Posted 3/15/01 Sunday Night, by MaryHelen Swanson: Sticks and stones and words may hurt, but a bullet in the head means dead Since the Columbine shootings, weíve asked area students, on occasion, if they feel safe in their schools and, for the most part, they say yes. And they probably do and will, until something tragic like this happens here at home. We hope it wonít. The schools have plans for disasters, but until an event occurs, they remain unchallenged. And we hope they stay that way. But in all the preparation for that dreaded incident, we still havenít gotten to the root of the cause of children killing children. Young people, what makes you so angry? Who should we blame? Parents too busy working to give time to their children? Schools too busy trying to get students to pass tests? Bullies who constantly harass fellow students? Or should we put the blame on the availability of weapons? What did kids do before guns? They used knives and brass knuckles and crow bars and chains and fists and clubs. Even in Minnesota suburbs in the 50s the switchblade was carried, and used, by many a greasy-haired, blue-jean clad boy wearing engineer boots with cleats on the heels. The inner city was worse. And Iíve heard, carrying a pocket knife was an essential in rural schools. Now, isnít that a lot better than guns? Iím being facetious, of course, but I just wanted to remind you that kids and violence is not a new concept. Consider Cain and Abel. My point is, weíve been failing for a long time to get to the issues facing young people and so these tragedies occur over and over and we gasp and say ìwhat a shameî and start pointing fingers and today, they seem to be pointed at gun owners. Truth is, the gun owners I am acquainted with are responsible people who see that their children get firearms instruction, that their firearms are securely stored and used properly. Yet, some irresponsible people are leaving weapons in bad places for children to find, and this should not happen. However, I still donít think itís the guns as much as the anger behind the trigger finger. The other night, when I couldnít sleep, I watched a movie about gangs in south L.A. It chronicled the life of a black man who started a two-person gang in the 70s that grew to hundreds as the founding members grew into adulthood. He ends up in prison. Coming out of prison, the man learns he has a son. For the childís sake, he tries to stay out of trouble but is lured back into crime and lands in prison for another 10 years. His son grows up in the fierce community and at age 10 is stealing car stereos for a hardcore gang leader. It leads to a shooting in which the boy gets seriously injured. In prison, the angry man learns of this and severs his gang affiliation, and in doing so becomes the target of a white gang. He is saved by a fellow inmate who helps him turn his life around. The man finally learns to react to violence without more violence. I found a good message in the story, and I believe itís something we need to teach our children. As our youngsters lash out in anger and frustration, they need to learn more about the reality of death. Movieís message: If you say something to hurt someone, you can go back and say ìIím sorry.î If you take something from someone, you can go back and return it. If you kill someone . . . you cannot go back. Young people do not seem to comprehend that death is the end; a limp body that soon becomes cold and stiff with no voice, no breath, no movement. Once the heart stops beating, itís too late. Remorse or regret does no good. Saying ìIím sorryî does no good. Wishing it didnít happen does no good. There is nothing in this whole world more final than death. Instead of rushing children to ìget on with lifeî after such tragedies, we should let them dwell a little longer on death, about how it is final and it hurts and leaves gaping holes in families. And they must clearly understand that if they are the one responsible for ending someoneís life, they cannot undo it. Period. ©Post Review