Opuscula How to prevent School shootings

THE HEADLINE MAY BE A little “wishful thinking,” but by all accounts, what is about to be suggested is feasible.

MULTIPLE STUDIES, including by the federal government, come to the same conclusion:

Pay attention to students’ behavior.

Who needs to pay attention?

• Parents
• Teachers
• Fellow students
• Medical personnel (pediatricians, family doctors)

Be aware of any changes in a young person’s behavior.

There is moodiness, of course, but there are other “red flags” that the person's character is changing.

• Increased time on the Internet and a demand for privacy when on the ‘Net
• A change in friends and an unwillingness to have new friends meet parents/guardians
• Interests in violent actions, particularly cruelty to animals and defenseless children
• Class room participation and behavior — homework on time? Test scores as before?
• Appearance; any major changes in clothing style or personal appearance, e.g., uncombed hair where it once was combed

I am not a lawyer and while I would LIKE to suggest that parents and guardians look at web sites and “social media” their children visit, I’m reasonably certain the ACLU or other such organization would claim “parental snooping” is a violation of a child’s civil rights. (But doesn’t killing another person violate THAT person’s right to life; his or her civil rights?)

It may “take a village” to raise a child; it certainly takes a “village” of concerned parents/guardians, teachers, friends, and others with an opportunity to observe the child. Coupled with “If you see something, say something,” maybe the number of school shootings can be eliminated or at least reduced.

The same advice applies to young adults as well (and a few older adults, too); perhaps the number of drive by shootings could be reduced if the shooter’s friends, co-workers, et al, would say something to SOMEONE — preferably the cops who probably cannot do anything until a crime is committed; maybe Section 8 incarceration for mental evaluation.

Locally, the friends and relatives of drive-by shooting victims hit the bricks demanding that the attacks stop, but few DO anything — Hear No, See No, and Speak No evil. And innocent bystanders, often toddlers, continue to be murdered.

Black on black crime doesn’t bring out Alfred Charles Sharpton Jr. and Jesse Louis Jackson . Not enough national tv face time, perhaps.

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