One School Teacher's Response to this Tragedy

[charliefarmerboy33]

It is with such a heavy heart that I reflect on this great tragedy. As an elementary school teacher, this horrendous event is too close to home. When I look at my students, and think of those who will now, not grow to adulthood, who’s families will not see their joyous faces on Christmas Day, I will never understand the way of this. Since the moment I heard the news I have been praying for those involved. There has come to our society a prevailing evil that is perpetuated by the media for greed and ratings with no consideration of the damage being done. It is hard for me, to take those who will not stand, to try and prevent this in the future. They want to sound as if they wish to evoke change, yet cry out irresponsibly for gun control, never considering the REAL causes of the problem. Not willing to accept responsibility for the state of the world, they cast blame on inanimate objects. It is this lack of caring for our fellow man and for those lives lost that truly troubles me. We must embrace our people who are lost and broken. We must make a societal change to correct this problem. Yet our elected ones, will not stand to do what is right. Yes, Mr. President, we must change. You must lead the way for meaningful change. It must be change that will make a difference. It should not be change that makes the problem worse. In this age of first person shooter games, glorification of tragedy by our news media, the portrayal of those who commit these heinous acts as tragic heroes, we will never create the change, until we recognize the problem is not the tools law abiding citizens use for defense of home and country, but the lack of respect for life that has grown progressively worse throughout my lifetime. I will continue to pray for those involved and that our leaders will work for meaningful change.

[tombogan03884]

Don't blame violent video games, or movies.
They are no more at fault than the gun.
The problem is entirely in the deranged person's head and the sooner that sinks through peoples skulls the sooner we will have an effective response.
To blame any external source besides the media that glories in these acts, with having any influence on these lunatics is just as ignorant as the anti gun crowd blaming guns.
There are millions of people who own guns, play shoot'em up video games, and watch violent movies who never harm any one.
The second most important lesson for people to learn is don't just stand there chewing your cud, like a cow waiting for the hammer.
Even a teacher is not defenseless unless they want to be a victim.
They are in a room full of sharp pens and pencils, books, chairs , why, they could even jam the door shut with a little imagination.

[Ksail101]

Tom- was listening to Sirius radio on the way home the other day and you would not believe the host and callers calling in blaming video games and tv. It's was crazy. Yeah I blame video games and tv too, but not like them. I blame the parents that use those as babysitters cause they don't want to be parents. I have watched crazy movies my entire life and feel no more at threat of committing a crime cause of it than any other normal person.

I remember a mom of another kid flipped out when silence of the lambs came out on VHS and my mom and dad rented it on New Year's Eve as our custom to watch scary movies on that day. Little did she know I had my head under the blanket snuggled up on the couch with my mom 85% of the movie with my dad laughing at us.

[jnevis]

I don't blame the games or tv directly, but if a mentally unstable person is subjected to that level of violence long enough and they already have a disconnected view of reality, there is that possibility that they will react as they have been "conditioned" to by what they see.  Is everybody possibly going to have that reaction, no.  Most "stable" individuals can say "thats a game and not real" and move on. 

You're right in that if a loved one (Parent, gaurdian, teacher ect) recognizes a questionable pattern it should raise a flag.  Don't let them watch all the crap TV shows, or play the violent games if you see violent tendencies.  Oh wait, parenting isn't allowed anymore.

[tombogan03884]

I don't blame the games or tv directly, but if a mentally unstable person is subjected to that level of violence long enough and they already have a disconnected view of reality, there is that possibility that they will react as they have been "conditioned" to by what they see.  Is everybody possibly going to have that reaction, no.  Most "stable" individuals can say "thats a game and not real" and move on. 

You're right in that if a loved one (Parent, gaurdian, teacher ect) recognizes a questionable pattern it should raise a flag.  Don't let them watch all the crap TV shows, or play the violent games if you see violent tendencies.  Oh wait, parenting isn't allowed anymore.

By that reasoning we can blame the evening news since there is no greater collection of violence (with video) corruption, and general immorality available.

[Sponsor]

[jnevis]

By that reasoning we can blame the evening news since there is no greater collection of violence (with video) corruption, and general immorality available.

I'm good with that.
There is something to be said for the media making the perpetrators heroes, infamous, or "immortal" by plastering thier names all across every news outlet for weeks at a time.  "If he can do it so can I...I'll be famous."

[tombogan03884]

I'm good with that.
There is something to be said for the media making the perpetrators heroes, infamous, or "immortal" by plastering thier names all across every news outlet for weeks at a time.  "If he can do it so can I...I'll be famous."

I've been making that point else where, Friday it was news, Saturday it was old news, Monday it's just the media cashing in on dead children.
Not only should he never be named or his picture shown, any earlier reference should be removed from the public record.
Instead of making him famous, they should make him a black hole.

