School Shooting
Classmate under arrest in Cold Spring shootings
Take a 90 minute drive northwest from my house in the Twin Cities, and you'll wind up in Cold Spring, Minnesota. I've been there, many times. It is a small and cute little town, quiet as all get-out, and a place where people can still leave their doors unlocked at night without worrying that any harm will come to them. Literally. (I'm saying that to give you an idea of what the town is like. I am not saying it because I think school shootings are any more out of place there than they would be in a larger town.) I just don't understand shit like what happened yesterday. I wouldn't understand it if it had happened here in the Cities, either.
This was my favorite excerpt from the article I linked to above:
"The motive for the shootings was unclear, but neighbors of McLaughlin's [the shooter] said he suffered a lot of teasing over his acne and seemed to withdraw because of that."
This leads me to believe that the reason he went ballistic and killed at least one classmate is because he was BEING TEASED and became withdrawn. Maybe it's speculative reporting because people need to believe there is a reason this would happen; but maybe there is some truth in that speculation. What. The. Hell. ?! What has happened to teenagers that take out their anger and frustration in this manner? Granted, I graduated 13 years ago, and of course I expect life is much different for teens nowadays than it was for me at their age. But when and how did this frame of mind (that it is okay to shoot people due to being bullied or teased) become so widespread? Don't answer that. I really don't care to engage in a debate about it. It just pisses me off and confuses me, and I really wish things like this didn't happen. Not just here in Minnesota, but all over the country. (Aw Jesus. Just heard about another one on the radio. Read about it here.)
I really wish there were a clear-cut answer on how to stop things like this from happening in the future. Sadly, I don't think there is.
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Take a 90 minute drive northwest from my house in the Twin Cities, and you'll wind up in Cold Spring, Minnesota. I've been there, many times. It is a small and cute little town, quiet as all get-out, and a place where people can still leave their doors unlocked at night without worrying that any harm will come to them. Literally. (I'm saying that to give you an idea of what the town is like. I am not saying it because I think school shootings are any more out of place there than they would be in a larger town.) I just don't understand shit like what happened yesterday. I wouldn't understand it if it had happened here in the Cities, either.
This was my favorite excerpt from the article I linked to above:
"The motive for the shootings was unclear, but neighbors of McLaughlin's [the shooter] said he suffered a lot of teasing over his acne and seemed to withdraw because of that."
This leads me to believe that the reason he went ballistic and killed at least one classmate is because he was BEING TEASED and became withdrawn. Maybe it's speculative reporting because people need to believe there is a reason this would happen; but maybe there is some truth in that speculation. What. The. Hell. ?! What has happened to teenagers that take out their anger and frustration in this manner? Granted, I graduated 13 years ago, and of course I expect life is much different for teens nowadays than it was for me at their age. But when and how did this frame of mind (that it is okay to shoot people due to being bullied or teased) become so widespread? Don't answer that. I really don't care to engage in a debate about it. It just pisses me off and confuses me, and I really wish things like this didn't happen. Not just here in Minnesota, but all over the country. (Aw Jesus. Just heard about another one on the radio. Read about it here.)
I really wish there were a clear-cut answer on how to stop things like this from happening in the future. Sadly, I don't think there is.
posted by AmyVegas at
9/25/2003 09:06:00 AM
