October 13, 2007- A Culture Problem

   Earlier this week, we had another tragic re-run of something we see far too much of in American society today, and I am not talking about another re-run of " I Love Lucy", but of something far more serious than any asinine TV show like that could ever hope to be. What was had was another shooting/killing rampage at one of America's high schools, this time, it was in the Cleveland, Ohio metropolitan area, where we had another kid go into his school armed and start shooting people until he eventually killed himself. The story is that this kid was fucked up to begin with, he was not even supposed to be at school that day, as he was suspended for fighting or some such shit, not the first time the kid had been suspended/disciplined at school. It was not just a school thing either, the kid was every bit as fucked up at home as he was at school, the parents had him going to psychiatrists and taking medications, the whole shot, but the kid seemed to not respond to that. So, he got suspended from school, and decided that he was going to do something about it, and went and got himself dressed in all black, and even painted his fingernails black, got himself a big old long coat of some kind, and went to the school looking to cause serious mayhem and damage to certain people. He apparently was after the tachers and other school personnel that he felt had wronged him by suspending him, not other students, but if any got in his way, they were going to go dowen too, and a couple did for that reason. As usual in these cases, the kid went and did as much damage as he possibly could, and then went off somewhere and shot himself rather than face the Pigs, who were hot on his tail by that time. Also as usual in these cases, the Pigs not only found a teenage kid with his head blown off, but a huge cache of ammunition and more guns, enough firepower to stand up to the Pigs if he had chosen to do so and give them a real problem. Scenes like this are becoming part of everty school year in America these days, somewhere in the country during th eyear, usually several times, some kind goes off at school with som eguns and ammo and creates a major scene and tragedy. The most famous one of these occured in Littleton, Colorado at Columbine High School in 1999, but ther ehave been many others in America since then, and the scene in Cleveland this week was just the latest chapter in that. Every time this shithappens, we see the same debate start up again in America, gun control and how that would have made a difference either way. Gun control advocates immediately jump onto these things and say that thi sshows that gun laws in America are not working and that we need to crack down hard on that shit and so forth and so on. The likes of Reverend Jesse Jackson lead candlelight vigils in the names of the kids killed on these rampages, and carry on for the TV cameras non stop. The gun right side says shit like it is not the guns that do the killing, but rather the people that wield them, that this in not a gun problem, but a culture problem and the two sides go back and forth and forth and back, and  nothing is ever resolved by it. meanwhile, it becomes just a matter of time before we hear about the next shooting/kiling rampage at a high school/college in America, and the cycle begins anew again. This has become like some kind of sick perversion of the old which came first, the chicken or the egg joke, but this shit at the schools is no joke at all, it is deadly serious shit, literally, and an answer needs to be found somewhere.

   That stuff about Amerioca having too many guns is something that looks very tempting when these things happen. After all, you don't hear about these sort of rampages at schools in Europe and such, where they have stricter gun laws and more restricted access to them. No one knows for sure where this kid in Cleveland got the guns and ammunition that he had, but it surley was gotten illegally, as he was not old enough to have firepower like that legally, and the gun control people seize on that. It is true that guns are readily available anywhere in America, they are as widespread and as easy to get as drugs are, and that makes it easy for some troubled kid to get his hands on one. A gun is a great equalizer when you are facing a large number of bullies and the like, and to an outnumbered kid backed into corners by these types continually, it seems like a good option to have. A gun is also a great tool for imtimidation, and a hotheaded bully kid that wants to fuck with others sees that this is something that he can easily hide behind, so he wants one too. If these guns were not such a prevalent part of American society like they are, they would not be able to make these wishes come true, and bring about the often tragic results that are inevitable. The gun control people point to all of this stuff to make their point  and when we see another kid shoot up another school, it look spretty good. A gun is a huge responsibility to have and control, and impulsive adolescents are not the best keepers of a responsibility like that. They see all the shi ton TV and in the movies that shows some hero using guns to get his way, to make things happen as he wants them, and these characters are glorified no end in these movies. There is also no shortage of CD's filled with mainly rap artists that are telling stories about how they have used guns to get ahead in the world, and hoiw much they have gained from that, they glorify it no end, so a kid today is bombarded with the message that a gun is a way to solve problems your way and when they see that they can get one cheap, they go for it. There are no shortages of gun dealers that are just like drug dealers, they are ready and willing to sell their products to kids, no matter how old they may be, as long as they have the money, they have the guns. The laws that are currently in place in America concerning these issues seem to not be working, they just drive it all underground, where it is harder to police and control, and these scenes at schools are the prince America is paying for that. If guns were treated  more carefully and had more laws concerning them, these kids could not get these things like they do now, and these massacres could be prevented. If these scenes were just isolated instances, like one ot two every decade, that would be different, because no system is completely foolproof and these things would happen every once in a while anyway, but the fact that we see thi sshit happening every school year in America now, usually several times, means that it is not an isolated thing, and that changes in laws are needed to ensure that these things stop once and for all. If the laws were working, this would not be happening like it is, and we would not be having these debates all the time. Yes, these school massacres make the anti-gun viewpoint look very good because they shock and horrify people so, the thought of innocent kids being slaughtered in school, and many wonder when America is going to stand up and say enough is enough and make the changes necessary to stop this from happening anymore. That viewpoint wil be heard loudly and clearly after this Cleveland massacre and any further ones we see in America in the future, but is it really correct like it purports to be?

