Why do you think there are so many school shootings now?

2018-02-15T12:06:04-05:00

Why do you think there are so many school shootings now as opposed to say 25 to 30 years ago? We all know that guns can’t shoot themselves, so obviously that is not the problem in my opinion. I honestly believe that there is a direct correlation between the rise of school shootings and the taking of God out of the classroom, and kids not getting a well deserved a** whooping. Thoughts on this?

Response by CPL Crystal Pettway, MBA made Feb 15 at 2018 12:08 PM

2018-02-15T12:08:06-05:00

I agree with you. Lack of God and lack of discipline; both at home and in (from society). We need to learn how to get along with one another instead of our first reaction (or action) being shot to kill because we "think" we don't like the other person or what they might say or do to us. We need to learn how to LOVE again.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:10 PM

2018-02-15T12:10:15-05:00

Bullying and mobbing are common tactics used to gain social status. Find a weaker student, gang up on him/her with classmates, isolate, repeat. Bullying can have long-term mental consequences. Workplace shootings, as well as school shootings, are the result of bullying/mobbing action by colleagues/classmates.

Response by PO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:10 PM

2018-02-15T12:10:50-05:00

Because parents lead their children to believe that they can have whatever they want and don't teach them how to handle rejection. Society is all wrapped up in telling everybody how special they are...I'm with you on the parenting thing. The God in school part may or may not correlate. If it does I believe it is because, when we did allow religion/prayer in schools, that was a point in time when we also taught kids discipline and respect which is terribly lacking today.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:12 PM

2018-02-15T12:12:23-05:00

Kids are bored, no discipline, playing grand theft auto and shit thinking i can do that too !!! and go off and shoot up the place. A huge portion of our society is on line now and no one saw the red flaggs around that dude ? If you see somethig say something !!!! This stuff right there is gonna force me to home school my child and as much as i would prefer public or private school systems, i just dont trust that they will keep my child safe. Its geting rediculous, how the F**k some one can get a darn rifle at one age and a pistol at another age ? Our law makers need step in and make drastic law changes or we will continue to see this typo of tragedies and it needs to stop TIME NOW !!!

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 15 at 2018 12:32 PM

2018-02-15T12:32:30-05:00

Something has changed, hasn't it? The problem is determining what has changed that is significant. Is it the availability of guns? The difference in the pop culture? The change in social norms and the emphasis or lack thereof on religion? At home? In the classroom? In public places? How about the fascination with violence in popular media? In games? In the news? So many hypotheses, so many experts. Why can't we find the answer? Sadly, I fear that politics that gets in the way. Who can we trust to approach the question scientifically? Whose opinion is untainted by ideology?

Response by SMSgt Keith Klug made Feb 15 at 2018 12:34 PM

2018-02-15T12:34:59-05:00

Because today's kids don't grow up, they just grow old.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 15 at 2018 12:38 PM

2018-02-15T12:38:30-05:00

When I went to school the worst thing that happened would be some pulling a knife, other than that is was normally a good fist fight. In my most honest opinion, things went down hill when the board of education(paddle) was taken out of the equation and disipline in the home taken away from the parent(thank Dr. Spock).

Response by SGT Russell Wickham made Feb 15 at 2018 12:41 PM

2018-02-15T12:41:32-05:00

There are too many factors involved to point at any one thing and say, "this is why". When television became common in society there was a 15 percent spike in violent crime, happened in the United States and Great Briton in the 50s, happened in South Africa in the 1970s. However, school shootings did not become common until much later, so that can't be all of the answer. Programming on TV has become much more violent over time, desensitizing people to violence and human empathy, but this was going on in the 70s and 80s so that can't be all of the answer. Violent video games allow people to train to kill and many of these killers do train with those, and their progression has seemed to mirror the progression in these killings, so there is a correlation there, but not every player of violent video games goes on rampages, so that can't be all of the answer. Gun bans quickly followed these shootings, turning them into soft targets, and we have seen the casualties increase, but that is a deterrent or lack there of, so that can't be all of the answer. God was taken out of schools in the 60s and 70s, but the shootings didn't really ramp up until recently, so that can't be all of the answer.

