Lone Gunman: Rewriting The Handbook On Workplace Violence Prevention (Hardcover)

I started this book at the request of my publisher long before the recent rash of mass shootings. I am a conniving, opportunistic little troll, but even I wouldn't sink so low as to capitalize on the epidemic of carnage that has plagued us recently.

The 24-news cycle brings tragedy into our homes daily, and it's easy to believe that workplace violence is at an epidemic level, but that is not the case. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, workplace homicides rose by only 2% in 2015 while shootings overall had risen 15%. Even so, while gun rights advocates and opponents alike can argue over the extent of the problem, that is not the intent of this book. I grew up on a farm and around firearms and while I do not own firearms, I firmly believe that the mere availability of guns is not the root cause of this problem. The availability of baseball bats is far more common and yet we seldom see a person grabbing a bat and heading to the workplace to bash some skulls (although some of us may feel like it from time to time).

This is not a subject about which I should be glib, but most people seem to forget about the extent of the problem so perhaps an emotional kick in the gut is what we need to take this issue more seriously. And it's certainly worth noting that while we all might feel the urge to choke out our bosses or a coworker from time to time--most of us don't and won't--but to be on the safe side, if I put food in the refrigerator (even if I don't put my name on it) if you have any sense of self-preservation you won't eat it. And frankly, why would you? You know it isn't yours. Fortunately, I go out to lunch, but it's little things like this that can fester into real conflicts and add mental illness and alcohol into that mix and you may just get a violent outburst. Seriously though, what kind of person eats someone else's lunch and thinks that it's okay?

You may have noticed that I use humor a lot in my writing and some people are put off by it. This book is no exception. I find that making a joke before or after making a serious point tends to help people retain the serious points. And this book is about a serious issue, so serious in fact, that were I not to lighten it up once and again it could become so depressing that I would struggle to write it and you would struggle to read it. If you can't handle that, might I suggest a nice coloring book or perhaps The Little House in The Big Woods it's not funny and won't help you survive a workplace shooting but then there's always a trade-off.

The resulting tome would be good for killing the occasional centipede or for use as a doorstop but would be useless for its intended purpose, which is, to act as a guide and a handbook to any and all of you who want to protect your workplace from single shooter events. So I won't apologize to you if my use of humor offends your delicate sensibilities or neurotic compulsion to be politically correct because the points that you remember through the lens of your righteous indignation might just save multiple lives.