Another school shooting

nexus_7 · Post by **nexus_7** » Mon Mar 05, 2001 9:17 pm

religion...that stuff still around?

Greg

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Mon Mar 05, 2001 9:34 pm

This is very sad. In my last job we had to try and plan against stuff like this - very hard to do when kids have access to weapons at home. one thing we did do was have the schools subscribe to the national anonymous tipline - the kids can drop a dime whenever they see or hear anything that makes them uncomfortable and the tipline will relay it very quickly to the school.

the popular culture is sickening a lot of the time - my kids watch basically no tv unless sick and then only cartoons or history channel. usually videos though. they laugh harder at the three stooges than the modern stuff anyway.

I mean, a 13 yr old kid tell's my kid he's learning about "bitch slapping" from tv. First, the little idiot has no idea in the beginning this is about how one criminal get's another on their "knees or elbows" for a little forced nooky. Why the popular culture keeps glorifying this criminal crap is beyond me. That's what i do for a living and the people in the jails are some of the saddest, miserablest folks you'll ever hope not to meet, and a lot of them have no idea why they're spending their lives caged up and treated like animals. Basically, it's because they act like animals because no one ever taught them better.

As a parent you try and instill values, and if you've got dangerous stuff, lock it up. Everythin is locked up at my house from the bows and arrows on up.

blade · Post by **blade** » Mon Mar 05, 2001 9:42 pm

Sheeesh, read this
http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/03/05/school ... index.html

Chris Reynolds , Stevens' mother's boyfriend, said he had heard the boy and other friends "talking about it and kind of like joking about it."

"Sometimes I kind of took them seriously, the way they were talking, and then other times it seemed like they were just joking because these kids like to joke a lot," Reynolds said.

"I kind of feel like I'm to blame for some of this because I could have done something," Reynolds added. "And I've had kids before I've known get hit by drunk drivers and things like that, and here's where I could have done something to prevent it."

Ok, not only did other kids know about it but also the stepdad new about it yet no one took something like that seriously and took a kid saying he will shoot others as a joke? WTF! :| Some of those other school shootings the shooter or shooters bragged to others yet no one bothered to say anything to one who could prevent this. Gee, that's part of the problem there, if people would take something as serious as one saying they will shoot others seriously. Or at least watch them more carefully and be sure no guns are in sight and warn the school just in case it isn't a damn joke.

JMan · Post by **JMan** » Mon Mar 05, 2001 11:15 pm

It's just not as easy as reporting someone, though. People say stuff like "I'm gonna kill you" all the time, and I can tell they're joking. Even if you aren't sure someone is joking, it's not easy to risk the chance of ruining their life as well as your own over a misinterpretation. Even if it may endanger others if you don't say anything, it's hard to take a risk like that. Personally, I don't think I've ever heard a real threat to someone's life before at any of the schools I've been to. If I really thought someone might do something like that, I might tell the authorities, but even then I know it would be tough for me.

JMan

news · Post by **news** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 12:04 am

I understand and agree with JMan. I work retail so I can't tell you how many times I've talked about shoveing a customer in the trash compactor at work but I never mean it. Heck, I cried like a baby about a year ago when I hit a bunny for the first time while driving. People say things they don't mean. My own son has a very protective nature when it comes to his friends and family. So when one of them are upset or hurting because of someone else he want's to "take care of" the offending individual. I'm proud of his loyalty but his temper makes him say things he doesn't mean. Do I turn him in to the authorities ... heck no! He's a good kid. I just be there for him, like other parents should. I am a single parent but parenting is my number one job. It should be for all parents.

A little side note for nexus_7, I wasn't commenting about Hilary earlier, I was commenting about her book witch discusses the African villages that believe in raising children as a group. I'm a huge supporter of this method especially since I am a single parent. I know that things could be a lot different for my sons if it weren't for my sister Barb and her husband, that you all know as wesg. I will be forever grateful to them.

Sorry to be so long winded but ALL children are very special to me not just my own. They are a cause I hold very dear to my heart.

nexus_7 · Post by **nexus_7** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 12:10 am

yea I know but how true and trust worthy do you expect that book to be? there are far better books out there ther and arnt writen by people with sicreet agendas and filled with propoganda.

Greg

justinp1116 · Post by **justinp1116** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 12:33 am

Personally i think that if soem people were taught a little common sense and logic then they would see that there is no way in hell they will even get away with something like that. After one of the shootings, i dont remember which one, on one of the local channels they actually showed my school and were like this school is very similar to where the shooting just happened. When i heard that i was outraged. I like my school a lot, it is a small school so i know just about everyone to a degree and im only a sophmore, and sure i think that there are definitely some kids that are a bit strange but not in my wildest dreams would i ever imagine one of the kids doing something like that. I also think that it is a whole lot easier for something like that to happen in a big school because there are kids who can go unnoticed. And the fact that the f***ing media and people blame things like tv, movies, and computer games most of all is complete crap. Sure violence has a strong presence in our society but look at other societies, the Romans for example they had gladiator fights for entertainment, come on we dont go and see two people hack each other to bits, and was murder one of the most common sources of death in roman times, NO!!!!! I think that it is the fact the intelligence level has dropped because stupid people can survive in or society is what causes these killings. If any of these kids had any intelligence whatsoever they could stop think and say to themselves: I am going to get away with this (especially now that it has become something that is unforunately fairly common)? Hell no nobody would ever come close to getting away with that because news of things can travel so quickly that even if they were able to kill every single person that came near them eventually soemone would jsut get in a tank or a plane (something that is far beyond what a kid can destroy) and, i don't know how to put this nicely, take them out. If what i just said sparks some desire to debate in you please respond. Id like to see what other people think based on what i just said (if you read that novella).

mx-6* · Post by mx-6* » Tue Mar 06, 2001 2:07 am

Crazy, I used to live about 5 miles from there. In El Cajon.

