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TOP TEEN FEAR: High School Threats of Violence
March 5, 2008 - 4:06pm — Mongo
In a CNN poll, twenty percent of American teenagers said that “they know someone their age who has talked about committing a serious act of violence at their school, such as shooting a student or setting off a bomb.” Most of these teens said they “never told an adult about the talk of violent behavior.” The number of U.S. teenagers skipping school for fear of getting hurt has been climbing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed this rise to schoolyard threats and lingering fears over high school massacres. One-third of polled teenagers said, that they “think an incident similar to the shooting in Littleton, Colorado, is likely to occur in their own schools,” and more than half the respondents said, that the Littleton massacre “has given ideas to troubled students in their own schools to try something similar.” Does living in a small town of the U.S./Canadian Border insulate International Falls from these fears? If not, why?
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I agree with the issue of...
Back to page topI agree with the issue of school violence. It is a shame that kids today have it so different than when I went to school. The increased workload, the increased intimidation the threat level from bullies, all of these things are much worse than ever before. The other factor is the how hard most parents have to work to make ends meet. Most teens are now left to their own devices afterschool, with no one to "be there" for them when they get home, and when the parents do get home tired that they tend to isolate themselves from everyone to "decompress."
It's no wonder we are experiencing the things we do in our soceity, and it's our fault to boot, for wanting the latest, greatest, newest, bestest items on the market, and at what cost? Our youth are the ones paying the price for "our" american dream.
I agree whole heartedly...
Back to page topI agree whole heartedly concernedperson. Additionally, I think that it's rather interesting that the yearly increase of fictional TV murders matches up with the rise in teen violence. It can't be a coincidence. Also, year by year, less children are being taken to church. The secularism of our children marches in lock-step with teen violence. Is that just another coincidence? Ever since our government began it's relentless dismantling of God in our schools, violence has gone up on campuses across our nation.
America was created with God's Blessing because He was put right there by name in The Bill of Rights and The Constitution of The United States of America. Our country was blessed and protected as long as we kept God in our schools. Is it yet a third coincidence that from the time God was taken out of our schools, America has declined to the point that it has? In the Old Testament, God let Israel's enemies defeat them, when they turned away from Him. The same thing is about to happen to America (and) for the same reason. God does not change His behavior. He is a Constant. He is the Alpha and the Omega: The Beginning and The End. Unchanging. When we change, we can look back into Biblical history to see what is in store for those who turn away from God and the blessings He has given them. When members of Skull and Bones trash the constitution and steer the government away from God, can the destruction of the United States be far behind?
Mongo, I have to agree 100%...
Back to page topMongo,
I have to agree 100% with your above comments. I think you are "right on"!! But, I have to take issue with you, when you "linked" my comments to Anton regarding his 1965 class hierarchy rankings and today's Columbine generation of students, to this week's bomb threats in the Falls and District 361 as a whole. There is no way you can logically create any linkage of my thoughts and opinions, to this week's "gutless" actions by one or more degenerates of the Falls area. In just a short time, today's students have gone from "no child left behind" to "no suicide note left behind"!!!! I would be curious to see the statistics on how many of these mass murders, etc., happen on a Catholic, Baptist or Jewish campus. Or are the majority taking place in our fine "public" or should we say, "Government schools"?? So, have a good night brother, and I'll catch you after the sun comes up.
You are right, roj2000. It...
Back to page topYou are right, roj2000. It was an unwarranted linkage on my part and I apologize for it. Those who study the human mind say that our brains are constantly taking in random bits of data and then try to find a pattern in order to make sense out of disorder. This is (no doubt) what I did and I plead guilty sir. The terroristic call makes no sense and I was trying to make some sort of sense out of it at your expense. Like I said . . . sorry about that.
I believe that media does...
Back to page topI believe that media does directly affect teen violence but, it goes a bit deeper than that. When any children are involved it is pretty much "monkey see, monkey do" so the war stuff definately must influence these teens mentality toward violence. I mean, they're trapped in the middle of the media barrage so, it's not like they're unaffected.
