest in their own preparation for serious danger.
When people like you invest, it could save their lives.
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