agreed. just the tool. if someone wants to do damage.. and put lifes at risk.. i don't see how stricter gun laws are going to have any effect on people w/ no regard for the law. drugs are totally illegal yet you can probably find every kind known to man at your local highschool or college.

i saw some video on the news a few days ago of some kid going nuts in california.. running over people on a crowded street with his car.. killing 3 (i think) there is one mangled body on the ground in the video where the idiots fighting w/ the cops.. while he was screaming that he was 'the angel of death'. things just keep getting crazier..

 

Unfortunatly, we live in a society where life has no value. Our youth are bombarded with violence and every other form of anti-social behavior from the time they wake up till they go to sleep. And we are shocked when something like this happens. It will not change until WE change how our children view the world they live in.
Don

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Don H
[B]Unfortunatly, we live in a society where life has no value. Our youth are bombarded with violence and every other form of anti-social behavior from the time they wake up till they go to sleep. And we are shocked when something like this happens. It will not change until WE change how our children view the world they live in.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...despite the good that we have in this world, there's twice as much bad and it's a sh!tty place to be in.

 

ok, maybe i'm looking at this thing from a wrong angle, but has anyone thought WHY the kid would do something like that? almost every single school shooting incident we americans got to know the past few years are perpetrated by teenagers who are bullied and shoved upon on a regular basis from their peers. the story repeats itself over and over and over.

i can remember vividly what middle school and high school were like: it was an absolute hell on the psych of a kid. i was lucky that i found out i was pretty good in tennis and between the junior tournaments, school team, and practices, it took all my spare energy away. i don't know what i would've done if there was nothing for me to be preoccupied with. even today when i think of the shit i took in high school from people who were larger and stronger (and with a lot more hair!), who were more "cool", or those who were with the "in" crowd, i still feel pretty upset about it. there used to be a reason why i worked my ass off: so that at my 10 year reunion, i can show up and basically give the fingers to everyone who picked on me and are now (or so i hear) ex-cons, bums, or just plain trashed out after high school. of course nowadays i work my ass off so my wife and i can enjoy the fruits of the hardwork (S2000, anyone? ).

i remember Larry whom i met at the last meet is a school counselor? perhaps when he comes over this weekend we can chat about it, but i'm telling you guys, blame it on the kids who caused this boy to do what he did. high school anywhere in the world is probably the toughest place to survive, particularly in the US (IMO).

 

yes,
but when we have a campus search (i am the president of the school board in our town, lucky me) we are called nazi's for looking and trying to prevent this same act from occuring. kinda like damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

From the sounds of it, This kid was also picked on. But he told people over the weekend that he was going to do it and nobody felt compelled to say anything. I agree that we should kinda "blame" other kids who are responsible for making fun of him or whatever, but we have all been picked on at one time or another in our life and a majority of us didn't go kill those people. It starts with the family and clearly this kid was reaching out for help by even hinting that he would do something and no one said anything.

 

I'm probably going to take some flak from this but what the heck. Yes, the gun is just a tool. But what is so wrong about making that tool a little harder to get? Yes, criminals will always be able to get their hands on guns if they really want to. Let's keep the honest people honest. We know that if someone wants to steal our cars they will whether we have and alarm, the club etc. Yet we still buy them. It tends to keep the honest people honest. Same reason we buy wheel locks. Most are easily defeated yet if they keep away one criminal they have paid for themselves. I believe that the same applies to this situation. What if this kid would have had to look around a long time to get his hands on a weapon? Or go through and application process. Maybe, just maybe, he would have reconsidered his choice. Maybe not. Maybe someone could have asked him why he was buying it. Seldom will someone be thanked for taking the keys away from the drunk. At least not by the drunk himself. No one will be thanked for keeping the gun out of the hands of the criminal or disturbed person but think of the life that could potentially be saved.

 

It all goes back to people having children and not having a clue how to be parents...or not making the time to be parents. This goes for the kid suffering from rage as well as for the kid who taunts others. If parents don't teach their children to simply "play nice", how will they learn? But when children hear/see their parents ridiculing others, this is what they take with them when they go to class. Children learn by example. If we set the right example and simply PAY ATTENTION to our children, our kids will have the advantage and, in turn, so will the kids around them!

 

Thanks SCS2K, I thought I was all alone in my opinion.

I realise it would be a loss to the peaceful gun using and appreciating people to have to give up guns (as we all did a few years ago), but wouldn't you give up this right, or submit to a few more restrictions (guns under lock and key), if it meant there was less chance of having your loved ones gunned down at school?

We need to stop thinking about 'Me' and start thinking about 'Us'. It's exactly this change in mindset that is part of the solution to the emotional problems blamed for this episode through out this thread.

These sorts of things will always happen, be it woth guns, knives, or cars, but I want to live in a world where such an incident appears as the headline on the front page rather than on page three in todays listings of 'Killing Sprees and Massacres'.