Concluding Blog

Hello faithful readers!  This will probably be my last blog post on the topic of the impact of school shootings.  Looking back on it, I remember how nervous I was when starting this blog.  After witnessing countless youtube wars, I was always wondering what if someone will take something out of context or disagree with an idea of mine and berate me for it.  Coming across blogs that were filled to the brim with bias was something that I also believed and did occur.  While it was frustrating finding blogs of a similar topic containing bias, those that did not display bias were a dime a dozen.  I was also unsure if I would be able to write enough sub-topics about this subject.  Fortunately, I had found other topics through the help of comments written by others, so I was able to keep on writing.  I was relieved to discover that people would leave comments that were not mean or nasty, but rather helpful in suggesting new sub-topics or asking questions that I had never come up with.  While to me, it feels like I may not have made much of an impact on the blogging community of the impact of school shooters, at least I can say to myself that there is one more blog of the impact of school shootings that does not contain any bias.  All in all, my blogging experience has been a positive transition of anxiousness to confidence.  I thank you all for taking the time to read my posts and giving me encouragement to keep going at it.

Another Perspective

Greetings everyone!  Today I have decided to rewrite one of my blog posts from another perspective.  This blog I plan to rewrite is the one on gun shows.  However, instead of writing about the negative aspects of gun shows, I plan to try to find the positives of them.

One of the positives Heather Bonham mentions about gun shows are that customers “and the commerce they bring are certainly welcome” (“Gun show visitors weigh in on pros, cons of gun legislation”).  With the money brought into these towns, it helps the local economy increase, securing jobs for the town residents.  Also, it is a way for people to come together, have conversations, and get to meet new people who share similar interests.  Another positive aspect I had found with gun shows is the possibility that rare and/or antique weapons could be for sale that no gun shop could have for sale.  Gun shops that require background checks may not have the exact weapon that antique rifle collectors are looking for, while the gun show may be just the place to expand that collection.  A final positive aspect includes that a gun show salesman “turned down two prospective gun buyers this weekend because of unmet criteria — not being a Texas resident and having an expired driver’s license” (Bonham).  This clearly shows that salespeople at gun shows are willing to prevent some people from purchasing firearms and are not in it for the money. 

These are the only aspects that I can find from another perspective of the recent blog I wrote.  Many people who travel to gun shows believe that “they are not opposed to expanded background checks at gun shows to include all sales, but they do not believe adding more laws would have stopped the mass shootings” (Bonham).  Also, Richard Bardin mentions, “he doesn’t relish the extra paperwork or phone calls required to complete background checks, he is not against expanding the requirement to all gun sales at shows” (Bonham).  After reviewing the opposing side, I believe that while it is possible to write in that perspective, I feel that the arguments are not as strong as the ones stated in my previous blog.

Bonham, Heather.  “Gun show visitors weigh in on pros, cons of gun legislation.” Statesman.  Cox media group, 16 Apr. 2013.  Web.  15 Apr. 2014

What Could Have Been Done

Many people believe that there is only one way to hinder the effect of school shooters.  Whether that is through stricter gun control laws or a nationwide method to monitor those whom are likely to tick, I believe it is best to examine previous school shootings and look back on what could have been done to prevent these catastrophes from occurring.

Remember the curious cases of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine High School?  While I may have mentioned how Klebold was depressed and Harris was a borderline psychopath, there were many factors for the two that needed to be treated.  Harris and Klebold had gotten in trouble with the law before the Columbine shooting.  While their crimes committed wasn’t as appalling as their future shooting, no doctors or psychologists would know the full extent of the boys’ problems.  There were other factors that if treated, would probably change the boys’ decision of going on a shooting rampage in their school.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that the two were social outcasts in high school who felt that they wanted to be recognized and get even with those who avoided them.  While I may not be a psychologist, I believe keeping pent-up feelings of rage inside without telling someone about them is unhealthy for anyone.  Just expressing your feelings to a guidance counselor, a parent, or some adult you trust can help you feel like a lot of weight has been lifted from your shoulders.  I did not mention in my previous blog that it was also discovered that Harris and Klebold played many violent video games.  I did not mention this before because I personally do not believe this was one of the main causes so that the two boys could fulfill violent fantasies, but the video games surely did not help.  While video games may be a way to relieve some tension or frustration in our lives, Harris mentioned some of those games in journals on several occasions.  This showed that Harris must have thought about them a lot, so perhaps his parents should have kept an eye on him and maybe placed restrictions on the amount of time Harris could play those games.

