School shootings always are.
15 year old Ryan McDonald got up this morning, kidded with his grandmother, caught the bus and went to school — where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing. Somewhere along the line, he got crosswise with Jamar Siler in the cafeteria. Jamar pulled a gun from his backpack and shot Ryan in the chest. Ryan died within the hour, at UT hospital.
For a few months, Central High School parents have been expressing concerns about discipline at the school, or lack thereof. But school officials seem to have dismissed it as trivial stuff, like shoving in the lunch lines. I have to admit, it’s a long leap from shoving in the lunch line to shooting a classmate over breakfast.
Not so many years ago, teenage machismo was settled with bare knuckles after school. More often than not, the parties ended up friends afterward, their differences settled. What has changed in the psychological makeup of teenagers, that permits one to take a gun to school, kill another child, and calmly walk away?
Did Jamar look at Ryan’s bald head (due to a medical condition that left him completely hairless) and see racism? Did he think that the taking of Ryan’s life would improve his own?
There is no sense to be made of this.
UPDATE: Murder runs in the family?
ur javascript isn’t working on ur clickies…at least not for Mozilla. : (
“There is no sense to be made of this.”
Exactly.
However, I don’t see what good is served by posting the name of the juvenile who has been accused of the shooting. Newspapers don’t generally do this, and I think the policy is a sound one.
Fixed the links manually [grimace].
Joel, the shooter’s name is all over the print, TV, and radio news. Now that the links are fixed, you can confirm it.
Even on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/21/student.killed.ap/index.html
Pingback: jamar siler | hotwordstoday
It states that both were adopted. Are they from the same blood line?
My usual argument, the school is too large, largeness loses control of the population. That being said, it appears both kids had little guidence in their life to steer them in the right direction. Shame.
Although it is a shame it is not an excuse. There are many children without guidance and they do not take out a gun and shoot someone. We need to be teaching positive problem solving techniques both in the home and in the school. I do not think the schools are a place for parenting but rather a place for educating and this could be a good educational tool. It serves in every aspect of life.
Pingback: Recent Links Tagged With "racism" - JabberTags