A Shot Too Far

Ok, seriously, what the hell is wrong with kids these days?

If they aren't shooting and killing each other and teachers, they are getting got taking weapons into school, where they could have been shooting and killing each other.

Here's the scoop for those that have no idea what I'm ranting about.

Last week, a 12 year-old boy took his parents hand gun and then proceeded to shoot at his class mates, kill a teacher, and then ultimately shoot himself after he realized what he had done.

Reports say that the teacher, Michael Landsberry was a Marine, who was trying to get the kid to put down the gun and shield the other children.

But really, what could bring a kid to this conclusion?  Some may say violence in the media, but I call bull on that one.  We've been shooting and killing each other long before movies and video games even existed.  Some may say the attention the media gives to these events, which I can sort of agree with.  After this happened, every station was picking it up and covering it, because it was news.  Ever since Sandy Hook, school shootings would definitely get more attention.

Another recent event, this time in Massachusetts, involves a student killing his teacher in the bathroom with a box cutter.  Guns didn't play a part in this tragedy, but a student still killed a teacher.

The Bigger Question

Why did it get to violence?

For those that were popular or generally accepted, just know that school can be hell for the rest of us.  Believe me, there were many days growing up that I wished some of my class mates dead, but I would never pull the trigger, and I would never take it out on a teacher.  So what drove this two boys to murder is still the big question.

In the Massachussettes case, no one knows why Chism killed his teacher.  They said he was normal, but quiet.  I guess it truly is the quiet ones we need to watch out for.

As for the Nevada shooting, the reasons might be a little more obvious.  Some commetned that had seen an anti-bullying video where the victim finally brought a gun onto the bus, in an attempt to threaten her attackers into leaving her alone.  This is the wrong response, apparently.  Some say that the shooter had ben teased and bullied, which may have driven him to this extreme.

Proper ways of dealing with bullying include going to a teacher, but this ultimately has no effect.  Every day, the victim will still have to sit right beside the bully and continue being picked on.  Bullying is a major issue, and needs to be rethought and how to handle it.  Bullies only respond to signs of aggression.  So either let us punch them out, or physically remove them from the environment, or we'll probably see more scenes like this in the future.
-R