I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Monday, February 27, 2012

And so it goes

For those of you watch the news, you know that Chardon is in a state of shock today from the shootings. So begins the search for reasons, people lining up on sides, the anger, the sympathy and the insanity that insanity breeds. Cry havoc and let slip the asinine comments of the blowhards.

But I have a few thoughts. One, metal detectors wouldn't help. More guns in schools wouldn't help. Anti-bullying laws wouldn't help (just research Columbine, now more than a decade behind us). Gun controls wouldn't help.

On the cold rational side of things, I want to find everybody who ever told me a .22 couldn't be a "killing weapon" and rub their face in this.

What will happen is everybody's life will be changed. Angry kids will be angrier, disenfranchised kids will be even farther out, scared kids will be even more scared, the in-clique will be tighter and more insular, and everybody will lie about how that won't happen. Not in this town. Not after what happened.

Chardon isn't my local school district, but I worked in Chardon for almost 8 years. I did work for Chardon High School. I know the parents of some of the kids who would be attending high school now. I know the reporters who were first on the scene.

These things don't always happen in someone else's town. Who ever said they'd stay away and not come close? If someone told you that, even if they spoke in your voice, the lied.

5 comments:

vince said...

Anyone whole told you a .22 couldn't kill knew jack squat about firearms.

These tragedies are horrible, but I can't think of any systems that can stop someone determined to kill without regard to the consequences.

Steve Buchheit said...

Hey Vince, yeah, I think I was kind of speechless the first time I heard someone say a .22 couldn't kill. Of course they were all about the 9mm. Which they couldn't control.

And you can only stop the mildly curious. If someone is determined, they'll get through.

Dana Teel said...

There are a lot of things that will help, but prevention, I'm afraid that as long as people are being people there's no such thing as prevention. I think a .22 is a great weapon, the .223 is even better. But then I digress.

Dana Teel said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Steve Buchheit said...

Hey Dana, I'm pretty sure this will come out as undisguised depression mixed with a spectrum of psychopathy or sociopathy. In court the lawyers argued that there was no bulling, and that he didn't know his victims. Unfortunately in today's Plain Dealer is an interview with one of the kids sitting with the group that was the first targets and ended up being grazed. He knew the kid, was friends with him in middle school, but then "drifted apart."