Life After Columbine

a reply to: seagull

Thank you seagull.


I did actally have some visceral reaction after and during writing this piece. I can't even imagine the trauma people who were even more involved must feel.

a reply to: zosimov


Aquilegia

All I could think of; name change.
But columbine sounds better to my ear.

originally posted by: starviego
Columbine was a covert op. If we were serious about stopping school shootings we would take the CIA and splinter it into a thousand pieces.

Where's your evidence to claim Columbine was a covert CIA op? Did Aliens from outer space whisper it to you while you were sleeping?

a reply to: pthena

Thank you pthena. It really is a beautiful flower, isn't it?

They're one of our native mountain flowers and always look so delicate for so rugged a home.

a reply to: zosimov


I listened to Rocky Mountain High and then Where the Columbine Grow
remembering September 1977 heading West through a Rocky Mountain pass,
waiting for the road to be cleared of an avalanche.

Then YouTube recommended Into the West.

a reply to: pthena

This is a gorgeous song (almost a dirge) that I'd never heard before. Thanks for sharing, my friend.

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: TinySickTears

He makes an excellent point.

I think the whole community has been frustrated in the approach/response. The media went through the gamut to try to make sense of something that really was just senseless. They really did push this tragedy to the max.

No one seems to want to face what the root cause of the tragedy was - a reflection of our diseased society and how it treats outsiders and misfits. Make no mistake. This was Revenge Of The Nerds. School sucks.

a reply to: ItCameFromOuterSpace

I do think that, in the long run, guns and a "bully atmosphere" got the most scrutiny of all the root causes that were examined.

You might be right-- the picture that finally came out once the smoke cleared was of some crappy behavior, one incident in which one of those two was physically pushed around, but certainly not one of two isolated and outcast loners. And still one wonders what could make a person so gleeful about murdering unarmed and unaffiliated (kids who were nice to them) people.

It just never does add up to a simple answer.

My final thoughts on here, and back to the idea I have in my OP to make this better is this:

The ones of us left who still care and want to make a difference really can. It will take some discomfort to make a real change. I truly think we've disconnected and need to commit to our community, and especially the youth we are most inclined to avoid.

I just realized one small step I could make (other than continuing to be closely involved with my son's school and class) is to reach out to the twins who live next door-- the Dennis the Menices to my inner Mr. Wilson.
First time I met them they were almost four and swarmed into my car, grabbing a basketball and maybe another belonging (there were two of these-- it was hard to keep track) and running around with them-- their dad yelling heedlessly for them to put my stuff back.
Since then, they've cornered my son (then 4--two years their junior) into a room and showed him scary videos that left him pale and shaken and gave him nightmares for weeks. So my kid doesn't play there anymore but they still taunt him through our fence pretty boldly and in front of me. When they threated to punch my kid in the face I had to step in and even later my husband went for a talk with the twins dad. All this to say...

I'm going to try a different tactic. I'm thinking of ways to reach out to these kids and (this is tough to say and this is one thing I think a lot of people struggle with) LOVE them.

How can I show these kids love and maybe help them NOT to be so unpleasant?
I had a few ideas of going for some hikes and getting into nature with them, their parents, and my kids.
And I really have to change the way I see these kids.

If we all started with the "problem kids" in this way, we might be able to start making an impact.

If you don't have kids, you would be the perfect candidate for helping weary/overwhelmed parents out. The fact is that all parents are basically playing it by ear. There's no one way to raise kids right; in fact it seems that each child and each circumstance requires its own approach, and the more responsible and involved adults in a youth's life, the better the chances they'll be well rounded and able to develop according to the one-on-one (human contact is just so crucial for our development and something I really do think we are lacking today) time.