(no subject)
I'm really upset about the recent outbreak of school shootings. Especially this week. It seems as though my generation doesn't know how to deal with their feelings. I always feel badly for the school people who have to deal with everyone blaming them. People always need to blame someone and unfortunately it goes to the parents of the shooter (who like the Northern Illinois U. shooter's father had no idea and is devastated) or to the school. I absolutely hate when people blame the school system. They generally do the best they can. In this Illinois case they shouldn't have suspected that kid at all, who knows why he did it. Or Virgina Tech, everyone blamed the school for still having classes. For all they knew it was a targeted incident in the dorms and they thought they had the guy in custody. For real, there was no reason in their minds to cancel classes, it was in the dorm get the kids out not in.
I thought all of these things and I thought that we should stop blaming the schools and the parents (especially in the college shootings...my parents shouldn't have to take blame for something I've done now because I'm an adult and I make my own choices. I don't see them often enough for them to get blamed). I thought about how easy it is to get a gun. I also thought about a place like Germany where they don't really have guns and in the last 20 years they've had one, ONE school shooting where two, TWO people died...20 years! We top that with one school shooting here in America.
I also believe that this is a definite possibility: The Iraq War is really the first was that my generation has had to deal with or really remembers. We were alive for the last Bush-ian war but I believe I was in Kindergarten and I remember my parents kind of talking about it but I neither remember it nor could I comprehend what was happening. That ended and we were basically war free until about 2002. Since then all we hear on the news and in the papers is the war and how many more soldiers have died. It's difficult for anyone to really comprehend or be on board with, but especially my generation where this is our first real war that we're aware of and hear about all the time. I think that what happens is some of these shooters look at this war and see the way we dealt with our problems. Ok this country had these weapons we think but wasn't letting us know. Also, they didn't have democracy. So we went in and killed off the people who got in our way or didn't believe in our ways. Once their gone the problems will be over. Get rid of the bad guys and people will listen and everything will change. That's the message that this generation sees. So these people who are having problems, getting bullied, are completely alone, and can't quite comprehend things sees this message and think oh it's working there so I guess what I need to do is go in and get rid of the bad guys (and in some cases it could be anyone associated with the school) and then people will listen and change.
Of course rational people can understand that that's not the answer, but when they're in so much pain and some of them having illnesses or disabilities or whatever can't make those rational decisions. That's just what I'm observing and thinking. I feel like President Bush should make some sort of speech about the school shootings that just keep happening (especially since the war has started) although I don't know what he could say..."violence isn't the answer"? That would be quite hypocritical huh.
I think they need to re-release the movie Bang Bang You're Dead (not necessarily the play but the movie) it's such an amazing movie (mainly because it was derived off of such an incredible play) and it gives you an understanding into the mind of someone who is constantly bullied and has to make a decision to basically shoot up the school or not. It's really really well done and I think people can benefit from it. I don't think it will change the world but at this point I don't think it could hut.
It's getting scarier and scarier to go to a school as a student and probably even a teacher with this generation. With the shootings happening more and more it's becoming more real. Especially with the coverage it gets. Any kid who is on the brink is watching the coverage and thinking "oh man look at that kid finally getting his moment of power and glory. People finally got to notice him. I want that." It only takes some more thinking on his part or another news coverage to realize that he too can get his moment. That to me is the scariest. I feel like media has more power than it thinks.
I've never had to deal with something as devastating as a school shooting, nor do I really know of anyone who was involved in a school shooting but I pray that I never have to deal with that. I seem to be praying harder about it everyday because it's happening more and more everyday.
I thought all of these things and I thought that we should stop blaming the schools and the parents (especially in the college shootings...my parents shouldn't have to take blame for something I've done now because I'm an adult and I make my own choices. I don't see them often enough for them to get blamed). I thought about how easy it is to get a gun. I also thought about a place like Germany where they don't really have guns and in the last 20 years they've had one, ONE school shooting where two, TWO people died...20 years! We top that with one school shooting here in America.
I also believe that this is a definite possibility: The Iraq War is really the first was that my generation has had to deal with or really remembers. We were alive for the last Bush-ian war but I believe I was in Kindergarten and I remember my parents kind of talking about it but I neither remember it nor could I comprehend what was happening. That ended and we were basically war free until about 2002. Since then all we hear on the news and in the papers is the war and how many more soldiers have died. It's difficult for anyone to really comprehend or be on board with, but especially my generation where this is our first real war that we're aware of and hear about all the time. I think that what happens is some of these shooters look at this war and see the way we dealt with our problems. Ok this country had these weapons we think but wasn't letting us know. Also, they didn't have democracy. So we went in and killed off the people who got in our way or didn't believe in our ways. Once their gone the problems will be over. Get rid of the bad guys and people will listen and everything will change. That's the message that this generation sees. So these people who are having problems, getting bullied, are completely alone, and can't quite comprehend things sees this message and think oh it's working there so I guess what I need to do is go in and get rid of the bad guys (and in some cases it could be anyone associated with the school) and then people will listen and change.
Of course rational people can understand that that's not the answer, but when they're in so much pain and some of them having illnesses or disabilities or whatever can't make those rational decisions. That's just what I'm observing and thinking. I feel like President Bush should make some sort of speech about the school shootings that just keep happening (especially since the war has started) although I don't know what he could say..."violence isn't the answer"? That would be quite hypocritical huh.
I think they need to re-release the movie Bang Bang You're Dead (not necessarily the play but the movie) it's such an amazing movie (mainly because it was derived off of such an incredible play) and it gives you an understanding into the mind of someone who is constantly bullied and has to make a decision to basically shoot up the school or not. It's really really well done and I think people can benefit from it. I don't think it will change the world but at this point I don't think it could hut.
It's getting scarier and scarier to go to a school as a student and probably even a teacher with this generation. With the shootings happening more and more it's becoming more real. Especially with the coverage it gets. Any kid who is on the brink is watching the coverage and thinking "oh man look at that kid finally getting his moment of power and glory. People finally got to notice him. I want that." It only takes some more thinking on his part or another news coverage to realize that he too can get his moment. That to me is the scariest. I feel like media has more power than it thinks.
I've never had to deal with something as devastating as a school shooting, nor do I really know of anyone who was involved in a school shooting but I pray that I never have to deal with that. I seem to be praying harder about it everyday because it's happening more and more everyday.