When Can We Start Finger-Pointing?
Will the Red Lake shootings teach us anything about gun violence? About the disparity between teenage angst and clinical depression? Or will it result in another wave of “violence-in-the-media” finger-pointers and increased tax money being tossed at addressing the symptoms of school violence - more metal detectors, security guards, and ID badges? Community referendums never seem to pass for education funding, but if we call it National Security, what red-blooded American wouldn’t be on board? Lets piss away our tax money on security cameras and jackboots when it should be going to, oh, I don’t know, TEACHERS?
The media are focusing on the similarities between Red Lake and Columbine, and painting a picture of a preventable disaster. Because if it's preventable, something can be done to keep it from happening again. And then you have the added bonus of having someone to blame. And that's just always fun, isn't it? I mean, look at the warning signs; he wore a trench coat, black boots with red laces, he liked drawing skulls, zombies, etc. If they can find a Marilyn Manson album at his house, the puzzle will be solved. Now: LET THE INVASIVE PARENTING BEGIN!... “Oh, no, Little Billy owns a trenchcoat, could he be next? I’m going to dig through his room and find out if he admires Hitler.”
In all seriousness, this was a terrible, terrible thing, that should certainly go without saying. Details are slowly filtering in now that Weise had a history of family problems (to say the least) and had had some treatment for depression, so I’m fairly certain we'll be saying “we shoulda seen the warning signs” even as we vote “yea” to put non-uniformed marshals in every classroom and begin prescription drug programs from the womb.
And, oh yes, to the wankers who say that it’s a good thing the shooter killed himself because its no longer legal for the justice system to do it, and for implying that the Supreme Court's ruling against the juvenile death penalty makes school shootings more likely: “F*CK OFF!”
Um, and Happy Easter.
The media are focusing on the similarities between Red Lake and Columbine, and painting a picture of a preventable disaster. Because if it's preventable, something can be done to keep it from happening again. And then you have the added bonus of having someone to blame. And that's just always fun, isn't it? I mean, look at the warning signs; he wore a trench coat, black boots with red laces, he liked drawing skulls, zombies, etc. If they can find a Marilyn Manson album at his house, the puzzle will be solved. Now: LET THE INVASIVE PARENTING BEGIN!... “Oh, no, Little Billy owns a trenchcoat, could he be next? I’m going to dig through his room and find out if he admires Hitler.”
In all seriousness, this was a terrible, terrible thing, that should certainly go without saying. Details are slowly filtering in now that Weise had a history of family problems (to say the least) and had had some treatment for depression, so I’m fairly certain we'll be saying “we shoulda seen the warning signs” even as we vote “yea” to put non-uniformed marshals in every classroom and begin prescription drug programs from the womb.
And, oh yes, to the wankers who say that it’s a good thing the shooter killed himself because its no longer legal for the justice system to do it, and for implying that the Supreme Court's ruling against the juvenile death penalty makes school shootings more likely: “F*CK OFF!”
Um, and Happy Easter.
posted by ab at 3/24/2005
1 Comments:
I didn't do much research on this one - I just figured the kid was hopped up on the 'fire-water'
-Jason
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