[Joshua]

You've probably read/heard about the shooting earlier this week in San Diego. I was reading about it on CNN and something struck me.

"He had an evil kind of sadistic demeanor to him," Schardt said.

Williams "was picked on all the time," student Jessica Moore said.

"He was picked on because he was one of the scrawniest guys," Moore said. "People called him 'freak,' 'dork,' 'nerd,' stuff like that."

Though this is indeed a great tragedy, and Williams deserves the harsh punishment he will receive, I cannot help but find irony in the fact that Williams is the one who will come away branded 'sadistic,' rather than the students who contributed to, if not created, his anger.

Josh

[nigeljedi]

Double-edged sword, man. You've got the "on one hand" thing, and the "...but on the other" going here. Yes, those kids who tormented Williams are or were pricks, but anyone who goes to the lengths he did is just a coward. It takes strength to overcome adversity and life crapping on you. Unfortunately, these types of incidents have set a precedence that, I'm afraid, won't be alleviated for some time.

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FireMac
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. -Yoda

[The Dude]

I also think that this kid was a coward to some degree. I mean I have taken more severe ridicule and picking on than this kid reportedly had.

You haven't seen my face on the news, have you? You won't either. They've killed me inside to the point where it just doesn't have the same impact it all once did. That, I think, is a bigger crime than actually killing someone. I have to live the rest of my life with this burden.

Fortunately, the english language has a nice array of insults and cuss words that I can makes these guys look like they saw a ghost after I have a little chat with them. The kind of stuff George Carlin wouldn't even say.

[quitbanningme68]

this stuff ticks me off. That kid is WEAK. Not phsyically, but mentalliy. What a stupid prick. I was picked on when I was little. I had friends as well, because I wasnt a moron, but there are always bullies, and you have to learn how to deal with them. Mo always beats up Calvin in the cartoons, yet a lot of the times Calvin outsmarts him. This kid is an idiot. OH THEY PICKED ON ME SO I SHOULD SHOOT THEM. BAh. I remember in Middle School the bully kid elbowed me in the gut during basketball, so I pretended I was hurt. When he was standing next to me, staring at me grimace, I kicked his legs out from under him and started beating his head into the bleachers. Guess what? He didn't f*ck with me after that. That kid still scares me though. He has 3 felonies now. :|

yeesh.

- Ca$h

[Joshua]

I won't deny that Williams was a coward. What he did was horribly wrong, no question.

My irritation lies more with the media than anything else in situations like this. Look at Columbine: the media did every little thing they could to present the two killers (their names escape me at the moment) as evil, degenerate scum. In a sense, they did exactly what all the bullies at the school had been doing for years: they looked at superficial features like the music they listened to, the video games they played, and Hell, even what they wore, and labeled them something less than human because of it.

I don't know; maybe I'm alone here. This just gets under my skin. Can't we stop for a minute and admit that perhaps a portion of the blame in situations like this lies with the parents, peers, and other individuals who create such rampant anger within people and then ignore the warning signs when the kid finally gets ready to blow?



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www.joshology.com

[maxelson]

Originally posted by Joshua:
I won't deny that Williams was a coward. What he did was horribly wrong, no question.

My irritation lies more with the media than anything else in situations like this. Look at Columbine: the media did every little thing they could to present the two killers (their names escape me at the moment) as evil, degenerate scum. In a sense, they did exactly what all the bullies at the school had been doing for years: they looked at superficial features like the music they listened to, the video games they played, and Hell, even what they wore, and labeled them something less than human because of it.

I don't know; maybe I'm alone here. This just gets under my skin. Can't we stop for a minute and admit that perhaps a portion of the blame in situations like this lies with the parents, peers, and other individuals who create such rampant anger within people and then ignore the warning signs when the kid finally gets ready to blow?

For those of you still in high or junior high school: First, let me be clear about NOT condoning what this kid did. That said, take a good look around you. Cruelty is a part of the school culture. School has a brand of cruelty that is so insidious and constant. It is amazing that any of us make it through. Don't make any mistakes about this... the effects of even subtle cruelties that go on day after day, for some it goes on day by day for 13 years, and the effects are lasting. We minimize it by calling it "being picked on". Think about it. EVERY ONE OF US knows one of those kids. Can those of you who pick on other kids even begin to comprehend the damage you do? Those of you who are the focus of the cruelty: will you remember?
I am completely unsurprised by this onslaught of murder in schools. In a teenager or pre teen's sense of justice, the only recourse that he thinks he has is the most violent one. I don' think it has anything to do with violence on tv, Eminem or Marilyn Manson. It has to do with the Chinese water torture that is daily life in schools. Some people, it toughens them. Others, it crumbles them. Others snap and go on a rage. Read Frankenstein. You bullies help create the monster. Think about it the next time you throw off some little remark that is so cruel that it brands itself on a kid's brain. Teachers think about that the next time you see it in the classromm and hallways and do nothing about it. Above all, you parents remember that when you fail to help your kid deal with this stuff.
Sorry for the length of the post. This is a huge issue with me. Wow. I have quite a few, huh?