Far more likely, it is a combination of all of the above. The shooters become household names. They are known, talked about, etc. for days or weeks after, so it's a way to make oneself know. They are taught in school that life came from an ancient soup, and that only the strongest survive, and that it's okay to kill someone that is inconvenient to you as long as he or she hasn't been born yet, so life loses its value. They have no moral compass, no respect for others, and they have access to training that desensitizes them to humanity until they become stone cold killers. Unlike military soldiers that are trained to kill, but have discipline instilled in them so that they only do so when commanded, these killers are trained to do so without that discipline. All of this combines to demonstrate the uncertainty of life when sin rules.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:41 PM

2018-02-15T12:41:53-05:00

People in society willing to kill to make a statement instead of just explaining to others how they believe they were wronged. Mental health is only s part of the problem. Our society is losing site of what is right and wrong.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:45 PM

2018-02-15T12:45:15-05:00

Specialist - Its a lot of things that have created a storm and frienzy in society today. Read the other posts here. People are told they are special and different from day one. Trophies for everyone, everyone is a winner. The cold, hard truth is that failure, rejection, and loss are as real as anything else. People can't cope now. Society has tried to shield people from these facts and it has created weak people, both mentally and physically. Discipline, both from parental upbriniging, and in the school house, is needed to stop stuff like this from happening.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 12:47 PM

2018-02-15T12:47:21-05:00

Why do we not see shooters attack hard targets?

Response by Susan Foster made Feb 15 at 2018 1:14 PM

2018-02-15T13:14:35-05:00

Some really good responses here, and I can see all of them have merit. The question is: if you started tomorrow and put God back in the classroom and parents had to beat their kids, would it stop? I don't think so. I think it's way too complex and some of these things mentioned have had just as big an impact. I have never seen a kid who overcame their issues with an a** whooping, but perhaps you have. I think it's more about how they are parented, or lack thereof.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 1:19 PM

2018-02-15T13:19:55-05:00

1. 25-30 years ago is when the liberals started telling us we couldn't spank our kids, we have to give everyone a trophy, and "equality" started being legislated.

2. I'm not a religious person, but I'm smart enough to see that as God and Patriotism have started being viewed as bad things and people have started speaking and acting out against it, the moral fabric of society has decayed to a point that is close to beyond repair.

3. As there has been a steady increase in non-traditional families, there has been an increase in bad people.

4. As the frequency of divorce and multiple marriages has increased, the number of bad people has also increased.

5. Violence has been normalized due to the increasingly lax censorship rules. We can turn on the TV and have a front row seat to a warzone. We can flip to HBO or turn on the radio and see and hear violent crime being glamorized. This has led to us as a society being desensitized to these things.

Response by CPL Crystal Pettway, MBA made Feb 15 at 2018 1:56 PM

2018-02-15T13:56:17-05:00

School shootings since the first of the new year....................

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 2:14 PM

2018-02-15T14:14:12-05:00

My take - I don't think young people are grounded in reality anymore. Facebook and social media, rumor and reputation... these dominate a young person's life in a way that conventional personal relationships do not. Living in this realm gives them a warped sense of reality, moral relativism, and detachment from values beyond groupthink.
One thing almost all of these muldoons have in common is being social outcasts.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 15 at 2018 2:45 PM

2018-02-15T14:45:41-05:00

Forgive me, but I'm going to double-dip on this discussion thread and provide a second response. It fits with my first response wherein I described some of the potential contributing factors. However, as I read more about this latest shooting, I discovered one I didn't mention. It appears that the shooter in this most recent incident has possibly fallen under the pall of terrorists. As someone famous famously said, "When you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." Well, in recent years both the popular and news media has been attacking traditional American values. Activists have attacked the teaching of traditional values in our schools and other public places. Parents have abandoned traditional family values.

Interestingly, I once read that the children of Jews were most likely to fall under the pall of cults because Jewish parents hid their religion out of fear of reprisal. Their children were thus open to the siren song of the cults. Is it possible that we see the same thing playing out among other American families who have abandoned traditional values? Have terrorists organizations taken up the role that religious cults once played?

http://www.bizpacreview.com/2018/02/14/scumbag-shooter-bizarre-instagram-602708

Fox News: Florida shooter reportedly followed Syrian resistance groups; searched out 'Allahu...

Fox News is reporting that suspected Parkland shooter Nikolas de Jesus Cruz followed “resistance groups in Syria” on his Instagram page. Martha MacCallum reported for Fox News on the development in the Parkland massacre case, as police investigators and journalists seek out a motive for a shooting that claimed the lives of at least 17 …

Response by PO3 Phyllis Maynard made Feb 15 at 2018 3:02 PM

2018-02-15T15:02:57-05:00

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member I do believe at the top of the list that taking GOD out of the schools was the first big event that opened the door to anarcy. Now, it is not as elementary as this , but the foundation was lain. Next, that unbelief attitude took over the family. So if parents are not equipped with the relevant tools (for any project or belief), kids will follow the path leading out of their own homes ( of course, a child's home life is not the rule for bad behavior - parents are not responsible for every wrong committed by children). The spirit in which child abuse legislation was drafted has taken a dog dive and backfired in its' intent. The system became overwhelmed with calls of abuse by children who use the resource to protect their bad behavior and adults who wanted to make unnecessary problems for parents they disliked, which seems to have put the controllable behavior problems in the court systems and law enforcement systems lap. So, I firmly believe tearing GOD out of the school system was the catalyst for what we have now. Taking GOD out of law making, out of the courthouses, off of public lands and monuments, is (by my humble faith) gave permission for lawlessness to rise up and allow baby's, adolescences, teenagers, young adults to birth rage and misdirection into shooting peers.

