Komodo said:
Why the kids these days who are being bullied go to such an extreme is awful. Has society gotten more intense in it's violence? Are parents not raising their children properly? Not enough discipline from teachers in school? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
I'll tell you what the real problem is. Whenever violence occurs, people rush to a judgment that the perpetrator was "evil" or a "psycho" and that the world is better off without him. That's it, case closed ! You know what I call that ? A coverup.
So, the real problems never get fixed. And then, big surprise when it happens again !
Or, if they're not as lazy but still pretty **** lazy, then let's blame guns. Gun control !
They don't want to examine the real issues underlying such violence - peer pressure, bullying, social media, ignorance about such issues, inadequate protection/counseling of affected kids, and social media (yes, social media deserves to be in that list twice). They don't want to examine those issues for a simple reason -
it takes more work ! Calling someone "evil" and covering up the case is far easier !
Another easy scapegoat - "mental illness". Oh yeah, the kid missed a dose of Prozac.
NO !!! DO THE ******* WORK !!! FIND OUT WHY HE WAS DEPRESSED !!! What's even worse is that they waste a ton of investigative resources on their bullshit theories ... "There was a history of mental illness in the Eric Harris family." It is far easier to obtain a few medical records than to find out why kids are being treated like honeysuckle at the school.
I don't condone violence (and I am the least violent person on Earth) but we need to realize that people who shoot up school yards are ***people***, first and foremost ... with complex problems that need to be understood. Don't use one event in the perp's life to judge him as "evil" ... don't be lazy, do the hard work ... dig into his past, find out what went on in the school, and do something about it.
It's not easy to fix the life of an outcast child, I agree. But, at least give him counseling and assure him that he's not defective. And punish the honeysuckle out of bullies. Bullies are a leading cause of youth suicide.
Columbine is a classic case of what I just described. The fact that 12 people died doesn't bother me nearly as much as the ensuing coverup.