Why did the massacre happen - 4.18.2007.1

I have to ask, what is going on with the world today? I just don’t get it. The horror that was Columbine has turned into a repeating story that just continues to get worse as time passes. I am sorry for all those that have lost a loved one.

What is the source of this insanity though? What makes young kids think that the solution to their problems is to murder innocent people and then kill themselves? How stupid could they be? Obviously quite. But it doesn’t make any sense. There are no tears shed for the perpetrator of such an act. The 7th ring of hell must surely be reserved for people that do these acts.

The problem does not lie with guns or gun control. I accept that the regulations in place may be too lax, improvement is needed. But there is no gun that can kill anyone on its own. The person wielding the gun holds the responsibility. The sick, no that’s the wrong word – vile and evil is more accurate, people that commit these acts would likely try to do the same things with a knife or sword or other weapon. It’s not the old Bugs Bunny cartoons that people have watched since the 1940’s. The problem is with the people and not their tools or kiddie television.

Where is the disciple that these kids needed? I can’t say there wasn’t any, but it seems to be missing. The same can be said of parental involvement. In most of these incidents the parents claim to be as surprised as the community at large. Something is just wrong with that. How can a parent not know their kid is building bombs, or hording weapons? Obviously that is not the case this time, but it seems to be a prevalent pattern. Another factor is that all these kids seem to be completely alone. Didn’t any parent notice the kid had no friends? That is just not normal, it should raise some eyebrows. Perhaps a conversation or 3 with the kid could have made the difference because drugs didn’t do it.

I was speaking with a friend about this and it came up that these events never happen in inner cities. The question was why not. The only reasons appear to be lack of money. Let me explain. Because these parents don’t have money (in general) for therapy sessions, mind-altering drugs, tons of video games and electronics, or other items that allow a kid to be isolated from society the kids have to interact with people and deal with problems.

It’s not like there aren’t more than enough guns in cities like New York, L.A., Chicago, D.C., or others. It’s not like there isn’t pressure or peer pressure or bullies. Hell, there are outright gangs from the small to the large. But there isn’t anywhere for the kids to hide from the world. As soon as they walk out the door the reality that there are worse things than school and grades to be worried about hits them, and they have to deal with it.

Could it be that simple? Take away the multitude of objects that provide a haven from reality and let the kids deal with problems. No prescription drugs, no conversations about how they feel. Definitely no parents that are too timid and fearful of not being their kids friend instead of being their parent. That seems to be the difference.

There will always be vile people in the world, it seems impossible to not have that in the world. But trying to ignore the problem of these children is not the answer. Destroying the 2nd Amendment won’t prevent it. Over-medicating is a failure as well. Before the government starts hauling any kid that might be a little different away or medicating them into a stupor, parents need to do their job. That doesn’t mean running to a doctor and passing the problem to someone else. It means dealing with your kid, pissing them off because you aren’t always their friend. It means providing them with discipline. It means not giving them the latest gadget, and kicking them out of the house to be around and play with the other kids near them outside. It means letting them get into a fight to defend and stand up for themselves. At least that’s what it meant when my siblings and I grew up (and my youngest sibling is 14 years younger so I’m not that out of touch on this).

I am afraid that the longer parents avoid their responsibility, the more this will happen. Maybe I’m wrong, but what do you have to lose? If the above fails, you still have the medication and therapy to fall back on. But that should be a last resort. It may not work for every vile idiot, may be some of them will just kill themselves without harm to others, but isn’t that better than what we see here?

This is what I think, what do you think?