Reg Kmet · Post by **Reg Kmet** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 2:20 am

man this is nuts, i just heard about it... the things that would compell someone to do this..

plucky duck · Post by **plucky duck** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 2:32 am

What the hell is the world coming to? The media always has their own so-called perspective so they can fill their fat ass air time.

Stuff like this never happens in the old days where things were strict and teachers were like eagles watching everyone's single move. Corporal punishment works to a degree, in both families and on education grounds. Sad to say, but I think we need police and survellance cams in the school.

Parenting starts @ home, no doubt. Parents (those who care about their kids) can have significant influences on their kids behaviour one way or the other. In struggling familes, parents tend to spend most of their time finding ways to keep food on the table and lack the kind of attention that their kids need. Without guidance, its very easy for kids to walk into a dark and deadly alley.

I fear for my sister, as she's just finishing up elementary and going to high school this year

Cams are in place at the HS, but does that really deter?

Consellors do jack for troubled kids, im my place where I used to go anyways. They only service kids that goes up to them for help. They don't actually go and dig around to see who the potential troubled kids are.

Bullies are a part of every school. Nothing is done to address this problem. Teachers do jack. Teachers don't work with the consellors or the principal with whats going on in the classroom.

Schools nowadays are like a dog eat dog world.
Knock knock, reality check.

RubberDuckie · Post by **RubberDuckie** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 11:39 am

Give me a break ... A kid talking about taking a gun to school and shoting people and you dont take that seriously. Thats part of the problem. Some of you mention joking about "killing people". THATS NOT A JOKE. Just like when you are at a swimming pool you NEVER use the word HELP. That was an unwritten rule where I grew up. If you used that word is a joke you were punished.
The fact that people use phrases like "Id kill you man" as a joke...well that is sick in its self.
I also believe it is the parents and the childs responsibility for these killings...it has nothing to do with his "favorite song" or tv or movie. The blame is 100% on the family and shooter.

dadx2mj · Post by **dadx2mj** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 12:03 pm

I have been giving this a lot of thought since yesterday. I think we have to spread the blame around. I strongly beleive the majority of the blame lies with the kids parents and up bringing in general but I think that the schools, TV, Movies and the Media all have there share of the blame as well. I guess I am saying society in general we generally accept too many outragoues actions as the way it is and do nothing. I don't think there is any dening that these kinds of act have become much more prevelent with the increase of single parent families or families where both parents have to work and have little time to spend with their kids. We as a society need to take a good look at what as become of our morals

Coco · Post by **Coco** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 12:40 pm

Some of you said that TVs/movies are not to be blamed... have you ever wonder what happen to those bullies they show on TV? They always get away with it unless the "weaker" kids are seriously injured! Take "Back to the Future" for example, that bully beat the shit out of M.J. Fox's dad and he got away with it, what kind of example did that show you? The latest TV show like Boston Public / Malcome in the Middle had bullies beating other kids up, and they get away with it. Think about it! Kids nowadays spend more time with the TV then their parents... so if we just have more control over the quality of TV/movies, we'll be better off IMO. Anyway, this is just a bunch of BS... it'll never change coz the ratings are there for show like that...

blade · Post by **blade** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 9:22 pm

I don't understand why parents can't hide any guns from kids. Look here
http://www.charlotte.com/topnews/pub/schoolgun.htm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A third-grader said an 8-year-old classmate brought a gun to school and threatened to kill her. Police said the 9 mm gun wasn't loaded, but they arrested the boy's uncle.

"He said he's going to shoot me. He said he's going to make it a blood bath and throw me in the dumpster," 9-year-old Fatimah Edwards told WCAU-TV.

And this..

Elsewhere, two 5-year-old girls were suspended from kindergarten in St. Paul, Minn., because one of them went to school with a loaded pistol in a purse.

Huh! an 8 year old and a 5 year old bring a gun to school? These incidents happened on Monday also.

JMan · Post by **JMan** » Tue Mar 06, 2001 9:53 pm

For the "I'm gonna kill you thing": Haven't you ever said anyone say, "My mom/dad/whatever is gonna kill me"? Maybe it's a little different, but would you report the parent to the police if a kid said that? It's even more of a fine line when people are talking about shooting people.
As much as I want to blame the parents, I think even more blame is to be put on the people that allow the bullying to go on. The kids who laugh at it, the teachers who don't say anything, the principals who don't take any initiative to watch out for the troubled kids... I blame it on them. There's only so much the parents can do when a kid is picked on at school, especially if they don't know about it. Of course, if the parents had a little more common sense and had seen what was going on, they could have gotten him help and saved the lives... I dunno, it's just so hard to say whose fault it is.

JMan