One of the biggest issues that I see teens and young adults facing in America today is school shootings. Basically, it all started with the Columbine High School shooting. Following Columbine was the shooting at Virginia Tech University. More recently was the shooting at Northern Illinois University. Now, ever since the NIU tragedy, schools all over have been experiencing death threats. These threats aren't only showing up at colleges and high schools, but junior high and elementary schools as well.
Why should we have to fear going to school? We're supposed to be safe there. When will this fight ever end? I've experienced bullying but this is way above and beyond that. This is murder, in a place that we should all be safe.
Although, many of these threats could just be copy cats and ploys to get out of school for a couple of days, they need to be taken seriously. All the precautions still need to be taken to save lives. Nobody is safe in a school shooting.
I think the biggest question here is: how many people are going to have to die in order for these people to be punished and in order for all of this madness to end?
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You ask a tough question. "These people" can't be punished if we have no way of knowing who the people are until after they act out violently. Typically, they have been the quiet kids that are shunned and outcast.
So, what if we started pointing fingers at all the other kids and teachers in a school? Sure, the kids made the wrong choice by making threats or shooting people. However, would that even happen if they hadn't been shunned in the first place? Depending on how we look at it, plenty of blame falls on everyone else, too. Kids who feel like a part of the community aren't going to shoot it up.
What I meant is that after they shoot up the school they need to be punished, not before because we wouldn't know who to blame. A lot of people need counseling if they don't know how to deal with things, especially if they're thinking about shooting up their school to get back at someone. I was bullied my whole life and I never wanted to shoot up the schools I went to so I don't see why other people should have to use violence to solve all their problems.
The people who shoot up schools (and who don't kill themselves, too) DO get punished. They'll never get out of prison.
Marissa
That may not be exactly true. I've heard too many stories about killers and other criminals getting out way before they actually should. The judicial system is flawed.
There are an endless number of people that might perpetrate a school shooting. How are you going to punish them before they do it? Have you noticed that many, if not most, kill themselves or are killed in the act?
School shootings did not start with Columbine.
They are not a big issue, just a great news story.
The vast majority do not have anything to deal with at all.
Do you have any proposal for a solution?
"A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets."
-Arthur C. Clarke
how can you say that school shootings are not an issue when people are being killed? Do you mean to say that shootings are a good thing? I understand that Columbine wasn't the first but it is where a majority of the shooters got their ideas. They became copy cats who followed with killing people including themselves. If they wanted to off themselves then why did they have to innocent people with them. Also I'm not saying that people should be punished before they commit the act, I want the ones that don't kill themselves after shooting up a school to prosecuted. They should be in jail. That's where they belong.
And that's where they are.
"how can you say that school shootings are not an issue when people are being killed? Do you mean to say that shootings are a good thing?"
They are not an issue, except as pointless worry, for 99.9% of people. They are very rare, but if one out of ten thousand schools has one it is big news.
Preventing them would be a worthy goal. Not much is being done, or can be, toward that end. How about vouchers? Private schools have a much lower rate of this type violence.
"A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets."
-Arthur C. Clarke