Response by SPC David Willis made Feb 15 at 2018 3:05 PM

2018-02-15T15:05:47-05:00

I'm not sure it has anything to do with society. Folks used to go to arenas and watch people fight each other to the death for fun, leave and visit a prostitute legally. Immorality is not a 21st century issue.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 3:23 PM

2018-02-15T15:23:48-05:00

We have lost respect for each other and more importantly we have lost respect for life itself. Hence some think it is okay to kill if they have a grudge.

Response by PVT Mark Brown made Feb 15 at 2018 3:38 PM

2018-02-15T15:38:51-05:00

I couldn't agree with you more. I am almost 70 and the way our families are run today is exceedingly different from back when I was raised. At times I thought my parents, particularly my father, were overbearing, unkind, downright mean. Now I know different. Wisdom sometimes arrives very late in life. Not only taking God out of the classroom but the flag and pledge is gone from many schools in California. I just do not understand.

Response by SGT James Bertram made Feb 15 at 2018 3:45 PM

2018-02-15T15:45:14-05:00

Perhaps we need to do a little research. School shootings go back to the 1800's. This isn't s new phenomenon at all. To me, it's directly related to bullying. If you weren't bullied in school, you can't possibly understand. I was bullied in 9th grade. In Catholic school. Once I kicked his ass, it stopped. But if I hadn't it probably would've continued. I was depressed. My mother had died of cancer just a year or two earlier and it changed my outlook on life and my bigger picture of the world in general. I questioned everything that I had been taught. By the time I graduated high school, I was a full on Atheist. A year later I joined the Army. I served 15 years, until my body couldn't do the job I was being paid to do and I got out. I give this information only so you understand where my point of view comes from.

I honestly believe this epidemic is getting worse because of ACCESS to weapons. It also has to do with kids/teens not having access to help. When you are being bullied, even your friends don't know what to do. Kids and teens that are being bullied need someone they can talk to and that can help to make the pain go away.

It used to be, if you stood up to a bully, they have you respect. These days, if you stand up to a bully, they feel like you have disrespected them and they make it worse.

Response by Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth made Feb 15 at 2018 3:45 PM

2018-02-15T15:45:39-05:00

What has changed?
1.) The availability of guns? NOPE...I went hunting before school and my rifle was in my gun rack along with 75% of the students. No one ever thought about taking it out and wiping out the school.
2.) Availability of resources? Nope...there are more resources these days for people to be part of for coping.
3.) Communication? Absolutley. No one knows how to communicate these days unless it is over a cell phone, text, instagram, twitter etc. I ask my daughter all the time if she spoke to so and so. She says yes and then I follow up with did yo talk or did you text? The answer is text. I say that to say this...communicating electronically is easy to get people spun up. Use all caps you are screaming, use the wrong emoji and you are bullying, talk about one friend and not necessarily in a bad way and then it gets back to the other one and then hate fills the tron world. It is easy to get spun up when you aren't face to face and talk. Kids these days and most adults have lost that art.
4.) Fights? Absolutely...kids these days don't fight...they pull out a gun or knife because they were disrespected. They saw it on a video game and it worked. Reboot and came back at it the next day. We used to take out back at school. When we were done either you got your ass whooped or you did the whooping. When it was over you dusted off, got a pinch of skoal, cleaned up your wounds and went back to class or football practice and it was over.
5.) Everybody gets a trophy? Absoutely...Kids these days get whatever they want. I didn't make the baseball team one year...guess what it stung hard...I practiced all year and played summer ball to get ready for the next year and guess what, I made the team through hard work and perseverance. Kids these days make the team, get a trophy and there are no winners or losers. So when they are older and get told no it is a foreign concept to them. How dare someone tell me no...they must be destroyed.
6.) Discipline? Hell yeah...If I messed up, I got jacked up...Guess what...I didn't do it again. If my mom/dad didn't get me, my friends mom did or my grandparents did (switch or Bip Bop paddle)...we knew what was right and wrong and didn't cross that line and we had respect for our elders. Majority of Kids these days aren't disciplined. This time out crap doesn't work...My dad took time out of his schedule to whoop me...As Hattie said in Madeas Boo movie, "Whip dat ass one good time." Parents seem to be afraid of their kids...that I don't understand.
7.) Parental guidance - YUP...It goes along with what I have put above but parents these days want to negotiate with their children so they aren't the bad guy and they want to be their friends...BUMP DAT...I am not your friend...God put me in in this world to be your parent and to teach you right from wrong and to hold you accountable...not to let you get away with everything so you don't know what no means.
8.) Finally GOD--God has not changed, we have. We have taken Him out of everything so we don't offend anyone. Well I am offended by not having my right to speak of Him in public with my child.

