How Can We Stop School Shootings?
Thursday April 19, 2007
April 20, 2007, is the eighth anniversary of the Columbine School Massacre. However, four days before the Columbine anniversary, another school shooting shocked the world. On Monday, April 16, 2007, 23-year-old South Korean student, Cho Seung-Hui, shot and killed 32 people at the Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The similarities between Cho Seung-Hui and the Columbine killers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, seem eerily similar. After Columbine, people blamed video games, bullying, and lack of parental supervision for the violence that ensued. In the Virginia Tech shootings some people have begun to blame the same things, along with serious questions about gun control laws. However, can we really blame these things? What is the real reason these students are shooting up schools and then taking their own lives? Is there any way we can stop school shootings? What do you think? (Please post below by clicking on "comments.")
Comments
I am a student at Forestview high school. I dont think that I have any enemies here because I dont talk bad about anyone and i try to talk to everyone so no one fells left out. So I think if we can all get along and quit talking about people behind their backs all the shootings, killings, and bomb threats would stop but thats just my opinion.
I know that it’s easy to criticize after the fact, but I see two flaws in modern society that mean that shootings and/or suicide among the young is all but inevitable.
1) Modern youth culture is highly materialistic and puts a lot of emphasis on looks,money and so on. This leads to intense peer pressure and bullying of the have nots by the haves, and the unpopular kids by the popular kids.
2) Most help available to young people comes in the form of counciling in which they are basically told to accept their problems and not to let them bother them. It is very rare for a school or a college to actually do anything physical, like to change the system.
I know it’s cliche, but the teen drama staple of the jocks and cheerleaders tormenting the chess club members and the less well off students, and the teachers brushing the problem off without dealing with it, is very real and is where the rot starts.
Violent video games and access to guns are part of the problem, but they merely accentuate it. The real problem is that our teens are being disenfranchised marginalized and bullied until they snap and school/s colleges aren’t doing anythinh about it.
After reading about Mondays massacre and the shooter, I started to think that his actions overshadowed violence. I believe violence can be stopped before it happens in someway but who am I to say… Tonight all the students from my school, Bonita High School, were notified that school is cancelled tomorrow due to a gun threat in occation to the 8th anniversary of the Columbine Massacre. What is this world coming to?
The truth is that we are living in a violent world. Violent world is caused by the will of human to have power as much as possible. Nothing can change the human nature. And when the desire of power grows, the count of violent acts will grow too. Most of people will never understand their relation to other people, god and nature. Why not? Because this is the world.
In round figures, UK gun deaths total 50 per year.
Grossed for the UK/USA population, that equals 250.
USA annual gun deaths are 30,000.
The USA ‘right to hold arms” costs some 29,750 deaths per year, rather than saving those lives which is one of the USA gun lobby’s avowed intentions.
If that constitutional right is worth those deaths, then that’s your right to so decide.
It’s also your right to change that.
Simple as that.
I know which equation I prefer.
In a society where instant gratificaiton is the norm. Personal responsiblity is lacking. When we blame others and expect them to make us happy. When the mere mention of GOD in our schools, makes people uneasy and cry fowl. Then we have a society that’s lost it’s way, and has instead, placed its importantace on all the wrong things.
These shooting happened in a gun free zone. Criminals like gun control because they are sure they won’t be confronted by a person with a gun, only victims. Even if the police thought a person was a danger to other students they would not be able to arrest him until he committed a crime. I am not advocating returning to the days of the OK corral but the police are reactionary. We need them but their hands are tied until a crime occurs. If any one of the people in the classrooms he entered had a gun dozens of lives could have been saved. I have no problem with relaxing gun control so not only the bad guys have guns
This has to start with the parents and the elementary schools…we have to teach children to be kind to those who are different and respect each other for our differences. It wouldn’t hurt to teach stress management and techniques such as yoga and meditation either! As long as America allows gun ownership, we will have deaths from gun owners..without the guns, there will be those who use other means, not as many deaths, but there will be violence UNLESS children are taught tolerance, patience, and respect at an early age. It has more to do with upbringing than anything. Parents that are ‘bullies’ or ’snobs’ will beget children that are the same. It needs to end.
