A Sad State of Affairs

In the hero's journey, the teen years signify the initiation. It is a maturing process. Schools are the location for most of this process. Because of schools in the news, I feel it is necessary to reflect.

In light of recent tragic school shootings, this post requires reflection and careful consideration. Please read the following excerpt from an article put out today in response to the Pennsylvania school shooting and respond:

A study of subsequent shootings in the months after Columbine found that "all involved white kids in small towns," Fox said. "The copycat effect would be most pronounced when there is a similarity between the perpetrator and the ones they are idolizing and modeling.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent of schoolchildren identified with the victims," Fox said. "But a small percentage identified with the shooters because, not only did they get even with bullies and nasty teachers, but they got famous for it."
Fox, the author of "The Will to Kill: Explaining Senseless Murder" and "Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder," said schools carry a symbolic power as targets.

"If you want to find young kids and get even with society — a school is an ideal place for doing that," he said. "They represent a place where people may have felt unhappy, their self-esteem was threatened, where they were bullied, and where they decide to get revenge."

The majority of attackers in school settings are motivated by revenge, according to the 2002 "Safe School Initiative," the Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education, which examined targeted school violence between 1974 and 2000.
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Prothrow-Smith said, "You've got a socially toxic environment that glamorizes guns and violence."

Video games, television, films and news constantly project images of people "justifying their wrongs or emotions with violence," she said. "You mix guns in a culture where people are not good at handling difficult emotions like anger, fear, guilt and grief ... and you have a toxic social environment."

Advocates of wider gun controls argue that the availability of guns has made it easier for people to commit murder in schools.

"It is extremely easy, whether you are a juvenile or a convicted felon or a domestic abuser, to purchase a firearm legally or illegally," Peter Hamm of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence told Reuters.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003286261_schoolsafety03.html

Do you think schools are this toxic social environment? What contributes to this problem? How do you feel about the safety of our school? There are many issues at hand here including firearms, revenge, teen suicide, the media, video games, etc. Respond to this article and the state of affairs regarding one of these topics.