Response by MSgt Steve Sweeney made Feb 15 at 2018 4:13 PM

2018-02-15T16:13:24-05:00

With the news still fresh on TV and the internet, it may seem like there are more school killings now than 25 years ago, but that isn't always the case. The conclusion that there are more school shootings now is based on a heuristic assessment. The graph I included shows data back to 1992, and as you can see there are actually less school homicides.... the data is not specific to shootings. Sometimes (often) it isn't that it is happening more, just that we are closer to it, and we hear about it more as it reverberates through TV and the internet - a product of the internet age.

When you start to think the world is a more violent place than it used to be, ask yourself when was the last time someone was drawn and quartered or burned at the stake? The amplification of information may make it seem like the world is growing more violent, but it actually isn't. I recommend reading: Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence had Declined by Steven Pinker as some good reading material on the subject.

Response by MSgt Darren VanDerwilt made Feb 15 at 2018 4:23 PM

2018-02-15T16:23:08-05:00

Has anyone brought up the over prescribing of psychotropic medications within the public schools? Also, how often do these shootings take place in parochial or private versus public schools? Boys in particular are routinely threatened with discipline, simply for being boys. Educators seem more interested in teaching LGBTQ...XYZ, gender identity, Islam, Climate Change "science," and other forms of indoctrination, than useful skills.
Also, seems these significant news events always occur shortly after the release of damning evidence against Democrats.

Response by SGT Eric Davis made Feb 15 at 2018 5:07 PM

2018-02-15T17:07:05-05:00

These kids these days have no discipline and morals; I just don’t blame the parents but I blame society too cause they took away religion in school, took away the teachers or educators power to discipline the children in school. These kids think everything should be handed to them and when you say no to something they get in a rage cause that’s what they aren’t use to hearing.
A parent can teach their child everything right but society and the will teach them everything else. I’m from the city where school shooting first started happening in the 90’s and from then on it got worst.

The sad part about the shooting is we can really stop them if they injury 1 student or kill 20 we can’t stop them cause school are public and no behind a wall all the time. Since I been a police officer people always ask why the police Wasn’t there but we can’t be everywhere. If I’m on one side of the building then who on the other side?

We need to bring back discipline and get rid of these electronics devices and actually talk and teach out youths!

Response by MSG Charles Turner made Feb 15 at 2018 5:14 PM

2018-02-15T17:14:37-05:00

Specialist,
I feel my generation has failed to pass on Discipline and accountability. As a society we have come to this point where we dont want anyone to fail, dont want anyone to feel bad, dont want anyone to lose. But the harsh reality of life is: People fail, it makes success so much more meaningful; People feel bad, it makes Happy Times so much more uplifting; People lose, again this makes winning so so much more of a reward. Take this and add a moraless movie, televison, sports and music industry and we NOW HAVE IDOLS & HEROS that have little if any accountability for their actions!

So a child becomes unruly or bullies, the teacher cant do much, the parents cant seem to either. The "role Models" are using vulgarity, obsene wardrobes and criminal activiy routinely. The young see this and.. want to be like their HEROS!

So by not teaching / rearing our children with the realities of life, we have given the sense that "Wrong" is ok, "Everyone Breaks the Rules", "You just say that because you are Old and cant do this", etc etc, are ALL Acceptable! Reality is they are NOT! But the Loudest Demanding that Change take Place ae Among those setting the Bad Example.

Because of these actions and Us as a Society, I feed we have Failed.