One would have to start extremely young to teach a child respect for other humans. Unfortunatly, school is only seven hours a day, and one cannot be sure what happens at home. It’s a combination of heredity and environment that causes violence. In my elementary school, we had the “Starfish Program,” which did squat for anyone in third grade or above. There’s got to be another way…
As a mother, I think that the bigest responsability is in the parents.We have to know our children, help them to be better persons, look for help for them since they are little, practice a religion, talk about values, help others, control their character,give them a good example. Parents should be the bigest educators of their children
Two crucial factors led the tragedy:(1) Cho Seung-Hui was not eligible to buy guns, but he bought them by fair means;(2) Cho Seung-Hui, as a mentally defective, should be received speciall care, but who gave him?
Gun control laws are really just “feel good” laws that do not curb criminal violence. In countries that have disarmed their law abiding citizens the statistics show violent crimes rise drastically as legal gun ownership is limited. I believe well trained employees that are allowed to carry concealed firearms in schools are our quickest hope to deterring these deranged criminals.
All we hear about guns is hat bad suff hey do. My oppinion of this is democrats saying that there were 1000 gun probems this year, but they never talk about the good things taht happen with guns and how many lives that the use of guns saves.
I am a student at Columbine High School. After the massacre in 1999, i am scared to even go to my school. But i want to stop massacres everywhere,i think what schools should do is to put metal ditecers in the eneterns.
I don’t think it is because of the laws about guns or anything like that we have to blame. Nobody just decides to shoot up a school for the fun of it. There is a reason for everthing, and a lot of times it is because of buylling, predjuce, racism.
Have people ever considered racism ? Broken family ?
Outcasted by friends ?
And no one ever took the effort to notice him and care about him at all.
Nevertheless,
he is still responsible for all the killings.
Did you know that our personal behaviour or social problems is actually connected to society ?
Society shapes the people today.
Look around you .. For instance, thin is the ”IN” thing now. That’s what is developing in society , and what are the results ?
Think about it.
i think that people should stop blaming tv,video games and music and just sit down with ur kids. dont scold them,tell them things they already now all we really want is some one not 2 ridicule us but 2 just listen! listen 2 wat we have 2 say and ask us how our day was and b there 4 us show us that u care. and by doin so everyone will c that all u had 2 do was listen. thats y kids tern 2 music because it talks about what we go threw. as a kid with a rocky home life i no. all we want is someone 2 listen.
The “gun free zone” didn’t stop the killer from bringing a gun to the college. But it sure stopped everybody else from bringing a firearm that could have stopped this! GUN CONTROL KILLS!
Americans are soooo smart.
Surreyman has it right.
i dont think it is caused by video games or music. i think it is that the school is to strict or that people in school dident acknowlege the kid and he or she felt left out and had a bad idea.
but that is just my opinion.
As a long time teacher, there are many things that go on in schools which are permitted by society.
Bullying occurs in all aspects of our lives, and it does not just concern students bullying students. Superintendents bully, principals bully, teachers bully, students bully. When the top is dysfunctional, so too will the bottom be, dysfunctional.
Bullying over long periods of time does severe damage to physical and psychological health and wellbeing. Bullies need to realize that some of their victims, once they hit rock bottom, will indeed retaliate against them or against a system which encourages bullying.
When you bully or harm others, it may come back to haunt you. After all, it was you the bully who taught the victim, how to be a bully.
Bullying may be physical, or psychological and it has as its tools many avenues, but those who bully do so for power, control and oppression. Victims who retaliate do so to end their torment.
It is unfortunate that bullies are allowed to rule, and that few have the guts to say no to bullies, be they a student, a teacher, a principal or a superintendent.
Law-abiding citizens vastly outnumber suicidal maniacs.
It’s simple: Let us carry guns in these “gun free zones” that only criminals are allowed to bring guns into, and you won’t see this kind of thing happening anymore.