Well, not exactly, Mongo....
Back to page topWell, not exactly, Mongo. If you are looking for God in a Bill of Rights, you look to England. Did it mean that they were specially blessed? For a while, yes, but, like us, they were slave traders and colonialists. So our founders did not put God in the Constitution. Or on the coins. When they did address religion, it was to reinforce the idea that the state does not get involved in establishing it. And that makes sense when you consider who the founders were -- people fleeing the all-embracing power of the state churches.
Causality is very difficult to establish so to link school violence up with godlessness is likely a mistake. I say this as a believer. To link it up with the dominance of two values, individualism and masculinity, probably comes close to explaining it. A guy named Geert Hofstede has studied the value systems of a good part of the world. The USA is far and away the place on earth where individualism is valued most. That is a good thing and explains why we are inventive, creative, and unique. We are also a masculine culture, which explains why we like muscle cars and weapons. Sweden is an example of a non-masculine culture. It also explains why masculine individuals often do terrible deeds.
School shooters are almost without exception middle class, white, suburban, clinically depressed, video-game addicted male loners. My guess is that an argment could be made that two-parent working families are more to blame for shootings than are declines in church attendance. And in an indivualistic, masculine, materialistic culture, nobody is going to change that reality.
Complicated issue with no easy answers.
Don't go blaming Video Games...
Back to page topDon't go blaming Video Games for the lack of parenting problem that has taken over this country since the 60's. The fact of the matter is there has always been violence in schools, heck there has always been violence in the world. Since the begining of time we have killed each other off for whatever the reason. In todays world due to the over active propaganda machine known as the media we just get to see it and they throw human nature in our face and make us deal with it, but most of us don't want to deal with it so we blame, Video games, we blame the neighbors kids, we blame drugs, we blame the economy, we blame guns, we blame movie and TV, we blame genetics, we blame everything else we can before we ever look at ourselves. Pass the buck its the American way.
When Freedom is Outlawed, Only Outlaws will be free.
When you say a line like...
Back to page topWhen you say a line like "the fact of the matter," don't you think it is important that you spend ten minutes or so checking the facts of the matter? One of the characteristics of the information age is that a lot of information is available. It takes about five minutes or less to hook up with a wikipedia title called List of school-related attacks. When you look at this very comprehensive listing, one thing becomes apparent: Violence in schools is more frequent, more deadly, and more widespread. Period. Either you try to find out if there is a common thread or you put your head into the sand and say something like "there has always been violence in the world." To consider video games is neither stupid or irresponsible, especially when one of the primary video forms is the first-person killer. It has generally been true that simulation is a good tool for learning: air trainers simulate, business schools do. Whatever you simulate becomes easier when you get to reality. Considering video games is wholly different than blaming. Considering means that we study the possibility; blaming means that we jump to conclusions. Like the previous post did.
Funny how you would chastise...
Back to page topFunny how you would chastise me for not checking facts when you haven't done so either. My statement is true as true can be, and if you check facts you will see it. Now for facts that you failed to check. A 2005 report from the National School Safety Center states as follows "Contrary to public perception, school homicides declined after 1993, although from 1997 to 1999 there was a series of copycat shootings stimulated by unprecedented media coverage. " A 2003 Report from the National Center for Education Statistics says that. "Student are less at-risk for incidents of serious violent crime while at school than they are outside of school. This finding is somewhat surprising considering that overall crime among young people occurs more often in-school than out-of-school." They put a note that Serious violence is rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault. You can view the graphs as well as a few other at the following website. http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu/violence-in-schools/school-sh...
Charles Whitman an ex marine went on one of the most well known school shootings to date. On August 1, 1966 when only 2 video games existed that he did not have access to, Charles when on a shooting spree at the University of Texas Killing 14 people and wounding 31 others. He was 25 when he did this. He was white but he wasn't an adolescent male that plays video games.
