Reacting to violence
Society, lawmakers must deal with U.S. gun culture
Society, lawmakers must deal with U.S. gun culture
Friday, October 13, 2006
Reacting to violence
Society, lawmakers must deal with U.S. gun culture
Reacting to the recent deadly shootings at schools in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, President Bush convened a special White House conference Tuesday which focused on values and community action.
In the attacks, which occurred Sept. 27 and 29 and Oct. 2, a gunman in Colorado took six girls hostage in a classroom, sexually assaulted them and then killed one. In Wisconsin, a 15-year-old walked into his high school and fatally shot the principal. And in Pennsylvania, an intruder shot five girls to death at an Amish schoolhouse.
School violence is a complex and seemingly intractable issue. However, those taking part in the conference believe there are keys to stopping it. They include learning how to spot troubled students, boosting their self-esteem and preparing for emergencies. Speakers said warning signs of possible violent behavior include changes in dress, mood, friends and diet. Students expressing suicidal or despairing thoughts also warrant special attention.
Those conclusions are backed up in the 2002 Safe School Initiative, a study of school shootings and other school-based attacks conducted by the U.S. Secret Service in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education. The study was designed to develop information about the shooters’ pre-attack behaviors and communications in order to help inform efforts to prevent school-based attacks.
The study found that school shootings are rarely impulsive acts. Rather, they are thought out and planned in advance. In many cases other students knew in advance that the shooting was to occur, but did not tell an adult.
The study concludes that some school attacks may be preventable, and that students can play an important role in prevention efforts.
Parents also must become more involved. It has been shown in many studies, by the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office and the nation’s top universities, that chief among the causes of school violence is the spreading culture of violence that has been shaped and marketed by the entertainment industry over the last few decades. There is a demonstrable link between watching violent acts in movies and on television and acting aggressively in life — especially among impressionable young people. Every parent has the authority to monitor a child’s television and movie viewing habits. Every parent has the opportunity to detect whether a child carries a gun. Every parent has the responsibility to discourage violence.
Once again we are in shock and mourning. But what have we done as a nation even after so many fatal school shootings? Lawmakers propose and debate stricter gun control laws, but after a lot of arguing and finger-pointing nothing is done.
There are an estimated 200 million weapons in circulation throughout this country, many kept in private homes. There are more than 30,000 firearms-related deaths annually in the U.S.
The best memorial to the people killed in the three most recent attacks would be for our political leaders to recognize and deal with the madness of our gun culture. Whether they will have the courage to do so remains to be seen.