   Those that say that this is a manifestation of a cultural problem say no way to that viewpoint. They are going to point to several things in this story to look at, things like  why this kid was ever allowed anywhere near the school since he was suspended and school security should have known that and not let him in, and once he was let in, how the fuck does a kid get all these guns and ammunitions inside a school that has metal detectors by the doors like this one did. If there had been any kind of real security at that school thay day and not som eold, retired Pig snoozing on the job or whatever, the kid gets stopped at the door and they find all these guns and shit before he gets a chance to use them. Another question that is brought up is if this kid was seeing doctors of all types aboiut these social problems he had, then why did not one of these trained professionals pick up on it and say that the kid was a clear and present danger to himself and others and act accordingly? Also, where  were the kid's parents, yes, they were sending him to doctors and shit, but if he was that fucked up, they should have known it and  maybe they should have had him at some different kind of school, this was some kind of private academy thing, not a place where troubled kids with special needs should be going. Maybe the parents should not have been so worried about how something like that might look to the neighbors or on the kid's record and realized they had a troubled son on their hands and acted accordingly. The Pigs also play into this, if this kid had a record at school and such of violent and dangerous behavior, why didn't they act on it, the school might have clued them in on what was going on here,there are so many factors like that to take into consideration here. It seems that no one had restricted this kid's access to the gun soaked world of American pop culture, that he knew all about the rap CD's and videos, and that he saw the movies where guns were used to make people into heroes and that since he had these mental problems anyway, he was not able to process that shit properly and saw things in them that were not there, and that was why he went off like he did this week. These are the things that the NRA and other gun organizations shall point to here and they say that this is why the kid did what he did, the gun was not the reason. It is not the fault of the gun or the responsible gun owners of America that this kid was not watched properly or handled right and ended up getting his troubled hands on a gun and committing mayhem. Someone that messed up in the head could have caused problems with virtually anytyhing he got his hands on, he could have taken his car and tried to run down the teachers as they went to their cars after school, he could have gotten some kind of poison and spread that where they would come in contact with it, he copuld have gone to the school cafeteria and kitchen and gotten himself a knife of some kind and used that, this kid was hell-bent to do something, and he was going to use whatever means were at his disposal to do it, and he chose guns over other methods.  He had bought into the culture of self-obesssion and such so very deeply that he had no feeling towards others anymore, he only cared aboiut himself, and acted accordingly, thinking of only his petty grudges and such and not even thinking about what he was doing to other people. A gun did not do that and if it had not been available, the kid would have found some other way to do what he wanted to do, and that side of the story is also a very compelling argument here.

   However, the answer lies somewhere in between like always. It is very much a culture poroblem that these things happen, but the guns are such an integral part of that culture, that they are part of the problem as well. It is a bad mix to have a society that is so obssessed with the self and also has relatively easy access to something as powerful as guns. However, guns are not going away anytime soon in America, or ever for that matter, there are just too many people in the country that like them and that use them responsibly. Whether you like them or not, guns and firearms were responsible for startiung and shaping America, the country would not exist without them. They will never go away for preciely that reason, so the only way that you can stop this shit at the schools is to try and change the attitudes and mindsets of the culture. You have got to stop glorifying guns and shit as a way of life in tghese fucking rap songs and videos that you market to kids that are in thoe schools that are getting shot up, making shit like that the number one form of music in America is surely playing a role in this. get Hollywood to make movies for young people that actuaqlly have things like stories and plots in them, not just dogshit that shows guns and violence endlessly and make that cool. Kids don't need to see guns endlessly shown as ways to get power and chicks and money, all things that kids want. However, that makes money for these gun makers and sellers that so strenuously deny having anything to do with any of this at all. They want to see guns glorified in public, that makes them money. They have the ready made excuses for when the school shooting occur, they blame the culture, but they manipulate that same culture to sell their shit and make lots of money. They are a part of that cultural problem because they are after what that culture glorifies more than guns or anything else, they are after money. The two ends of this problem, the ready availability of guns in America and their glorification and the culture of selfisness and no concern for others are hand in hand because they both sprung up in pursuit of the same thing, and that was money, and as much of it as they can get. That's why they are always in an endles deadlock when they debate this issue after a school shooting, because they know that they are actually partners and in this together, but they have to act otherwise, like they are enemies, because that is all a big part of the show that is selling these ideas and whatnot to the American people. If either side really had an answer, that answer would be apparent by now, instead, all you see is a never ending stalemate, and that's becaue stalemates are very, very good for business most of the time. So business will go on as usual in America, and we'll continue to see these school shootings every so often, because the sad fact of it is that these episodes are a part of that business that these two sides are in, an unfortunate side effect if you wil, but a very powerful one nonetheless. Yes, it is a culture problem, but to ask people that are so firmly entrenched in that culture to do anything real about it is crazy shit and that is why the whole circle shall remain unbroken and what we saw in Cleveland the other day will be seen elsewhere throughout America this 2007-2008 school year and every school year after that too and nothing real wil be done about it, and that wil be just another reason why America's schools fail their students miserably  and that will just contribute that those culture probhlems that so many profit so handsomely off of in so many different ways.

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