Cho Seung-Hui 23 year old South Korean killed 32 wound 25 at Virgina Tech on April 16,2007, he was a loner he might have been mentally ill, he probably played video games but it was never brought up like the columbine shooting although the media tried its hardest to find out what games he was playing.
Kimveer Gill of Sikh origin Killed 1 person and wounded 18 others in Montreal Quebec Canada on Sept 13,2006. He was 25.
Elizabeth Catherine Bush 14, wounded 1 student on March 7,2001 at Williamsport Pa,. She was Frequently teased.
A six year old boy was shot dead by another six year old boy with a .32 caliber handgun on Feb 29.2000 Mount Morris township Michigan.
I could go on alot more but i believe i have proved my point that not all School shooters are teen white males that are loners that play video games all day. Finding a link between the random acts of violence is just another way people don't take responsibility for there actions and pass the blame off somewhere else.
When Freedom is Outlawed, Only Outlaws will be free.
And this was a much better...
Back to page topAnd this was a much better post because you did the research. Congratulations. If you look at 2006-07, however, it does seem that there is a definite ramp up in the number of school shootings. On the other hand, this does not imply, nor does your research state, that school is more dangerous than the streets. In N. Minneapolis, for instance, kids are much safer in school than on the street. The problem we have always faced on the blog is people shooting from the hip when they don't have to. It's okay to disagree about the fact and how to interpret them. It's quite another thing to dismiss a whole discussion due to some ill-founded suspicion. Keep up the good work.
Hey im doing a term paper on...
Back to page topHey im doing a term paper on school shootings and violence and all i have to say is scary stuff
Sarah09, I thought you were...
Back to page topSarah09,
I thought you were doing a term paper on abortion?? We're trying to help ya, but you're jumping all over the page!! School shootings are scarry? Trying driving through an illegal mexican neighborhood, down here in Chucktown (south of the MDL). The kids who go to our government/Publix skools are scarry looking enough, without the violence. IT"S THE PARENTS FAULT, 100%!!!! Blame them, and NO ONE ELSE!! They think it is all soooooo CUTE!! But, wait till their little Johnnie gets whacked at school!! That's why mine went to Catholic schools. But, they are starting to go downhill too! These punks have rights, remember??
You are correct in your...
Back to page topYou are correct in your focus. It begins at home. Love begins at home. So does violence. Monkey see, monkey do.
Mongo's mirror image...
Back to page topMongo's mirror image say’s: I love it when I find common ground with myself. I Agree also! Mongo and I "split" when we were beaten “regular like” when we were 10 year by my mother's boyfriend. Dear old mom did nothing. She stood near at hand and did NOTHING! to protect us. Her boyfriend came first. He was a Satanist and did all kinds of black magic spells on people around town, (which by-the-way worked). This is called "Ritual Abuse." The woman who bore me, and her lover from Hell, slapped us as hard as they could across our shared face (without warning). They constantly (like a mantra) shouted (an inch from our nose) "YOU ARE NO GOOD! YOU'LL BE IN A PENITENTIARY BEFORE YOU ARE 21! I NEVER WANTED YOU! YOU ARE A MISTAKE!" Hey, I was a sweet little scared/scarred kid at the time who had just gotten over being bedridden for a full year with rheumatic fever. (I still have a bad heart).
Well, to a kid, Mom and mom's lover are god's that know everything. Right? Kids do not want the god’s to be proven wrong! I/we didn't want to let them down!
On the night that the USSR launched "Sputnik," (after another senseless beating) . . . that, which was once "I," became "we." Mongo was a good lad. ognoM, however tortured frogs, birds, broke windows, burglarized homes, businesses, torched abandoned buildings and ran away from home at 17.
Happy to say, "We" are one again. I play on this blog as a "multiple personality for the amusement of DJ readership. Please do not take this “we” thing seriously. Happily, no felonies have been committed in my past. In 1968 I stole a candy bar in Honolulu. All things considered, I turned out pretty good. I proved my loving mother wrong, never went to prison etc. Could've, should've, would've if not for my love of God and God’ protection and guidance. God became my parent. Best dad, I ever had.
