I am hoping in days to come, we will finally begin to talk about the issue of emotional intelligence as it relates to mass shootings.
Regardless of a person's ideology, violent impulsive behavior comes from leaning into rage and desperation. Emotions are a powerful driving force in humans. If we do not learn to manage them, they master us. But we can teach our sons and daughters, employees and students, voters and thinkers that emotions point to something that bothers us and we have a choice in how to respond.
The world teaches us if we feel something we have only two choices: hide it or act on it. Boys especially are taught from early childhood to keep emotions to themselves so as not to appear weak or vulnerable. So instead of recognizing their own emotion, thinking through how they feel and choosing how to respond, little boys and grown men are taught to keep their feelings under lock and key.
The problem is emotion does not stay hidden. At some point it creeps up and boils over, leading us to think and do and say things without concern for anyone outside our own point of view.
I don't know what led the Uvalde shooter to behave the way he did but I know he had the ability to make a conscious choice about whatever he was feeling. It is time to teach emotional intelligence. As a nation, we will continue to see horrendous acts of violence, abuse, murder, mass shootings, venomous hate speech until we talk openly about the impact emotions have on our words and thoughts and behavior.
We can turn this thing around. Let's empower people by teaching them they have control over their decisions and actions. Each of us needs to know we have a choice and we are responsible for managing our emotions.
I'm Kristi Correa and that's my perspective.
