POST 15: School shootings in the USA

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold grabbed two assault riffles, broke into Columbine's High School in the tiny peaceful community of Littletown, Colorado, and mercilessly shot thirteen of their schoolmates. After that, the killers took their own lives. 





I) The information I find as most interesting in this site can be found here.
This section displays a list of "Those who were killed at Columbine High School", and it allows viewers not only to see pictures of the departed teenagers that were shot to death, but also to click on them and see a brief summary of their lives; lives that were brutally taken by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris on April 20th, 1999. This specific section of the website allows us viewers to take a quick glance at what seemed to be the life of the average, middle-class youngsters living in the USA, whose only deathly mistake was to attend the wrong high-school, the wrong day. I feel this is somewhat more helpful when it comes to empathize with this tragedy. It becomes unnecesary to read the psychological profile of the perpetrators of these murders. My opinion is that Harris and Klebold were not special at all. They probably were mentally disturbed, as many others (the vestiges of their diaries prove it). There is a bunch of Dylan Klebolds and Eric Harris in every high school; the only difference is that those students mentally disturbed, that we are unknowingly surrounded by, are denied the access to fire weapons; so they are (to some extent) peaceful. There is no way to prove they wouldn't act differently if they had access to guns.
 If we want to keep Columbine High School in the back of our minds and hearts, and to do this in the proper way, it is essential to leave the murderers aside. All we can do now is look back and feel sorrowful for Cassie, Steve, Corey, Kelly, Matt, Daniel, Daniel, Rachel, Isaiah, John, Lauren, Kyle and Dave. Reading about them, about the way they used to live and everything they were forced to leave behind when their lives were unfairly taken, is an accurate way to keep them alive in our memory. And that's why I like so much this webpage.


II)

Pictures and names of deathly victims of Columbine's shootings

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, perpetrators of the massacre

Map of School shootings in the USA

Supporters grieve at a candlelight vigil after a shooting at Reynolds High School in Troutdale

III)

A promotional poster of "Bowling for Columbine"

I declare myself fond of Michael Moore's films, although I consider him some kind of a hypocrite (I mean, he criticizes in every possible way American's social and governmental flaws although, due to the global repercussion and reputation his documental features have reached, he has become the kind of "American big fish" he complains so much about). Still, I find him delightfully cynical towards his own country and consider Bowling for Columbine a genuine masterpiece. In this documentary Moore explains USA massive school shootings as a consequence of the democratization of fire weapons in America, but he also gives many other reasons. It is a well-known fact that in America nowadays a person doesn't even need to be considered mentally stable to be able to get a gun or even an assault rifle, but... Did you even know that so happens in Canada? However, the rate of violent deaths due to fire guns in Canada is almost non-existent. But...Why? Truth to be told, USA citizens are taught to be scared from their most tender age. They are indoctrinated every time they turn the TV on or dare to read written press. The message is quite clear: the world is a dangerous place. Americans should be scared. Everyone wants to damage their "land of freedom". Thus, they MUST get a gun as quickly a possible (well, a regular assault rifle will do).

 Guns are not even shown as a right, but as a duty. It is borderline stupid, indeed, but that's the way they are taught to think.

Owning weapons is the only way Americans have to feel safe, once government and the media has made them believe that everything they are surrounded by (especially immigrants, let's say it upfront) is trying to hurt them in some way. They crave that false feeling of protection, Michael Moore explains. American people are, to put it in a nutshell, ignorant and fearful, and often manipulated by pro-weapon societies such as the NRA, National Rifle Association, one of USA's most powerful lobbies. 

ALSO: American Horror Story, Murder House. There is a part of this TV show that is loosely inspired on Columbine's High School Massacre. I believe a series about ghosts living in a haunted house might not be the best reference when it comes to illustrate school shootings, but I found this part unexpectedly accurate regarding what those situations must be like.

(as I was unable to find through Blogger's Youtube searcher, here's the video's URL: https://youtu.be/AZ2OlQ56qrU ) 

IV) When it comes to explaining high-schools' massacres, we often blame perpetrator's lack of self confidence, his/her psychological disabilities, or even the fact that they come from broken homes (which is often the case). Nevertheless, I vehemently disagree with those statements. Many teenagers come from broken homes, have an identity crisis or are cruelly-bullied because, who knows, their sexual identity, financial status or something. However, that doesn't make them forcefully able to grab a gun, go to school and start shooting their teachers and classmates just "because", only for the sake of killing. I consider mental illness as an attribute of these shootings, and not the main reason kids are becoming murderers. I believe we are missing the point. Sorry if I got a bit carried away, but I really wanted to make this clear. 

Alfred University's website shows an article about this specific topic, in which many students were asked about what they considered to be school shooting's main cause. Eighty-seven percent of them blame it on a strong feeling of revenge, as school shootings' perpetrators want to take revenge on those who bullied them (once again, if they wanted to take revenge over a minority, what would possibly push them to kill such a large amount of people?!)  This website shows a few other reasons I believe might be a bit closer to the point, such as the fact that those kids do not value life or have witnessed many forms of violence (which might hypothetically lead them to some kind of normalization of death). As we witness in the documentary Bowling For Columbine, people also often associate carnage perpetrators' crimes with the fact that they MIGHT have listened to music that allegedly preaches violence (such as Marilyn Manson's).   Still, I admit such music and/or movies might lead youngsters to some kind of normalization of violence and death, which would make it easier for them to grab a gun and pull the trigger.

We also blame mass school shootings on the fact that nowadays in the USA it becomes astonishingly easier for a teenager to get a firegun than to buy alcohol or cigarettes. That is why many policies from the Democrat political party are based on the promise of guns' restrictions that will make the whole process of buying a gun a lot more selective and long standing. This was one of Obama's campaign most vehement points. Still, without the Congress' agreement, guns' restriction will not be possible. (And as the US Congress is strongly manipulated by pressure groups ("lobbies"), guns' restriction is considered a bit of an utopian ideal.) 

Personal Opinion (once more):

I believe that as long as people feel comfortable by justifying school shootings with such lame reasons as 

-"The kids were bullied at school and craved revenge."

-"They were mental. "

-"They suffered from violence at home."

Well, as long as we are not able to find anything better, things are not going to change. We feel totally 'okay' with giving these reasons, because it makes us feel safe. It makes us feel like nobody near us is likely to commit such terrible acts. It also makes us believe we are not in danger as long as we are not surrounded by bullied, unstable, mental people raised in broken homes and (please read the following ironically), since we are completely able to spot them, there is no reason for us to be scared. I sustain we are wrong. 

A kid able to carry out a school shooting might come from a wealthy, stable family, or not. They might be bright pupils with outstanding grades, or not. They might have anger issues or simply a total disrespect for life mixed with some kind of crippling boredom, which isn't necessarily associated to schizophrenia, bipolarity, depression or any other concrete mental disorder.  Just as some cruelly-bullyied teens are unable to accomplish any kind of violence. If we want things to change for good, our policies must aim a much larger part of the population, and not only teenagers we consider who are likely to commit a crime. Because if we base policies on our preconceived stereotypes on what a violent teenager should look like... Well, basically we're all doomed. 

Also, of course, if USA would stop spreading weapons across the country (making it much harder for anyone to sneak a gun into a school and start shooting people),  that would be a really good place to start.

To sum up, I believe White America is quite sick.