Bullying is a big problem. Making people feel like crap to the point where they feel like they are worthless. When you’re at that point you feel you have nothing to lose. That and revenge helps to fuel these shootings
To help prevent these problems teachers need to intervene more in bullying situations. Counselors need to reach out more aswell to the victims and they need to get to know them so they can give the help they need. that’s pretty much all I have to say. I don’t believe in people blaming everything else in society. People need to take responsibility for their actions and how they raise their kids
i believe that bullies should back off because eventually the persons that are being bullied are gona retaliate. people can only take a certain amount ofbulling before they decide to finally stand up 4 dem self. if we shld learn n e thing 4rm school shootings is that they are mostly caused by students who were lonesome and decided 2 take out their anger. therefor, schools wld b safer if the bulling sittuation is confronted by a councelor or someone else b4 someelse decides 2 do something like virginia or columbine…
i think we should b able to carry a gun 24/7
No matter what people say on each of these accounts someone suspected the people who committed the crimes as a person who could or would commit the crime. If more people would act responsible and take notice of other students around them less of these incidents would occur. It is all of our responsibility to watch out for each other. We need to get involved with who is sitting beside us or in our classrooms. Stop ignoring warning signs of mental illness. Does it have to crash into us like a semi before we notice it? If you interviewed any class member of experiences of the shootings all would agree they noticed strange behaviors. WHY AREN’T WE getting involved?
IT IS OUR PROBLEM.
My name is Mark Wilson and I am the Emergency Manager for Raleigh County, WV. I have studied school shootings for several years and have come to this conclusion: The key to stopping these things is participation from the students. I have personally studied over 2500 cases and found that there are about 26 behavior habits that are similar in all of them. The one that keeps coming up is that the person that does these terrible things usually tells someone weeks or even months before they do them. It is usually another student or students.
Students, at any suspicion, please tell a teacher, principal, or parent what you hear, feel, or even think. Teachers and staff members need to take these suspicions seriously and act on them immediately. There are numerous cases where school shootings were in the final planning stages and were foiled because a student(s) let someone know of their suspicions. Teachers and staff know how and where to get this person help! Telling is not a bad thing when it saves your life and the lives of others.
Students, also question your teachers and principal about their steps and actions about protecting you against school shootings. EVERY SCHOOL should have an annex in their Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) on the procedures for school shootings.
Students can also start clubs and groups to Prevent School Violance. It has been very productive in schools all around the country.
Good Luck and GOD Bless you all!
I can’t believe such a terrible thing happended twice like i used to live in virginia
Just god bless all and be careful in school
God Bless America
I cheered when I heard about the Columbine shootings. The only regret I had was that more “jocks” were not killed. I was harassed all during my school years. I had fights with bullies. In middle school I thought of revenge…bring a weapon to school. I didn’t do it because I had loving parents. When I got in fights in school…and came home bloodied and bruised, I said I fell off the bus or got hurt in the school yard. My mother would have cried if she had known the truth and my father would have become angry that I got beaten, so I could not tell them the truth. It was only in High School, that I learned to verbally avoid the bullies.
In college, I hated the jocks even more. They were the “stars” of the school. They could do no wrong…
I worked at night in the local motel to support my way through college. The jocks would come in, rent the suite and have a “party”. They would destroy the furniture, beer would be dripping from the ceiling…they had brought in “girls” to have sex with High School kids to recruit them to the football team. The owner of the motel was a school “booster”,…he didn’t care. The team came with the football coach, he OK’d the goings on.
I moved out of the dormitories after my first semester..seeing the drunk jocks around campus nauseated me.
Am I sorry about Columbine?…Well yes and no. I am sorry for the non jocks who were killed and injured…sorry more jocks were not killed.
To end on a positive note…The bullies in schools will not stop if you tell them about Gandhi or Jesus Christ, they will probably laugh when they hear about peace and love. I think all middle schools should run a tape from the History Channel detailing the Columbine killings. Show it to all kids. Tell the bullies…” Well, if you don’t stop because of the love preached by the likes of Gandhi and Jesus, maybe you will stop…when you see what two bullied kids did to their fellow students at Columbine!!!!!!!!!”
I speak from personal experiences. There just isn’t any help for those of us who feel overstressed, lonley, isolated and ostrasised. Even anonamous helplines almost turn their noses up at you. Anything, even a small leflet would help, as the Perpetrators of School Shooting Incidents are those of us who cannot stand these feelings anymore and take drastic measures.