This week, the school I work at was shut down on Monday due to recent threats to St. Xavier University. Our school is located on the campus of the college, so we were within the range of threat as well. As I stayed out late on Sunday, slept in on Monday, and went back to work Tuesday, I was compelled to review the recent (by which I mean the last 10 years) chain of events that have sparked a nation-wide response to extreme violence in the public and private schools across America. First, a little history lesson:
April 20, 1999- Littleton, Colorado is in shock as two students run into their high school carrying weapons and firing at students. 12 students, one teacher, and the two assailants were killed. The event is forever etched in our minds as the Columbine Massacre, and it changed our preconceived notions of safety in schools.
2000-2007- At least 27 school shooting occure nationwide, claiming a total of more than 100 lives.
April 16, 2007- One student attacks students at Virginia Tech University, claiming more than 30 students and bystanders, before taking his own life. It was, and still is, the worst school shooting in American history.
Feb. 14, 2008- A gunman at Northern Illinois University shoots into a classroom on campus, taking the lives of 5 students, his own, and wounding 17 other students.
Wow, right? It's not the most encouraging historical listing ever, but it gives you an idea of how violence in schools has escalated after Columbine. So what happened that made this problem so horrific in our culture? One could post many ideas on the subject (as I am now :) ). It certainly has led to plenty of blaming and pointing fingers, especially if your name is Marilyn Manson. I for one, place little stock in the value of Manson's music to enrage one so much as to pick up a gin and kill. There are plenty of other factors at stake.
But, what interests me the most about all of this is the REACTION to Columbine. Within hours, all of America knew the names Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the two shooters at Columbine. We saw their pictures, knew their stories, and even read their journal entries. They were celebrities, even if infamous ones. Their image lives on, and so does the knowledge of thier deeds. The media had a cash cow on their hands, and they bled it dry. Still are bleeding it, in some sense. All of this coverage gave the public an in-depth and realistic view of the violence and horror of the shootings. Most parents wept, reacted in anger, or felt a ver basic human emotion, fear. Fear is the driving force here, as it has caused us to not completely put faith in the schools we send our kids to, and the fact is, most schools are NOT adequately protected. How can you adequately protect a school without removing one's basic rights? In any case, it was the parents, adults, media, and professionals who were scared. And maybe rightly so, at least for the moment. But the kids, were they afraid? Was I, as an 8th grader afraid for my life? No. I knew the kids to watch out for, or at least say hi to, to ensure that when the shotgun came out, I wouldn't be hunted down first. I never felt at risk, I never felt frightened to the point of staying home (although I probably tried that angle a couple of times!) If I, as an everyday student with no ill intent towards my fellow classmates, did not fear the action or the disciple that follows, what of the actual assailants? Do they have ANY fear of retribution? Do they see anything beyond their scope of anger and possible hope of immortality via media attention and coverage?
This troubles me in a couple of ways. First, and most importantly, how do we teach fear of God to students when they don't even fear many forms of immediate authority? Now, I know that fear of God differs from fear of retribution alone, but how can we expect students to even grasp fear in the form of awe and respect when fear of retribution alone is not enough to stave off mutliple armed attackes in schools? Why are the adults scared and not the kids? Why is fear-mongering focused at the people NOT attacking the schools, and not the people behind the source of attacks? It seems that fear in adults is more about fear FOR kids, danger, etc.
Second, how can the media both cover events that are happening without giving glory to the assailants? This is a tough line to hold. How does the Church address situations and people without becoming involved in perpetuating this same notion? I'm not sure about this.
Lastly, how do we as Americans and Christians begin to cope with forgiveness, restoration, and grace in situations such as these? Not sure, either. This is why my focus is primarily on fear, and how we can begin to strike fear back into the students, not the adults.
What are your thoughts?
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About 3 or 4 months ago, there was a 12 year old boy who stole his mother's car and went on a joyride, leading police on a wild chase for several blocks. They finally arrested the boy and interviewed his mother. Apparently she asked the police to not release her name or her photo, not because she didn't want anyone to know who she was, but because she didn't want her boy "to be able to brag that he was on the 10 o clock News."
That's a start.
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