A mass sickness

We got a lot of suggestions from concerned elected officials and from the public. One suggestion was that we put airbags on the front of the train. The other was that we slow the train to 5 mph in some stretches. These were no real solutions to the problem.

The problem was relatively easy to discern. Over any given 10-year period, there is an average of 12 1/2 deaths per year on the Caltrain right-of-way, most of them death by suicide. In the same period, the annual number of suicides in the three counties served by Caltrain averages around 300. Nearly every death on the Caltrain right-of-way involves an individual with an underlying mental health problem. In all deaths by suicides, there is an underlying mental health issue, often undiagnosed.

The problem was not a train problem; it was a mental health problem. And we committed to an aggressive effort to highlight mental health resources and to work at lifting the stigma associated with seeking help.

I would imagine you know why I am bringing all this up now.

As a community, we are reeling from the infuriating and heartbreaking events in Half Moon Bay, which came close on the heels of infuriating and heartbreaking events in Monterey Park in Southern California.

The sentiments of many were summed up by this posting from one elected official: “We must resolve to end this epidemic of gun violence.”

California has some of the most aggressive gun laws in the country. Just three months ago, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors authorized $2 million to take away guns from people who already are prohibited by law from possessing them — felons, stalkers, people convicted of hate crimes, people with domestic violence restraining orders, people on probation.

Do the suspects in the two latest episodes meet any of those conditions?

In 2023, which is only 26 days old, there have been 39 mass shootings in the United States, more than in any other January since the Gun Violence Archive began keeping records in 2014.

The immediate reaction seems always to be the same — thoughts and prayers, of course, and calls for an end to the “epidemic of gun violence.”

I am no Second Amendment advocate and I join many in thinking something has gone fundamentally wrong with a nation that so glorifies weapons and makes them so easy to obtain.

But there you go. The other day, I saw “The Whale,” a surprisingly moving film about a man who has lost control of his life and his weight. It is a gentle, quiet, thoughtful movie. It was preceded by 20 minutes of trailers of the most violent and bloody movies I can recall seeing.

Something is wrong and we are not addressing it. I also am no mental health expert, but it seems to me this gun violence has reached the level of a mass sickness. Maybe this is not just a gun problem, but a mental health problem.

FOR THE SAKE OF THE PERMANENT RECORD: Last week’s skip down memory lane, recalling when there were free-range Republicans abroad in the land, overlooked another Republican officeholder, and the interesting story that goes with this one (thanks to Lennie Roberts for reminding me).

The officeholder was Republican state Sen. Marz Garcia, who ousted incumbent Democrat Arlen Gregorio. Garcia had no experience holding any office. Gregorio made a commitment to limit the money he would accept from donors — I think it was a miniscule $250 — and he would take no corporate money. Garcia, without similar constraints, won by 90 votes. He made little impact during his four years in office.

When he was up for reelection, he was drawn out of his district and a wild race ensued. Gregorio ran again, but three Republicans also ran — Garcia, Becky Morgan and Dan O’Keefe, also had been drawn out of his district. Morgan won the primary and beat Gregorio in the general election. She likes to point out that she defeated three incumbent senators.

Mark Simon is a veteran journalist, whose career included 15 years as an executive at SamTrans and Caltrain. He can be reached at marksimon@smdailyjournal.com.