There comes a point where you become desensitized to violence. With a long war going on and intense coverage of deaths, who would be surprised that the majority of teens are absolutely unfazed by killings. However, there is a point where this hits close to home. I was a student of a Virginia high school, as is my little brother, and my youngest brother will be at that point in a few more years. Last year, terror struck Virginia Tech in the form of a young college student. The entire world was surprised. 32 people died. 5 of them were from my area. The killer and 2 victims went to the high school that my little brother will go to. Most of us asked "Why?" Why did this young man decide that he needed to shoot EVERYONE and EVERYTHING?
I wish that there was an answer to give. Look into how he purchased his weapon, an online vendor? Really? Should it really be that easy to purchase a device that can be so destructive? I surely don't think so. And especially this vendor and the scenario that sparked my blog. At Northern Illinois University on February 14th, 5 people were killed by a young man who purchased two guns from the SAME vendor. WHY?! Was he mentally disturbed just as the VA Tech shooter is claimed to have been? Warning signs...zero they say. He was on medication, but for what?! He had a girlfriend and was supposedly and "outstanding student", but please. In the case of Virginia Tech, there were blatant warning signs, and though not all can be taking seriously, there comes a point that they should be considered.
So, now I don't know what's more disturbing, the lack of attention being paid to a person's mental health or the ease of purchasing weapons.
I'm too young to remember the Columbine shootings. They affected me, but in a different way than people who are older. I was evacuated from my school in 5th grade because a couple dumb high school kids wanted to scare the living crap out of our administration. "A bomb is in the building," they said. How sick. We were evacuated the whole day and guess what...no bomb.
I just am appalled at the level of security at colleges around the nation, and I want people to care more about the health of students than maintaining their own comfort level.
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What exactly is an adequate amount of security at a college? It's not like high school, where they have practically free reign to search your person, backpack, locker, etc. In college they best they can do to prevent shootings or bombing are to create campus wide security alerts, evacuation plans, and try to monitor students' mental health. Colleges can't constantly search dorms or make students go through security checks to go to class.
Providing emergency suicide hotlines, campus psychologists, and caring, trained Resident Advisors are the best way to help deal with students who are depressed. RA's can also help spot student who are at risk or are mentally disturbed. Most students who commit these shootings or bombings show prior signs. That's why, when I was hit by one of my suitemates last year, I immediately filled out an incident report before I moved out, so that if her behavior escalates later on when she lives with other people, the school will know she has a history of losing her temper.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
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But I think some of the problem is that even if the school KNOWS the person has a temper or some sort of metal disorder that makes them aggressive, paranoid, depressed or whatever else may trigger such an action, they don't react immediately. Hotlines and such are a great way to prevent, but the person needs to call in on their own for that.
Also, I think that Northern Illinois was a lot better at responding hastily than at Virginia Tech, mostly because people learn from the past, but is it possible to create better security on campus?
-- Amber
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/akoenig
Are you responding to my comment? If you are, there's a reply button in my comment box so that I know if you're responding to my or not.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
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Yeah, sorry....that was my fault. I thought I clicked the right one but apparently not...
here you are:
But I think some of the problem is that even if the school KNOWS the person has a temper or some sort of metal disorder that makes them aggressive, paranoid, depressed or whatever else may trigger such an action, they don't react immediately. Hotlines and such are a great way to prevent, but the person needs to call in on their own for that.
Also, I think that Northern Illinois was a lot better at responding hastily than at Virginia Tech, mostly because people learn from the past, but is it possible to create better security on campus?
-- Amber
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/akoenig
Is there anything more to be done? Without creating a "1984" scenario there isn't much more to do. In the movie "1984" There was the thought police. That won't happen. There is no sense in making more laws. They will just be broken as in the Columbine situation. 22 gun laws were broken that day. Having gun control isn't exceptable because the people who want to commit these crimes will still find weapons. Don't take all weapons away from people they will then be vulnerable to criminals.
I don't know what the answer is but none of the above are a solution.
Possibly having mental evaluations before purchasing a weapon but then you are left at the mercy of someone else deciding your mental state.
The constitution gives us the right to bear arms. We shouldn't ever give up that freedom or we will lose all of our freedoms.