In the case of Michael Hamilton, the attempted NVCC Woodbridge shooter, one of the methods for helping Harris and Klebold could’ve probably helped Hamilton.  Since Hamilton felt the desire to shoot his teacher because of pent-up rage over a bad grade, I believe talking to a guidance counselor, a parent, or an adult he trusted could have probably help release some of those emotions.  A different idea that could have helped Hamilton would probably be to visit the tutoring center.  That way, he could understand the material and learn what mistakes he made.  Then, he could know the material when he would take the class again and earn a passing grade.

The Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, is a very interesting person.  With Lanza’s illness that affected him whenever he was around bright lights, loud sounds, or certain textures, his parents should have known that this condition would affect his life and have Adam visit the doctor on several occasions so the disorder could be treated.  I also mentioned that due to this disorder, Lanza had a difficult time socializing with others.  While I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to live with a condition similar to that of Lanza’s, I believe Lanza’s parents should have tried to have him socialize so that he would not shut himself away from the world.  That way, he might have had an interest in something other than locking himself in his room looking at websites about mass murderers and believing that society was manipulating him.  Perhaps Lanza’s parents did what they could to try to help him, but to me, it seems like there was more they could have done.

While these suggestions may not be 100 percent what police officials, psychologists, teachers, etc. recommend, this is what I believe could help these males from ruining their lives.  Stay safe everyone and I shall see you next week.

Potential Sources Pt. 2

Hello and welcome to another blog post regarding potential sources for an analysis paper I shall write on the blogging experience.  As far as potential sources go, there were some that were easy to find while others were not.  Some of the blogs I have found are very well done.  Unfortunately, practically all blogs relating to the issue with school shooters are written with bias towards the Republican Party and/or the NRA.  These are the potential sources I have found so far.

A blog post written by Alan Seidel brings up an interesting point on having armed security at schools for protection.  His concern is something everyone can understand and/or relate to.  What I don’t believe he realizes is that these guards have to be paid, and with the current economic situation as it is, some schools can not afford that with budget cuts the administration personnel are making.  He still can, however, provide an excellent example of blogs with bias.

The gun rights blog is a source that can show the positives of owning weapons.  It gives real life examples of how our right to bear arms has also saved lives.  Providing these examples can have a profound effect on deciding what to do regarding school shooters.  It will have people thinking twice about what they decide should be done regarding the gun issue.  Just like the previously mentioned possible source, however, there is still bias in these blog postings, which can be frustrating when trying to find blogs with authors that are neutral on the issue.

As odd as the title of the blog called “Snowflakes in Hell” is, Sebastian does discuss a wide range of topics from informing the reader about what politicians plan on doing to how this nation's citizens are reacting to the wave of gun violence.  His use of statistics can be very helpful when I will present and analyze the data he provides in my analysis paper.

There is a blog from wordpress.com that contains blog posts from several authors similar to “Snowflakes in Hell”.  It is similar in the way that these blog posts have statistics related to school shootings and gun control.  Despite that, many of the statistics are more in favor of right-wing ideas and goals.  Finding blogs, which mostly have bias in them, can be very annoying, especially when these blogs tend to lean towards one end on the bias spectrum.  However, a blog from the Sunlight foundation has blogs on gun control that contain some sub-topics that are neutral in the debate, so these blogs are invaluable.

Some potential sources I plan to use come from Gale Virtual reference.  These database articles can provide information that many of the bloggers I use as examples did not present.  The article “School Violence,School Shootings” by Claire M. Renzetti and Jeffrey L. Edleson, presents a wide range of useful data ranging from school violence in the early 19^th century to general reasons why students commit these acts and finally to some methods on how to thwart these kinds of actions.  Another database I plan to use is an article entitled, “Juvenile Criminals and Victims”, is one that presents data on why students are willing to engage in school shootings and other violent activities and what can be done to get them on the right track.

Hopefully these sources will help me in my analysis paper.  Stay safe fellow readers!

Concerns of the "Opposing Side"

Greetings everyone!  Today, I have decided to address the concerns of those who are on the "opposing side" of the issue of school shootings.  Hopefully I will address all of them but if I have missed one, I would appreciate it.

One concern I can think of would be, “where would we receive all the money to fund a database to keep track of those who are likely to commit school shootings or a health care system that can help those who are mentally unstable?”  Well, it is true that in this rough economy, we are saving as much money as we can when we should be helping those who have been affected by it.  The cost of health care is difficult enough for so many people as well.  So naturally, the cheapest way would seem to be imposing stricter gun control laws to curb this school violence.  However, as stated in previous blog posts, this is not the most effective method. 