Response by SGM Bill Frazer made Feb 15 at 2018 5:20 PM

2018-02-15T17:20:30-05:00

25-30 Years ago, kids were still taught that with "rights" came responsibilities- that all actions had equal reactions. That just because you didn't agree with someone did not give you the right to stifle them. We took faith, kindness, responsibility, owning you to your mistakes & actions, politeness and respect out of the hands of parents and muzzled the teachers. For 30 + plus years, gangsta's, rappers, and hoodlum's have been praised, called heroic, and idolized- instead of someone good or decent. We have raised 2-3 generations of folks that can only live off of others, and no make them own way in life.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 5:32 PM

2018-02-15T17:32:13-05:00

Honestly, more are reported and on the news than there used to be, especially with social media and instant alerts on phones. It is more talked about and spread than it used to be.
Taking God out of the classroom has nothing to do with anything. That goes to the fact that there are other religions out there and we can't favor a specific one, so it's out. Religion may help some people "be good", but it may drive others to do horrible things, others to not go to school, and others to cry and whine that they aren't represented. Religion is a personal thing, not a public one. We also used to have guns in schools but they've been taken out as well (school rifle and pistol teams - it was a competitive sport)
Education is what is needed. The plans for active shooters in school suck. They. Suck. Many call for all students to gather in a corner or closet, which makes a very easy target as well as multiple casualties from less rounds fired.
Many people wish to ban guns. That's like taking painkillers for a broken leg. The problem is still there, but you feel better. Remember Columbine? Guns and.... a propane tank, they were planning on more than just shooting. If we ban guns, then the bad guys will do a few things: 1. still use guns. 2. use knives, bats, etc... 3. open up one of a ton of books and articles, go to their local Walgreens, Lowes, and/or pool supply store and make some serious HME and that'll be a whole lot worse than a shooting.
Our mental health system is very lacking. It needs improvement, and drugging everyone with anti-psychotics isn't the answer. Institutions help people, we can't institutionalize the severely mentally ill who want to shoot people, but we can fill the overfull prison system with weed dealers.

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Feb 15 at 2018 5:45 PM

2018-02-15T17:45:13-05:00

I think it is a chain. 1 Stagnant Wages and gridlocked government make people angry about immigration and a host of other issues. 2. Social Media tends to inflame people more and there are some (witness this website) that cannot handle Social Media by remaining civil. 3. Increasing congestion on a Interstate Highway system falling apart in places......road rage. 4. More and more people turning away from family values and God.......which will change but is en vogue now.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 6:38 PM

2018-02-15T18:38:18-05:00

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member Anytime I go anywhere, most of the folks are staring at their phone. I go to the library during school hours and see kids that should be in school, playing war video games on the computers. Parents are not instilling discipline or respect in their children. Kids are being taught that they are special and they can do whatever they want. There is no accountability anymore. Kids and adults are giving a second chance, third chance, etc., and they keep repeating bad behavior because they are not held accountable.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Feb 15 at 2018 9:24 PM

2018-02-15T21:24:21-05:00

Okay. Gonna triple-dip on this discussion now. Just came across this and posted it to start a new discussion, but decided to share it here as well. How can we have a discussion when so many are lying...
https://www.facebook.com/mediaresearchcenter/videos/ [login to see] 00052/

Media Research Center

Liberals claim there have been 18 school shootings in 2018.We dug deeper and found out the truth...

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 15 at 2018 9:25 PM

2018-02-15T21:25:35-05:00

Soft targets with high terror-effect potential.

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Feb 15 at 2018 10:53 PM

2018-02-15T22:53:51-05:00

I don't think the issue can be distilled down to a "this is the reason why" situation. There are myriad reasons why the culture is so much different today. We can point to the removal of God, the Pledge, and respect for authority (teachers) from the classroom. We can also point to the breakdown of the family unit, tolerance of alternative lifestyles, political correctness, social media, moral decline, and "everyone is a winner" mentalities. It's just my opinion but I believe ALL of these play a part in the disintegration of society. We've removed the consequences of our actions and told our children that "hey, as long as YOU feel good it's OK". We've failed to teach our youth the value of life (human and otherwise). Let's not overlook the media's role in all of this as well. They've dramatized, sensationalized, and over-hyped each incident to the point these individuals are seeing similar events as their chance at immortal fame.

I don't have the answers. If I did, I would probably be sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave instead of grinding out a meager living in the foothills of the Smokies.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Feb 16 at 2018 3:35 AM

2018-02-16T03:35:24-05:00

I expect that the majority of school shooting incidents take place in area where gun-free zones predominate so that the murderous thugs would not be confronted by armed school security or adults with concealer carry permits in the schools SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member
Many areas have tried to keep God out of the schools - that is foolish IMHO since God has access to everywhere and everyone at all times :-)
For whatever reason God has allowed these school shootings to take place and some house of worship shooting as well.
In tragedy, we each have opportunities to help others deal with the horrible events and their personal losses. God may well have called many of us for just such as a time as this.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Robert Ruck SPC Margaret Higgins SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT Private RallyPoint Member Lt Col Charlie Brown

