WHEN CHILDREN GO WRONG WHOSE TO BLAME
Since Columbine, there have been over 215 school shootings! After the last two mall shootings We can now put malls in a dubious category all their own. What do we do? We are starting to see airport-style “lockdowns” of our schools with millions of dollars appropriated for upgrades to front door security, and cameras strategically placed throughout the halls and classrooms - no one in or out without a photograph and verified background check on file. When fingerprint biometric technology becomes cost effective, it may even follow. Are these “Big Brother” tactics acceptable? How do you stop the troubled teenager from gunning down half a mall before that person takes her/her own life. As much as I am willing to accept retrictions that will ensure my children a long and happy life, in practicality there is no level of security that will stop these tragedies.
What horrible events have occurred, and are still on the horizon! No parent should have to endure the misery of their child being either the murdered or the murderer. In the end it always becomes about placing blame. Why? Because that’s all we have left to make us feel human, and reinforce that we are decent people and responsible parents. Has society failed these killers? Has their family support system failed them? How can I possbily rejoice and feel vindication at a long prison sentence or even the death penalty for such troubled souls.
It’s a tough world. Many people don’t grow up with the same advantages as others. Difficult childhoods cause wounds that leave deep scars, both in the ranks of the privileged and underprivileged. Double standards exist, but troubled people don’t all commit murder. Children with hard lives often become brilliant adults who make significant, and even groundbreaking, contributions to society.
Our society does not fail anyone. It simply sets the framework in which people have the opportunity to make the most of what they are given. Parents are the ones who have the ability and responsibility to shape that framework, molding their kids into decent, productive human beings.
I’ll print this out and put this post on my fridge for a daily reminder that I am blessed with children, so that when the inevitable bad thing happens, as it does to every family to a certain degree, I’ll learn from it and look to myself and not “society.” It must be that way, or 2 + 2 will never equal 4.
