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SeaStar
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 12:20pm | IP Logged
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The latest shootings at Virginia Tech have me so upset... and I'm left wondering again, why are schools always a target?
These types of shootings don't seem to happen at Walmart or at churches or the library or sporting events. Certainly there are plenty of people and children at all these places. Is it because schools have people in contained classrooms? Easy targets?
The question goes around in my head. Is it just the killers following established patterns or trends? It's so hard to understand any of it.
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Maryan
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 12:29pm | IP Logged
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IMHO a lot of these tragedies is perhaps becuase THE MAJORITY of a child/teenagers daytime life is wrapped up in school and it becomes ever important to you at that time of life. So many of people's good and bad emotions and formation come from schools. IE. were they liked, did the teacher encourage them, were they made fun of, did they succceed in sports, etc. (I can remember the time in my life where school became more important to me then my parents/family life -- fortunately it was short-lived!!)
Then, another factor that plays a part is that so much mental illness appears in the teenage years. So then you have people that might have bad emotions that may lack a balanced mind to deal with them (and some may not have support at home either -- but many supportive homes deal with mental illness too).
So perhaps those are factors... but no matter what the reasons, it's just so sad.
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Maryan
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Bridget
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 12:49pm | IP Logged
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An aside. My mom heard on the news that one of the girls who escaped the shooting, also was there at Columbine. That poor thing will never feel secure again.
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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mary theresa
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 1:12pm | IP Logged
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Maybe this is not a very concrete answer, but your question makes me think of this.
The youth and children, especially, are the hope of the future. I think Satan is attacking the young. The prime way is of course, through abortion. But schools are places for children and young people. From Satan's perspective, attacks on the young would serve the purpose of crippling and terrifying the natural hopefulness and optimism of the young that Pope John Paul II always said had so much power to change the world.
Just a thought . . .
I don't know why schools would be chosen, from the actual shooter's perspective . . .  But I'm sure Satan is using those poor souls to do his work.
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Mary Theresa
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juststartn
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Honestly...I think we need to look at the schools. A majority are not easily "locked down". LOTS of exits and entrances...frequently left unattended.
I know that this is not the exact point/direction of this thread, but if one looks back only a couple of years, to the Russian tragedy at Beslan (I think that is the way it is spelled)...its easy to see how something like this could happen.
Schools are relatively unattended by police/security--certainly inadequate for the numbers of people one would be protecting/number of entrances to be guarded. AND they are full of our most priceless treasures--our children. We would do anything, GIVE anything, to protect our children...and those who wish to do us harm know that all too well.
As far as why individuals (vs terrorists) seem to go to the schools...I think it is much the same, only with different issues driving the train, iykwim. Personal grievances, mental 'issues', those seem to be the driving motivators behind those sorts of incidences.
Also bear in mind that at schools, there is almost no chance of there being an armed "opponent"...everyone there is going to be unarmed, incapable of doing anything to defend themselves. You actually have a better chance of running across an armed citizen at Walmart than at a school...so that would be why you don't see folks going ballistic at Walmart.
But that's my $.02...
Rachel
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stefoodie
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| Posted: April 18 2007 at 10:10pm | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
| I can remember the time in my life where school became more important to me then my parents/family life |
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Me too, and I think this is key. So many of these kids now don't have as much of a family life as we had growing up, and so for them peer acceptance becomes inordinately, extremely important, so much so that any form of rejection/intolerance/bullying they experience becomes such a major deal to them. And then if it just continues to pile up over the years, through high school, college, etc.
I am just heartbroken over the VA Tech tragedy. How many of our teens today just need to be loved and understood a bit more? How many of them started out as kids being misunderstood, how many of them spent their childhood at day care, not getting the love and attention they needed? How many of them as little children had problems that were dismissed by the adults that were supposed to help them find solutions? I really think this is indicative of a society that through the years have just continuously ignored the REAL needs of children: to be hugged, to be read to, to be listened to, etc.
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stef
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Topic: Why are schools a target?