Response by CW5 John M. made Feb 16 at 2018 5:57 AM

2018-02-16T05:57:55-05:00

Systemic Moral decline brought about by our national institutions, government, and many churches embracing secular humanism over our Judeo-Christian roots. Get ready, we have (sadly) a further ways to go....... before we - and the world - reach rock-bottom.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 16 at 2018 9:21 AM

2018-02-16T09:21:00-05:00

It's an easy target, it gets the shooter tons of media attention, for some reason these disturbed people think it is ok to take revenge on students because of how bad their life is. I don't know what the answer is. This last one should have been stopped, the church shooter got thru the loop because the Air Force did not put him on the list. The FBI should have checked into this kid because his post where reported to them. Our society is teaching kids that life in general is not as important as their individual needs.

Response by Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. made Feb 16 at 2018 10:53 PM

2018-02-16T22:53:10-05:00

And as we learned this evening, the FBI had the shooter on their radar (people reporting the persons actions, etc.) and the FBI did nothing.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Feb 16 at 2018 11:02 PM

2018-02-16T23:02:36-05:00

All incorrect IMHO. It has to do with the individual getting attention for what they did. If the media never reported another shooters name, no one would know who they are. I honestly believe this would reduce the violence.

Response by Jeffrey Montgomery made Feb 17 at 2018 12:59 AM

2018-02-17T00:59:04-05:00

What data are you going on that there are more today than 25-30 years ago?

If you take into account that 30 years ago, we didn't have "insta-news" where we hear about a shooting on the other side of the country five minutes after it _began_, as we have today, and look at the actual history, you might find that they weren't as rare as some would have us believe.

There was an article (op-ed) recently [searching... took me a good 20 minutes to find it...] in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/i-used-to-think-gun-control-was-the-answer-my-research-told-me-otherwise/2017/10/03/d33edca6-a851-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html where the auther, a democrat, admitted that gun control would not have made a difference in the shooting that took place in Las Vegas, etc.

Most gun-related deaths in this country are suicides. (Sadly, many veterans are among the lost.) If you take those out of the equation, and account for them in the past, then gun-related incidents are _down_ from what they were in the past.

We define a "mass shooting" of 3+ or 4+ people, depending on your source. A man who kills his wife and kids, then himself, is considered a "mass shooting."
This was not always the case.

Over the years, we've become addicted to bad news. We live off of it. If people aren't dying, it's the economy... if not the economy, random bad things... but how often do you see _GOOD_ news anymore? And never, ever, on a 24-hour news cycle.

So I don't believe for a minute that school shootings are "up" as it were... just more known than they used to be. And sadly, ever since Columbine, I think they've been made into a kind of "way to be famous" for those kids who aren't noticed. Dying and being famous? Better than being the unknown kid who sits quiet in the back of the room, not part of the cliques, not a friend of the homecoming queen/king, and certainly not popular...

The latest was a kid who had been reported, had dozens of calls to the police, and they were ignored... (He's admitted to the shooting, so I don't know why they still are using "alleged" everywhere.) But the kid's moment of fame came up.

And what do you hear when you turn on the news?
His name... repeatedly...

So are we really having more school shootings?
Or are we making the shooters more famous?

Opinion | I used to think gun control was the answer. My research told me otherwise.

Evidence suggests that no one broad gun-control restriction could make a big difference.

Response by MAJ Montgomery Granger made Feb 17 at 2018 7:26 AM

2018-02-17T07:26:59-05:00

How many horror and violent action movies and video games and TV shows we on in the 1950's, '60's and '70's? How many people went to church? How many people saw the Ten Commandments posted on the walls of their schools? "Thou shalt not kill," is a powerful message, and one that was reinforced in society, a society that values the Judeo/Christian ethic. Today there is a full-court press on traditional values by the Fake News Alt-Left, anti-American liberal ANTIFA nut cases. By the way, that brings me to the person who committed this crime. It's a gestalt. A collection of themes and conditions. How many schools have not had a shooting? Why? Shouldn't we be looking at those schools for answers to how we can prevent future attacks? But how would that even begin to address the illness of the promiscuity of violence?