Another concern would be “we should ban the sale of assault rifles so that shooters will not have access to weapons.”  I will admit that a ban would have a drastic downfall on school shootings.  A course of action like that might even have parents and/or children feel save as well as give some closure to those close to victims of shootings in the past.  This ban will not, however, eliminate school shootings entirely.  Banning assault rifles sounds almost redundant from this perspective.

One last concern I can imagine would be “surely there would be an invasion of privacy if we were to have a nation-wide criminal database to determine who is mentally unstable or not.”  I understand that having a database this large would conflict with the doctor-patient confidentiality clause.  I understand that the government should respect some aspects of people’s privacy, but where should the line be drawn between someone’s privacy and the safety of many people? When someone is registered as mentally unstable, however, that person can cause severe damage to the place they work or those who are near them. 

Hopefully, these are some of the major concerns from the “opposing side”.  Again, if there are any I have missed, please let me know in the comments below.

Why They Did It

Hello everyone!  A while back, I mentioned that I would use 3 examples of school shootings for future blogs, which were the Columbine shooting, the NVCC Woodbridge attempted shooting, and the Sandy Hook Shooting.  Well, today I will discuss the reasons why these shooters committed horrible acts upon innocent people. 

Before Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot and killed many of their high-school peers and teachers, numerous people automatically assumed the reason why they did this was a simple one.  Maybe it was because they wanted to get even with those who ignored them in school and wanted a chance to feel more powerful than them?  After all these years, that is actually not the main reason.  It has been revealed that Harris and Klebold wanted to do something far grander than what Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh had done by placing bombs in the school, open fire on those who were not within the blast radius, and detonate bombs that were hidden in their cars when people would arrive to survey the damage (Cullen). 

Dylan Klebold was a depressed person while at the same time being volatile…the kind of person willing to act on impulse.  Eric Harris was the one that was much more complex, almost fitting the description of a psychopath.  Dave Cullen states that a definition of a psychopath is that they “are rational and aware of what they are doing and why. Their behavior is the result of choice, freely exercised” (“The Depressive and the Psychopath…”).  Many of Harris’ rantings in his journals were about how he despised an aspect of life people liked that he did not or a fault in other people’s lives.  Some of these factors Harris disliked included country music, people who believed wrestling was one hundred percent authentic, or those who were obsessed with the Star Wars franchise (Cullen).  With an intense hatred for something that Harris had no control over, attacking a mass crowd of people along with Dylan Klebold would seem like a reasonable solution to him.

Michael Hamilton, the attempted shooter of the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College, had a simpler reason than Klebold and Harris.  Hamilton had failed many of his classes at the college.  When he received bad grades from his teacher, Tatyana Kravchuck, he could not handle it anymore.   Michael Hamilton believed that killing Professor Kravchuck would be a way of releasing “pent up anger” (Stewart).  Fortunately, Hamilton’s rifle would jam before a bullet could strike Professor Kravchuck (Stewart).

Adam Lanza had an illness that would create an uncomfortable feeling around bright lights, loud sounds and certain textures.  This would eventually lead him to have a difficult time connecting to others including his family (Lysiak).  When alone, Lanza would develop a fascination with mass murders, which affected his mindset on life.  There was this constant belief that “society was trying to manipulate him into following an immoral value system that led millions to both mental and physical sickness” (Lysiak).  These delusions had Lanza become a member of a website dedicated to mass-shooters called “Shocked Beyond Belief” and express his hatred for many aspects of life.  Lanza decided that “children were indoctrinated from a very young age to become part of a sick-machine that was self-perpetuating” and were “manipulated to live unhealthy lives” (Lysiak).  Lanza believed that killing students at Sandy Hook Elementary would be a favor (Lysiak).

Cullen, Dave.  “The Depressive and the Psychopath: At last we know why the Columbine killers did it.”  Slate.  The Slate Group, 20 Apr. 2004.  Web.  4 Mar. 2014.

Lysiak, Matthew.  “Why Adam Lanza Did It.”  Newsweek.  IBT MEDIA INC, 17 Jan. 2014.  Web.  4 Mar. 2014.

Stewart, Amanda.  “Detective: NVCC shooter had 'pent-up anger'.”  Stafford County Sun.  N.p., 21 Dec. 2012.  Web.  4 Mar. 2014.