Top Stories Headline News
	Contents This Issue's Index
	Editorials Editorials Columns Letters
	Arts & Leisure Reviews & Schedules
	Outdoors Fishing/Hunting Outdoor Magazine
	Sports Local Scores & Standings
	Food Recipes for culinary delights
	Bridges Bridges of the Upper Delaware
	Back Issues
	Search
	Links
	Commerce Sponsors
	Classified Ads Find it here
	Staff Pages
	Masthead
	Design Studio
	Subscriptions Get your copy delivered

The tragedy of Littleton

To the editor:

We’re all trying to make sense out of the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado on Tuesday. I want to understand how this could happen, but more than that, I want to DO something to stop it from happening again. Sixteen children die every day in America from gun violence. Why haven’t we done more to stop it?

We MUST take steps NOW — not next week, not next year, but now. First, we must hold every gun holder legally responsible, with threat of serious punishment, for allowing his weapon to fall into the hands of a child. All guns in homes with children must be locked away.

Second, we must stand up against the gun lobby. We must stop the manufacture of assault weapons, of handguns, and other guns not used for hunting. There are 250 million guns in America today — we don’t need all these guns. They are killing our children, our neighbors, our spouses, our parents. The second amendment guaranteed the right to bear arms because of the need for a standing militia. We don’t need a standing militia today — we have four branches of the professional military. The second amendment is no longer relevant and the NRA knows it.

This insanity must stop. How can we ignore the astonishing pain that the two teenage shooters must have been in to take these actions? How can we ignore the grief of the families of the dead students? How can we ignore the insane number of guns in America today? No other civilized country on earth has the romance with guns America has. It is time to change that. And if we don’t, we are — all of us — the worst kind of cowards.

Scott Miller

St. Louis, MO

To the editor:

I decided to hold off writing this week’s perspective until the numbers were verified. The preliminary reports said twenty-five dead, twenty wounded — by this morning [April 23] the number of dead had been revised to fifteen. I thought that this numeric fact in no way diminished the absolute horror of the shooting at Columbine High School. I now realize the numbers are everything. There are ten children alive that were thought to be dead. Ten sets of parents have been spared the experience of attending their child’s untimely funeral. Unfortunately, the fifteen sets of parents who lost their children are left with only the question, "Why?"

It would be logical to blame the proliferation of violence in our media or our culture of guns but that does not answer the question of why a youngster acts out their most violent feelings in the first place. A French sociologist developed the theory of Anomie. Simply put, it is a kind of identity crisis where a person has no validation from the society around them. Some young people are rejected by their peers, criticized by their teachers and have no meaningful family support. They are lost children who seek affirmation from some act that will give a recognition to their existence. Eventually, their anger and inability to change their condition can lead to suicide. The shooting in Littleton, Colorado was both vengeful and suicidal by design.

One cannot help but notice the similarities of the schools and communities in which shootings have occurred and our schools in Sullivan County. They are suburban rural locations with a predominantly white middle class population with limited resources for after school sports and clubs. Many of our children are left to be socially on their own. They have access to pop culture, the Internet and guns, which are kept in our closets. Statistically schools are very safe places. It is up to our teachers, counselors and administrators to keep a watchful eye for signs of potential problems. There must be a plan for active intervention when a student is isolating themselves from activities and other students. The safety and welfare of the school depend on it.

Finally, we as parents must bare the ultimate responsibility for our children. You have to know what they are doing and what they are thinking about. Guns in our homes must be locked down so that there is no possibility of access without supervision. Personally, I don’t believe in first amendment rights for school age children. The Internet can be a positive learning tool or a relentless source of negative information. We as parents have the obligation to monitor what our children are viewing and limit that which we identify as harmful. All of this may seem like an exhausting cooperative effort but that’s what it takes to protect our schools and our children from a shooting incident like that which occurred in Littleton, Colorado.

Richard Levine

Legislator, District 6

Monticello

To the editor:

The vultures are circling again. This time it’s Denver, Colorado.

The latest piece of philosophy by way of popular song is "if it was up to me I would take away the guns."

You took away the tobacco and they still smoke it.

You took away the alcohol and they still drink it.

You took away the drugs, and now it’s easier for them to buy a joint than a six pack of beer.

I have no idea how we solve the problem and still have a free society. I do know that throwing children in prison or banning guns is not the answer.

There is a strong argument that the portrayal of violence in the media is the major cause of violence in society. But to propose legislation to restrict it would be violating the First Amendment. We have laws restricting pornography in relation to children. But one has only to log onto the Internet to see how futile that is. Bans, whether on pornography, drugs, tobacco, alcohol or guns, create more problems than they solve. Prohibition created a problem with organized crime that we still haven’t solved, and banning drugs has created another crime problem that we will not solve until we can find a more creative solution than putting kids in prison.

Should parents bear more responsibility for the actions of their children? Yes! But how can they when both parents have to work to support a family? Should we support single parent families? Yes! But how? Is a person who chooses to stay home and raise a family as important as a doctor or a lawyer? Yes! But how do we compensate them? How do we identify and help a family with a problem?

We hear about counselors going to help the community overcome the tragedy. How about counseling the community to prevent the tragedy from happening? Proactive health care is an accepted way to help solve the health care crisis. How about proactive counseling?

I have no answers! Only questions! Until we start asking questions and looking for answers, instead of just rubber necking the spectacle, it will happen again and again. And maybe we can’t solve all the problems. There is after all a price for freedom. But we should at least try.

Actually I do have an answer. It’s education! And you alone as a parent are responsible. But don’t wait until the law thinks they are old enough. By then it will be too late. Teach your kids about sex, drugs, alcohol and guns. If you don’t, somebody will! And that somebody just might be Hitler.

Chris Holden

Lava





Related River Reporter Stories:

Editorial