Response by SSgt James Harvey made Feb 17 at 2018 8:47 AM

2018-02-17T08:47:49-05:00

I've been listening and reading all day, people wondering what we can do about school shootings. They blame the NRA, or the style of gun among a host of other things. Well here is my take on it. WE are all to blame, not the kid, even though he did pull the trigger. I'm not giving him a pass, the thing with freedom is a little thing called personal responsibility. It is us who hold the ultimate responsibility by tolerating things that would never have been accepted when we were 17,18 or 19. You can't discipline your kids or it's abuse. You can't talk about morality because it's not your place to decide what's right and wrong. They've succeeded in removing G*d from our schools, and now they're trying to take him out of our lives. There is no justice in the justice system, it's a continual revolving door. You CAN NOT be a parent and always be your kids best friend, sometimes you have to lay down the law. We carried our guns in our trucks when I was in school and no one was ever shot, because our parents taught us, sometimes painfully, the difference between right and wrong, something recent generations seem to have forgot, and we get kids who think they are entitled to $15/hr for flipping burgers, or the $200,000 job right out of high school. Yeah, it was the kid who pulled the trigger, but it was our "tolerant" society that failed the kid.

Response by SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson made Feb 21 at 2018 5:20 PM

2018-02-21T17:20:23-05:00

These kids these days are missing 3 essential things, 1)GOD. 2) Love and parental guidance. 3) Good ol' fashion discipline (a good butt tanning) The world has been taken over by a bunch of passive goof-off's who don't care if their kids play 6-10 hrs of video games so long as they are out of their hair. With Facebook, snap-chat, and all of the other internet chaos kids don't even talk anymore. The other day my kid sent me a text from her room. I took her phone! Pissed her off for a while but she got the message not to text me when I'm less than 20ft' away. Back in the day if you had a "beef" with someone you went out behind the school and took care of it. Now no one wants to risk getting their but kicked for their point of view. Single kids raising kids is a huge part of the problem. Too few kids these days are receiving the same message(s) we got back in the day. They think they can just hit re-start and begin again. I got this message I want to pass along:

Dear GOD,
Why do you allow all so much
violence in schools?
Signed
a concerned student.

Dear Concerned Student,
I'M NOT ALLOWED IN SCHOOLS.
GOD

Response by PO2 Mario Lofaro made Feb 22 at 2018 3:21 PM

2018-02-22T15:21:29-05:00

There are so many shootings because there are really very few. What's worse, is any shooting that stops or ends the shooter is not reported by government run or millionaire/billionaire owned mainstream media.
This is the lefts' agenda to get us to eventually disarm. Which, most of us won't allow.

Response by SFC Geoff Berner made Feb 23 at 2018 8:57 PM

2018-02-23T20:57:55-05:00

WE stopped teaching morals in our public schools. Evil will always find the individuals that do not have a moral compass to guide them.

Response by SFC Melker Johansson made Feb 23 at 2018 9:23 PM

2018-02-23T21:23:08-05:00

How come school shootings are such a rare occurrence in countries that are more secular than the United States if "taking God out of the classroom" is the reason for the increase?

Response by PO3 Curtis Tower made Feb 25 at 2018 11:16 AM

2018-02-25T11:16:19-05:00

I agree with your position that children are less supervised and disciplined in our day. One of the most damaging aspects of our social deterioration is that children's "rights" are being emphasized over their responsibilities. Couple that with the fact that children even up to the age of 18 see the world through an inexperienced and undeveloped lens. Children who walk out of class to "protest" election results are doing so without having even attended a civics class or a clear understanding of how our system works. It doesn't help that would-be adults in positions of influence are visibly acting just as immature, and doing so for the whole of society to see.

The break-down of the nuclear family is another factor. The old paradigm was a couple getting married and having children, raising them, then growing old together. Now, irresponsible sexual behavior with a lack of sense for responsibility is the norm. There was a time when being a single parent was the result of a divorce or death. Now single parenthood is something that is celebrated as a choice, rather than being respected out of a set of unfortunate circumstances.

Then there's social media. Social media is not "news" media, but everyone is influenced by things that are presented there. I, myself, have even allowed an item or two to ruffle my fur...that is, until I took a deep breath and attempted to get more perspective on the subject. Social media does one thing well, it isolates individuals from natural interaction with others. Isolation from others filters personalities and breeds ignorance in the nuances of reading others face to face. It also numbs individuals' empathy for one another. After all, it's "just a computer".

Which leads to the subject of violence in video games, which most parents unwittingly encourage because it keeps kids quiet and pacified for the most part. Get your head blown off in a war game? Simple, restart and go at it again...ignoring reality.

Then add our most recent ingredient into the mix..."You're special and unique so don't let anyone tell you that you can't be what you want to be." This has been the most perverted truth propagated in modern history. While it is true in the proper context, it has also been made to convey false entitlement. It has bred a sort of "Self Identification Du Jour" that will affect the masses for years to come. The notion that one can "self-identify" with being something that they are not, and will never be genetically, breeds confusion and division within a society where a modicum of virtue is required to exist in harmony with others.

