Children Out of Control — School Shootings Surface Everywhere

Once upon a time, even though there were metal detectors, guns in schools were a rare occurrence. Now it seems that hardly a week goes by without a shooting. Asa Coon recently shot people at his high school before ending his own life, there was a shooting at Delaware State several weeks back, and in Pennsylvania police apprehended a boy who seemed to have been planning a “Columbine” incident at his high school.

Long has the phenomenon of the “copycat” existed in police annals, yet the media continues to provide lots of nationwide press. The more people see something, the more likely they are to think of it as an option. With all the press for school shootings, depressed teens, rather than thinking of suicide and hopefully getting help before taking their lives, are more likely to go on rampages and seek vengeance against the world. In this way they are given a medium to share their misery on a large scale.

How important is it that people in the District of Columbia know about a shooting in Ohio? Why should California residents be informed of a boy in Pennsylvania planning a Columbine-type event? In what manner does such negative news uplift us or keep us safe? What utility is there in this knowledge? For safety reasons it would be prudent to advise the local community and inform any relatives of the injured and deceased, but otherwise contain the violence.

By spreading news of these catastrophes we only increase the odds of recurrence. Obviously parents should be involved with their children, but with so many single-parent households, one person can only do so much. Stop the madness: Let’s stop airing the dirty laundry of local communities all over the country. That’s our best chance of alleviating this gun violence madness in schools.