The last few years have forever altered the way we look at guns in this country, especially in respect to schools. How did we get to this point where we are now? We seem to be at a place now where a kid bringing a gun into his classroom may not even make the front page of the local newspaper. America needs to look at itself in the mirror and figure out why this is no longer such a big deal.
Last week a student brought a gun to an Indianapolis high school. The student fired it into the air and thankfully nobody was hurt, but to hear the story told by the newspapers and newscasts, it sounded like it was a somewhat regular occurrence. This is quite frightening and also somewhat humbling.
A rural school surrounded by Indiana cornfields was also hit by random gunfire last week. Thankfully injuries were limited to one person who was hit by shards of glass. At the same time, it could have been worse. America has suffered enough. We have seen enough tragedy in America's schools.
The tragedy that unfolded last year at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the massacre of Columbine High School, these events are what make the big headlines and steal television time away from Hollywood's bad kids.
When Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and then took his own life, it was all America could talk about. The major networks replayed the stock footage they use whenever students are killed in a school. They'll bring out the pictures of Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold, the murderers of Columbine. Perhaps they'll bring out a picture of Charles Whitman, who killed 14 people at the University of Texas in 1966. They'll talk about how there were warning signs but nobody was paying attention. They'll blame it on the parents for never doing more.
These are the incidents that make the news. These are the tragedies that get us to pay attention. What about all the other frightening things we see, though? What else is going on around us that we should be more scared about than we are? It scares me that kids bringing guns to school is seeming to be routine.
In the past several weeks there have been a number of incidents that have been mentioned on the evening news or in the newspapers. A student may bring his dad's pistol to school and get caught with it in his backpack. Another student may have a rifle in the trunk of his car and get caught. For me, all of these incidents are as frightening, not to mention unnerving, as if the students had shot their own classmates. It is frightening because there is no reason it could not happen close to home the next time.
All we can do is be observant. All we can do is trust in those who are charged with our protection and give them our support. We can't change the past, any more than we can predict the future. But when we hear about a student firing a gun at their high school or just bringing it to show off, let's take it as serious as if there had been a shooting. Because if we as a society can keep guns out of our schools, we can prevent another Columbine, another Virginia Tech, another Red Lake High School, another senseless tragedy.
Write to Alex at apcarroll@bsu.edu
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