Ha Ha yeah I'm doing two...
Back to page topHa Ha yeah I'm doing two different papers! The abortion one though is one i really needed advice on and so far i have got a lot of great feed back!! Thank guys! Any who yeah sounds pretty scary to me! LOL Hey does anyone know if they have any good leads yet for the International Falls bomb threat????
Dear Sarah, before you do...
Back to page topDear Sarah, before you do any more term papers, please talk to a teacher or someone about some remedial classes in English. My dear, you cannot do a term paper or get any kind of good job in the future with the way you write and express your thoughts. Please, I ask you of this to be an example for the young people in town who think that learning how to write, read and express themselves with the English language is not cool, or hip, or whatever good means these days. As to your term paper, I would suggest to look into the part the media plays, the effect of bullying and the effect peer pressure has on young people these days. Sorry to jump so hard on you, dear, but life is tough and once you realize that, things might get better. Again, good luck and maybe look for other avenues of advice than from a small town blog and people like me with too much time on their hands.
L'etoile du nord
well see thats just what im...
Back to page topwell see thats just what im looking for though. this is for my contemporary issues class. i need to pick a topic on an issue that we have discussed in class.
well see thats just what im...
Back to page topwell see thats just what im looking for though. this is for my contemporary issues class. i need to pick a topic on an issue that we have discussed in class.
Sorry posted twice
P.s. i never asked advice on this one just said thats what i was doing another paper on. this one i do not need opinions on
Dear Sarah09, Doing the...
Back to page topDear Sarah09,
Doing the research and getting support is important. Many of the facts you find, will awaken more questions.
This is a very big topic.
Student's know is a real threat.
Talking and research is a good way of finding answers and finding ways of preventing incidents in the schools.
The truth is, people who do these crimes had problems.
There were signs and symptoms, prior to the incidents. Acknowledging threats, the things such as verbal threats, written, e-mails, drawings, home-made videos, etc. need to be addressed as soon as possble.
Many of these people had messages of asking for help.
Some were mentally ill and deep within their illness.
Paranoia, delusions of power and control, hallucinations, etc are symptoms of some illnesses.
These people need help and they won't or can't ask for it.
When people are given praise, they respond in a positive manner. People who are not given praise, are beaten down with ongoing criticism, soon withdraw, become angry and the results are depression or for some a catrostrophic reaction.
People who are not acknowledge at all. The people who are invisible, are in great pain too. They will do something to get attention, even if it is negative.
Students need to discuss their feelings at home.
Sometimes there isn't someone who listens at home.
Students need to reach out to their teachers / counselors, another family member or an adult who will listen.
Resource agencies are important places to seek information and help.
We need to be available to listen. Today, not tomorrow.
The important thing is, that Students have a circle of people, who reassure, help find answers and give praise, when they want to tell someone their fears, concerns or questions.
We all need to find ways to show acts of kindness to each other. Especially when it comes to our Students.
Fear is a real emotion.
Positive role models, volunteers, Family, Friends and Community need to recognize the feelings and concerns of each student.
Give them a chance to succeed, find answers and make plans. Help our students find ways to say, "Life is Good!"
Help them feel the strength of knowing that their community stands side by side with them.
We all want a Safe Community.
It start with me and you and you and you, etc.
Enough said . . . Please don't criticize my spelling or grammer.
I'm doing the best I can.
Life is Good!
Kathy Ellsworth.
Teen Violence is very common...
Back to page topTeen Violence is very common teenage problem these days in USA. Parents must watch for the danger signs of teen violence in their teens as it may cause danger to his/her life. Counselor help must be taken as soon as possible.
Great post,...
Back to page topGreat post, KathyEllsworth!
L'etoile du nord
Thank you Kathy Ellsworth...
Back to page topThank you Kathy Ellsworth for sharing you great insight.