A few days ago, I was absent from one of my classes because I was forced to take a math test for a competition--while I loathe math with a fierce passion, I am somewhat glad that I was not in my class that day.
You see, because the majority of the class was missing, my teacher had the students go around and tell something about themselves that no one else knew. Now, apparently one of the students was having a bad day, and when her turn came around, she said, "I have a 45, a cold shovel, and no one in this class will miss each other." Now, the students and teacher thought--at first--that she was joking. But when they asked her, she said she wasn't. Then the teacher asked if she had the gun with her. She again said, "No."
Even though I am sure that this student did not mean it, the statement still scares me. Especially because an in-depth project I am working on--for that class, I might add--is about school violence. From what I have read from the Columbine shooters' diaries, and the anger they felt, and the problems they had, I now expect that anyone, at any time, can snap, given the right pressure, and the "right" reasons.
I have only heard rumors about why this girl is the way she is, introverted, "scary", and etc. I don't know how serious she was that day, and I don't know if she really has a gun--my other friends who know her assure me that she doesn't. That doesn't make me feel any safer. I'm sure she would take it as a sign of betrayal if anyone were to send a note to the school counselors or the principal. Nevertheless, in this situation, I find myself asking, "Should I do this for her, for me, or for the good of the students? Should I even say anything at all?"
I am now stuck in this quandary of, "To tell, or not to tell; that is the question." Do I speak out, just to be "safe?" Or do I remain in silence, hoping that this girl was just "having a bad day?"
"To tell, or not to tell;" that is the question I pose before you today.
"We feel victimized too." ~Eric Harris, a Columbine shooter
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Wow. That is a tough situation. It is scary when you know that somebody could snap at any moment. I don't know what to tell you to do for this particular situation, but maybe the best thing to do is, in the long run, do pay attention to those who seem to struggle socially. Just a friendly hello to the quiet one in your class, a quit chat after class is dismissed, a smile to a stranger... I don't know. I think little things like that help.
I think that it's probably more your teacher's responsibility to speak out and make the school safer.
Your teacher heard the statement, and I'm thinking that they are probably taking the appropriate action.
You could ask the teacher what you should do, and then you can see what (s)he's already doing.