or
Tell Me Why I Don't Like Mondays
I'm writing this on Good Friday, the day after the anniversary of the Columbine High murders in the States. As such things are wont to happen, this day brought back some issues that I've been thinking about for a while, mostly related to school violence, with a smidgen of animosity towards the media. It took me a while to even decide to write this, because I realize that in doing so I'm only perpetuating the problem, and I'm a complete hypocrite. I hate what the media has done to something this tragic: it's become a three ring circus and the killers have become heroes. And why? Because no one can let it alone. Fascination for the macabre, for the skeletons in the closets, a need for scapegoats; this has all led to the glorification of an event that should have served as a wake-up call to the world. It's become a vicious cycle and I don't think anyone will realize the damage that has been done until it's far too late. Through the media's intensive coverage of the murders, the killers have accomplished their goal of infamy; but worse yet, they've become inspirational martyrs to others. Don't get me wrong-I'm not saying that we should ignore what's happened, I'm saying that we should look at why this happened and what can be done-if anything-to prevent this from happening again. And we should stop teaching our kids that this is right. Columbine is a prime example of a sensationalized tragedy, and the media and we are to blame for this. Say whatever you want, the media does affect us, and you need to realize that.
And while you're doing that, I have some other thoughts on how certain towns need to realize that they are not invincible. Namely my town. Like many other schools in Simcoe County and across North America, EDHS received several threats this past week from unknown quarters who warned of events that might occur to commemorate the killings. And still people feel that because we're a small town this could never happen here. Granted, nothing has come out of these threats as of yet, but surely this should indicate to us that it could happen...As a product of the Elmvale school system, I can vouch for the fact that many of the elements that people say were prevalent at Columbine are present in our schools, and the lack of official acknowledgement of the problem is only compounding the issue. I think it's only a matter of time.
I'll step off the soapbox now, and if you'd like to respond to this, email me, sign the guestbook, whatever, and I will respond, even if you think I'm totally wrong. But I'll leave you with these two thoughts, and then you can tell me I'm wrong...