Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
The point of my sob story: I feel no sympathy for these whiny little [censored] who think bringing a gun to school is the answer to their bully problem. On the flip-side, I feel no sympathy for the bullies, either. After all that has happened recently, why would any one think picking on some poor little nerd might be a good idea? When I was in high school, a nerdy white kid like me simply fought back. Now adays, they shoot back.
Everyone has their own way of handling bullying. It's been a repetitive reaction over and over for some kids to bring guns to school and take out their revenge. Those that are very mentally tormented and don't feel they have the physical power to handle the situation will snap and use weapons to address the situation and even go for revenge. Many schools have metal detectors and guards around because of this very reason.
Another thing everyone concerned about school shootings should look at is bullying. I think it has been address quite a bit over the last 15 years because it's been a factor in many past shootings. It needs more attention IMO - just like mental health in the country. Kids need to be monitored well at school to detect bullying going on, and kids who are bullied need to report it so strict actions can be taken by the school and the authorities.
When you can address and control mental illness and bullying you will see school shootings decrease.
100% agreed. One of this biggest bullies I had growing up was in music class (the only class we shared, because he had a learning disability - not mentally handicapped, but slow to learn.) Mr. Alto, the aptly-name music teacher, was too afraid or cared too little to do anything about the harsh comments this kid and his gang spewed, let alone the physical abuse some of us took.
FWIW, Mr. Alto never taught us anything. I think he was going through a eff-it-all part of his life or figured we didn't care enough to bother with, but I can't remember a single thing I learned in any of the years I had him. The best days we had were when he played a VHS tape of Boys to Men, where most kids in the class, including the bullies, would fall asleep. He showed this video a couple of times during the school year, and it was long enough that it ate up a few periods each.
This was a common theme in my middle school, where teachers never intervened, letting kids eventually resort to violence, because if some one told on the bully, he or she would have it worse in the end. So, had I not been able to stand up for myself, I'm not sure what I would have done. I'm certain it wouldn't involve using a deadly weapon, though...