“School shooting” -- a term that
appears more and more often in the headlines, almost to the point
where we're tempted to say “Ho hum, another one, hope it's nowhere
around here [quick check of location], things are going to hell, etc.
What's for dinner?” Yes, even this – unheard of in any past era
– has become almost expected, like some sort of seasonal natural
phenomenon. And we get the usual hand-wringing and pointless
babbling, all of which reflects an attitude of victimhood and
helplessness, and a refusal to delve into the real causes. The only
question that is consistently asked is the wrong one, namely: What
is wrong with “our society” that “allows such things to happen”
by refusing to confiscate everyone's guns? But even that is usually
drowned in a sea of “grief counseling”, “healing”, “moving
on”, and teddy bears.
Now, I don't mean to sound cynical;
after all, tragedy is tragedy, and it happens to individuals, not
groups or societies. But to remain on a superficial level and not
ask the hard questions is to, basically, give up on finding answers
and on really doing anything about the problem.
The most obvious question, which is
begged over and over again, is this: Why schools? And, more
specifically, why public schools? When's the last time you heard of
a shooting at a private, Catholic, or Christian (i.e. Evangelical)
school? I can't think of a single instance. Naturally enough, most
of the perpetrators are themselves students (in the school in
question or one nearby), though there are some exceptions. But ease
of access is not enough to explain the statistics – nor is the fact
that the public schools have a much larger enrollment than all other
types combined. It has to be – it seems to me – something about
public schools per se that invite this sort of... let's call it
“rage” (and rage, as we all know (or ought to) is most commonly a
result of helplessness and frustration). The shootings are typically
planned, sometimes far in advance... preparations are impressively
complete at times, although an escape plan is seldom included since –
also typically – the perpetrator has pretty much planned to be
killed in the process – to be, in effect, a martyr to his own
ambiguous cause. And they all have reasons, and those reasons
typically have to do with bullying, or at least having been a
“loner”, albeit usually a fairly intelligent one.
“Over-sensitivity” -- on the opposite end of the scale from being
a bully, I suppose – is an almost inevitable trait, along with
being somewhere on the Asperger's scale.
And yet the victims seem, most of the
time, to be chosen at random; they are simply in the wrong place at
the wrong time. In other words, the perpetrator does not seek out
the bullies who've been persecuting him, instead blaming the student
body as a whole for, I suppose, having an “atmosphere” of
bullying and intolerance (the way so many sectors of our society
allegedly have an “atmosphere” of racism or sexism, even if there
is no tangible evidence). There are, after all, in society at large,
bullies and those who aren't bullied but who tacitly go along with
bullying, i.e. either approve or don't object. (This is a phenomenon
frequently discussed when the topic of Nazi Germany comes up, for
example. The “silent majority” -- the great, gray middle – may
not commit crimes, but they are silent in the face of crime,
preferring to protect their own interests rather than “get
involved”.)
But are the schools themselves bullies
and persecutors? Don't they exist primarily to teach the “3 R's?”
Well, no – not in our time. It's no accident that the video of
Pink Floyd's song “Another Brick in the Wall” showed a parade of
schoolchildren in grotesque masks filing through a dark factory and
then plunging into a giant hopper – all to the tune of “we don't
need no thought control”. Preparation for good citizenry is less
about tangible subject matter than about attitudes and feelings –
and public school teachers identify themselves as “agents of
change” (and proud of it).
So perhaps the question should be not
only what the public schools do on an ordinary, daily basis, but what
they represent or symbolize – especially to people who prefer to
“connect the dots” rather than drown their sorrows in sex, drugs,
and rock 'n' roll (or team sports). The school shooters may have
diseased minds and twisted thought processes, but they at least get
this much right: The public schools represent the Regime... “the
man”... the system... and what used to be called the
“establishment” before the people who used that term became
the establishment. The public schools are rightly seen – and not
just by the deranged – as the cutting edge of society's campaign
against true freedom, true liberty, and true individuality. They are
a key component of the propaganda apparatus, and the first one the
average citizen is likely to encounter (unless they overdose on PBS
while still toddlers). And for the “normal” among us, they are
no threat, because we have already -- by the time we enter that
gaping door on the first day of kindergarten – been sufficiently
softened up; we have become little authoritarians. We are unlikely
to rebel, except for a few pathetic gestures in early adolescence;
and, most importantly of all, we are unlikely to ever question the
basic premises upon which our system (political, economic, social) is
based. The outlier, however, has little if anything to lose by
questioning the party line... by wondering whether we all live in the
“matrix”. They value their own individuality, flawed as it may
be, over group identity; they are unlikely to ever become political
animals or “good citizens”. And yes, the system is designed to
tolerate (if not encourage) a certain small percentage of outliers;
they act as a safety valve, and mostly as an example the Regime can
point to and say (to all the others), “Now you don't want to be
like that guy, do you? A geek, a loser, a disruptive influence? No,
of course not. Now drink your Kool-Aid and be quiet.”
But then a small percentage of these
alienated types – the truly wretched souls – get it into their
heads that the only way to express their rage against the machine is
to kill off some of its other victims, albeit the willing ones. And
like terrorism, their act doesn't teach anyone anything (although it
should); it just increases the sum total of fear, alienation, and
insecurity in the community. And they (the perps) might say, well
fine, I'm showing these people how things really are. Maybe on some
level that's true, but who will argue that the lesson is worth the
price?
Now don't get me wrong; it's still
their fault. You can't water down evil by ascribing it to a group,
or a race, or “historical grievances”. And frankly, I've never
had much regard for the “insanity defense”. Doesn't it
implicitly assume that most murders are committed by sane people?
And can that possibly be true? I would say it's false by definition.
But having said that, there are certainly environmental factors
contributing to violent acts; very few are completely random. And
what sort of environment have we created in our time? One where the
individual feels increasingly helpless and exploited, so tries to
assert himself through risk-taking and “extreme” activities,
clothes, tattoos, piercings, and other lifestyle choices – anything
to show that he still has some small measure of control over his own
existence. (And if you want a veritable fashion show of extreme
looks, seek no further than the nearest public high school.) What
I'm saying is that when you have a society that exerts control over
every aspect of life... that attempts to eliminate all sources of
danger or hurt feelings... you're going to get a reaction. The human
organism is not programmed to accept, and be grateful for, a
completely stress-free existence; we crave danger and risk, and when
we don't get it in the normal course of things we create it – and
by doing so we, and others, may become victims.
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