Are you numb yet?

Parent Cafe
121

<p>Food for thought.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.policymic.com/articles/90013/australia-has-eliminated-gun-massacres-by-doing-what-the-u-s-doesn-t-have-the-guts-for”>http://www.policymic.com/articles/90013/australia-has-eliminated-gun-massacres-by-doing-what-the-u-s-doesn-t-have-the-guts-for&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

122

<p>Food for thought.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.policymic.com/articles/90013/australia-has-eliminated-gun-massacres-by-doing-what-the-u-s-doesn-t-have-the-guts-for”>http://www.policymic.com/articles/90013/australia-has-eliminated-gun-massacres-by-doing-what-the-u-s-doesn-t-have-the-guts-for&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

123

<p>Exactly. People are calling for gun CONTROL and not disallowing guns all together.</p>

124

<p>The Oregon shooter has been identified . . .</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Suspects-friends-puzzle-over-Ore-school-shooting-262884381.html”>http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Suspects-friends-puzzle-over-Ore-school-shooting-262884381.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

125

<p>Well now that he’s identified, I’m even more mystified as to why the “black community” was brought up at all in this thread. </p>

126

<p>Because a poster was upset that we make a big deal about these school shootings while ignoring the shootings that take place in “the black community” every day. That’s why. Although, I don’t really think these kids that flip out in suicide-murder type situations have much to do with gang violence, at all. The underlying issues are entirely different.</p>

127

<p>And yet they have one thing in common. </p>

128

<p>I want to correct something I posted earlier. An early report I saw said that they found guns on two more students when they/their backpacks were searched. This was later corrected to say they found a gun on ONE more student. </p>

<p>Is that half as bad? ~X( </p>

129

<p>White Mormon kid who went to church regularly and happened to be obsessed with guns and had access to them. He was a “law abiding citizen” until he wasn’t, but by then it was too late.</p>

130

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I’m unsure if you’re referring to my comment (it was brought up a couple times), but I was only responding to a statistic someone posted. </p>

131

<p>It’s the copycat element that has me most concerned since Newtown. It seems like a lot of these disturbed shooters are using school attacks as a way to commit suicide while maximizing their personal infamy. </p>

<p>This was written shortly after the Sandy Hook shootings:</p>

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<p><a href=“The Media Needs to Stop Inspiring Copycat Murders. Here's How. - The Atlantic”>The Media Needs to Stop Inspiring Copycat Murders. Here's How. - The Atlantic;

132

<p>“Is that half as bad?”</p>

<p>It is if you are a half wit. ;)) </p>

133

<p>This is only speculation but my guess is that he went to the locker room to gear up and get ready to go to the main school and happened to encounter the other student who was a TA for first period gym. He expected to kill not wound the PE teacher then went on to the main building but the PE teacher managed to run to the office to initiate the lock down and call the campus security and police. Had the PE teacher not managed to sound the alarm it would have been significantly worse.</p>

134

<p>A priest killed and another injured in a shooting at a Phoenix church:</p>

<p><a href=“http://m.cbs12.com/article?id=5277614”>http://m.cbs12.com/article?id=5277614&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

135

<p>Just to clarify a few points- </p>

<ol>
<li>I referred to “inner city”, not race. People expect more crime, including gun violence, in the inner city. Detroit had 333 homicides in 2013 and over 1100 non fatal shootings. It’s not news. You will rarely hear about it on the national news. If they happen in suburbia, you definitely hear about it on the news. That was my only point. </li>
<li>Even in “targeted” gang type shootings, other kids are affected- whether hit by accident or emotionally scarred from having to attend school in an unsafe environment. However, in a lot of these other school shootings, there are still targets. The targets tend to be kids the shooter saw as bullies, or popular kids, etc. The Columbine shooters had a hit list. The Isla Vista guy was going for women his own age because he felt shunned by women. We have had two incidents in our middle school and high school of kids who had hit lists causing a lot of concern and fear among the students but thankfully the school officials are much more in tune, take things like creepy Facebook posts or bathroom wall writing very seriously and violence was averted. </li>
<li>There was no upset- just an observation. </li>
<li>I worked with a lot of kids who were in gangs, some of whom had witnessed murders, murdered others or attempted to murder others. I don’t see the dynamic as being tremendously different. Kids joined gangs, a lot of the time, to feel part of a group because they felt isolated, persecuted, or threatened by others. Many of these mass school shooters express the same kinds of feelings. </li>
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<p>The first mass shooting I recall was one in a McDonald’s in California. I was pretty young then (19) and it really freaked me out even though I was on the other side of the country. I also remember the first post office shooting that had people pretty upset in 1983, when I was 18. Yes, I think I have become more desensitized (not numb- don’t like that word) to these types of events. What upsets me most is the amount of attention given to the shooters- pictures of them, posting of their videos, manifestos, etc. I do fear that in making them so famous, it does encourage others to act also. </p>

136

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<p>Exactly, I don’t know people dismiss them as different from a random shooting and pay more attention to one over another. When you are killed or wounded it doesn’t matter where the bullet comes from.</p>

<p>Here is an example of a girl who performed at the inauguration getting killed.
<a href=“Chicago Girl Who Performed at Obama’s Inauguration Killed in Shooting | TIME.com”>http://nation.time.com/2013/01/30/chicago-girl-who-performed-at-obamas-inauguration-killed-in-shooting/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

137

<p>It just keeps getting better. I just got home this evening and went online to check the local news and now this . . depressed man shoots dog, wife and son (who survived) then self. What a selfish SOB! Just off yourself if you must but why drag everyone else down with you!? I just don’t get this mentality of needing to take control or make a statement like that. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-Vancouver-man-wounded-son-killed-wife-himself-262982151.html”>http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-Vancouver-man-wounded-son-killed-wife-himself-262982151.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

138

<p>Very sad.
Guns make it so easy.</p>

139

<p>I haven’t read all the response (and if this is repetitive I apologize. Stalin said that is single death is a tragedy. Ten thousand deaths are a statistic. </p>

<p>I never thought that I would hold, much less fire a weapon, but last year we were taken to a shooting range by a daughter’s boyfriend. His father was born in Israel. After a long safety conversation I fired a hand gun and a rifle. I discovered two thing: even with bad eyesight I was able to hit the spot each time. And while I will NEVER have a gun in my home, if I had to shoot I could defend us. </p>

140

<p>There was a story on the national news tonight (ABC) about a mental health worker who reported that a patient (a HS boy) had discussed specifics with the mental health worker about shooting up his school. The police moved in, and it turns out he had guns and other weapons up the wazoo. The mental health worker prevented another tragedy. This is the way it’s supposed to work.</p>