These cries for reform are not the solution that our country needs. By passing tougher gun laws and trying to filter violence on TV, we are making the horrible mistake of shifting the burden onto other people's shoulders. We blame the violence on gun manufacturers and television producers, forgetting that these material things affect society only if we allow them to. Instead of actively going out and talking with our children, instead of properly raising them, instead of getting involved in our young people's lives, we blame others and pass the burden of fixing society to politicians and judges. We forget that human compassion is always more powerful than written statute. We lost our sense of direction somewhere along the way, focusing so much on legal principles that we have ignored the truth and the lessons behind our young people's violence.
If we examine all the school shootings, whether Paducah, Jonesboro, Columbine or San Diego, we find one thing in common: in all cases the children who end up shooting their classmates have suffered from ridicule. These kids are subjected to great emotional distress until they crack. The most recent victim (yes, I use the word victim, even though he is now a murderer) was described as "constantly harassed." He was made fun of all the time. He had his shoes stolen once and his skateboard stolen twice. He was an outcast with few friends. Here we see a freshman in high school, the object of ridicule, deeply troubled. What is he to do? Who is he to talk with?
Bombarded with stinging ridicule from his peers, is it any wonder that he fought back the only way he knew how? In our society we have a culture that loves to tear others down, a culture of kids who delight in mocking and ridiculing each other, who can be merciless in their teasing of others. Putdowns, insults, racial slurs and foul language fly from our children's mouths. Many studies have cited the deep psychological effects that peer ridicule has on youth: the feeling of worthlessness, the lack of self-confidence and the bitterness that it brings. We mustn't delude ourselves: "Sticks and stones may break our bones, and words can definitely hurt us."
With the school shootings we find kids who are outcasts from the student body, who don't feel included, who are mocked, and who eventually (like a dog backed into a corner from which he can no longer retreat) feel they have to strike back. It is so easy to label these children as outcasts and weirdos; it is so much harder to accept the fact that they are human beings like the rest of us. We all need companionship. We all need support from others. Where would these kids be today if only someone had reached out to them, offering a helping hand and a listening ear? My prediction is that many youths, the victims of our society's selfishness, would still be alive today.
In order to change things, we must first change our attitudes. We must believe in helping others. We must instill into our children a deep-rooted belief in humanity and life. We must fight ridicule whether it be motivated by race, class or sexual orientation. We must be kind and supportive, reaching out to our fellow man, getting involved and becoming determined to make a difference. We must learn to respect everyone as human beings and to walk as brothers, lest we march into the jaws of death.
The greatest tragedy to come from these school shootings is not the deaths of so many youths; it is the use of these deaths for political means by politicians on both sides of the aisle. In stressing legal statutes and directives from above over change from within our communities and ourselves, we continue the vicious and selfish cycle that leads to death. Gun legislation and new criminal codes treat the symptoms, not the disease. The answer to our prayers lies not in legislation but in that humanity which we all share.