[r_w]

In my dealings with foster and adoptive kids, I have had to do a lot of research on reactive attachment disorder.  It explains all the traits of a defective person that does these things.  The key requirement is a loss or disruption in a child's life--mom going back.to work, divorce, going to kindergarten all could qualify.  How many kids are not raised by their parents but by the village (school)?  90%?  Or higher?

How close are we to this already?  We built the system, but never used the products we created.  Of course they go out and do what they were built to do. 

[billt]

This kids mother, (Conn. school shooter), was a multi millionaire, retired stock broker living in a 3,100 sq. ft. luxury home on several acres. After her divorce, her husband told her she could have the house and, "Would never have to work another day in her life." She had nothing but time on her hands to spend with her kids. She was in her early 50's and lived an affluent lifestyle most would envy, in one of the most affluent, all white crime free areas in the country.

This kid was an over achiever and took college courses at just 16 years of age and did well. But in spite of a good up bringing, along with an above average education by most standards for kids his age, many said he "just wasn't right". He would stare at people on the street for minutes on end. He seldom spoke, and was extremely introverted. His own mother told their baby sitter, "Don't ever turn your back on him!"

Now how many warning flags does a parent need before they admit they've got a kid with a head full of bad wiring? It's no different than a dog you can't trust around strangers. Are you then going to sit in shock and awe when the thing bites the hell out of someone, because you didn't have him on a leash?

I'm not trying to "blame" anyone here. Just show that these things happen, and more then likely will continue to happen despite "warning signs". Guns didn't cause this. We had "Assault Weapons" 40 years ago. People didn't have gun safes in the home. Kids 4 decades ago wouldn't even entertain the thought of bringing a gun to school. Now they're commonplace. We didn't have waiting periods, or 4473 forms. We didn't have 10 round magazine bans, or any of this other silly, stupid crap that does nothing but make wild eyed liberals feel good when they pass it. Hell, even Juan Williams, (a regular Fox News resident flaming liberal), said "We have to do something!" It doesn't matter what because he didn't specify. Just something to make us "feel good".

This isn't going to stop because we can't reverse a breakdown in society, along with crazy people who "just aren't right" in the head. There will be others. Other crack pots will feed off of this. It will happen again. No gun laws, or speeches from liberals who want more of them is going to change anything. Just like the economy. It's screwed up because the people in this country are as economically screwed up as the government they so love to bitch about. We have no dicipline in the home or classroom anymore. After 40 years of this decent in society we are now seeing the result. We've seen it before, and we'll see it again. The only question is yet again, how many more freedoms are we as a nation willing to give up to make us "feel better" about all of it? My guess is a lot of them. After all, that's the easiest thing to do. 

[crusader rabbit]

Bill, I think you have nailed this as precisely as anything I have seen or read thus far.  And I would say the beginnings of all this could be laid at the feet of Dr. Benjamin Spock and his early books on child rearing.  No corporal punishment, no verbal chastisement, always praise, always reward, every little snowflake is wonderful, everyone comes in first, there's no such thing as failure--that crap just doesn't work. But it was accepted as progressive gospel in the '50s.  It is perpetuated today through the public education system that won't even use red to mark up a paper because it might make the kid feel as if he'd done something wrong.

I also think our 24-hour news cycle and infinite number of cable news outlets has made it easier for the more eccentric of these perfect little snowflakes to achieve some level of uniqueness and garner their 15-minutes of fame by standing out from the crowd in a malevolent way.  Cable news, for all its gnashing of teeth in the wake of these sorts of things, eats it up as it boosts their ratings.

Is it a repairable condition?  I don't think so--not so long as we have a populace that expects government to raise their spawn and television to babysit them.  And there is no indication that Americans want to give up any of the supposed benefits "given" to them by a benevolent government ant reassert themselves as personally responsible adults.  From the ghetto attitude of making an income by popping out welfare puppies to the financially elevated lifestyle of the Newtown shooter, Americans are no longer accepting responsibility for their choices and instead, rely on government to "fix" it.

In the ghettos, it often leads to selling drugs to obtain bling that makes them stand out.  And it devolves to drive-by shootings and black-on-black crime, and producing countless offspring to assert the individual uniqueness of those who would be Alpha males.  In the rich white communities, it leads to hiding or covering the mental defects of the young with tv, video games, soft drugs (and some not so soft ones) until they break forth in a misguided effort to stand out for something in an attempt to be an Alpha.

As a nation, I think we're too far down the toilet to ever swim back to the top.  The only chance I see is for the current system to totally fail--and I think it will--leaving the sheepdogs to rebuild Constitutional America.  I'm probably too old to see it happen in my lifetime--maybe not even in my own kid's life.  And maybe it will never happen.  But it is too painful to think of future generations living as slaves to the state.

So, I will end this rant as I have ended so many others by noting that I weep for my nation,

Crusader