Follow-up to School Shooting Post

When I ended the post below with the remark that we could help end school shootings by telling children we love them, I wasn't being as trite as it seems.

The Secret Service did a study a number of years ago on school shootings, after Columbine, to try and help schools and parents identify risks. They could not come up with much of a profile (beyond the fact that nealy all the school shooters are male and white). They did, however, identify some common ground among school shooters.

Among their findings...

First, shooters were likely people who were regularly and persistently bullied by their peers. Of course, the most common place for them to routinely interact with their peers is at school. These kids are ostracized for some reason- appearance, behavior, etc.- and this becomes such a common part of their lives that they begin to contemplate violent revenge.

Secondly, shooters are very likely to talk about what they intend to do before they do it. They may threaten to shoot or blow people up. They may even warn friends to stay home on a particular day. But, they talk.

Here's where kindness to a child can have an impact. Loving a child can help to counterbalance, perhaps even immunize them from, the harassment they face at school. If they feel loved, perhaps they are less likely to take such an extreme action that can cost students their lives.

Further, if we reach out in kindness to our children, perhaps they will tell us when things are getting to be too much. Perhaps they will tell us what they feel like doing. Then we can intervene- before it's too late.

I know it's not so simple as saying, "I love you." But the analogy I would use is like people who take a 'baby aspirin' to reduce their chances of a heart attack. Other risk factors have to be dealt with too, and the aspirin is no guarantee.

However, it won't hurt, and it may well help.

GP