I read this story, Murder on Their Minds, in the current issue of Newsweek. I feel everyone who has significant interaction with teenagers should read it, too.
We often tend to dismiss warning signs of real trouble as "just the way kids are". Kids say so many things they don't mean, dramatizing the most trivial of issues, it's very difficult to know when something needs to be given serious attention. But, we live in an era in which virtually anybody is capable of almost anything.
Documents released last week by the Jefferson County sheriff's office show that the boys repeatedly dropped hints at school about their murderous state of mind. Klebold wrote a graphic story about the slaughter of some "preps" and a paper on Charles Manson, while Harris wrote about Nazis and "Guns at Schools." (more)
Furthermore, kids need to be aware of the impact the way they treat other kids might have on those kids. A push in the hallway or the cafeteria might not be the end of the confrontation. A slight, real or imagined, by a would-be friend can have devastating effects.
When he wrote just weeks before the killings, the hurt was raw again. "I hate you people for leaving me out of so many fun things. You people had my phone#, but no. no no no don't let the weird looking Eric KID come along."
No comments:
Post a Comment