I don't think that these issues are limited to children; however, childhood is where most of these issues begin. And there has been a disturbing trend with the ages of the perpetrators. I say that this is where we need to begin looking and taking steps to correct. In all solutions sought need to be carefully weighed and be spiritually and constitutionally sound.

Response by SGT Jamarl Jones made Feb 25 at 2018 12:26 PM

2018-02-25T12:26:53-05:00

Because we are raising absolute monsters that are capable and willing to murder innocent people...

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 25 at 2018 8:07 PM

2018-02-25T20:07:53-05:00

This question has many answers and no opinion is wrong but we need to look in the Mirror because each one of us has to take responsibility to be more involved with our Children and Grand-Children. Take away them phones at Dinner Time and no phones in school. We have to show them how to communicate and how to use their words and brains to solve complex situations. If you think God is the answer use that avenue to your advantage but remember not everybody practices Religion and making them pray to your God is a violation of their Rights.

I don't believe in any God or Gods but do believe in Separation of Church and State! For example do you want Islam or Religious Cults forced down your Children's throats one day? Which has happened in USA and is happening in some other Nations around the Globe today. In my opinion it starts at home but Society has made it really difficult for Parents to discipline and hold their Children accountable! Many have mentioned the T.V., Media, Video Games, and the Corporations trying to make a buck on everything possible!

We've turned into a me first Nation instead of how we as Communities can include everybody and watch out for each other! Nobody's friendly anymore and seems violence is the first answer to a problem for some Adults and Children! In regards to guns and 2nd Amendment be very careful of asking the Government to make more Laws.

More Laws ends up taking away Liberty and Freedom from those who obey the Law and have no intention of hurting anybody they just want to target practice, hunt game, and protect their family! Seems like Constitutional Rights and Individual Liberty only apply to certain portions of our Society today.

Look at the Prison Population and tell me who's in Prison and Why? Look at the economics in our Country and tell me why we have so many Poor Americans but we've spent Trillions on War? Maybe instead of spending on War we spend that cash on our Communities and find ways to bridge the gaps between all Americans.

Just maybe if someone was more involved in his life and if someone showed him love this may have not happened. The Mental Health problem in America is a big issue and getting People the right help is difficult especially when their Poor and our Health System is all about the Profit Margin!

There are many reasons for these problems including God if you feel Religion is the answer for your Children and Family!

But if the Government starts banning specific Guns and Ammo the next step is a full Gun Ban and Grab! Sorry for those Parents who lost Children could not image their grief and sorrow but don't want Liberty and Freedom to ever be taken away by the Government! Also adding more guns to Schools is not the answer being involved and specific agencies doing their jobs could stop future shootings.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Feb 25 at 2018 8:46 PM

2018-02-25T20:46:36-05:00

I think there are a number of reasons. First is that there is a breakdown of the family. Fewer fathers involved with their chilldren means less leadership in the home. When you have a single parent house, there simply isn't enough time/energy to give to your children. Second, as demonstrated in Florida, ignoring minor lawbreaking only leads to greater problems. People push the envelope until someone pushes back with punishment or a way to stop them. Ignoring behavior does not lead to cessation, especially if there is a reward for the illegal behavior (like robbery, theft, etc- the reward is the item(s) or for some, the thrill of getting away with something)

Response by A1C Samuel Leggett made Feb 25 at 2018 9:19 PM

2018-02-25T21:19:47-05:00

Since the States closed virtually all mental health hospitals across the country decades ago, there is no place to place persons who have a mental disorder. That is until they break the law and end up in prison. Once the hospitals were closed down, some patients went into halfway homes, others released to parents/guardians who wanted them to "live a normal life". Many of these patients are on antidepressants and are not followed by a trained psychologist or psychiatrist, if they are even seen by a General Practitioner that would be a miracle.
The other problem is with today's youth, and twenty-somethings". They live in a world in which they played computer games during all of their informative years. Many have no social skills (talking online is not a social skill). Many are severe introverts and easily offended by other people's opinions that do not relate to their beliefs, but because they have no social skills they lash out. Some physically, others with whatever weapon that they can get their hands on, knife, ax or firearms.
We here about these mass causalities because the media has an agenda, and the sensationalism builds their ratings. We hear nothing about the daily shootings in large cities like Chicago, the New Your Boroughs, Durham or Charlotte, NC, etc. We only get to hear what the media cranks out to fuel the fire.
If we just opened up the mental health hospitals again, these people would get the help that they need. Oh yes, and it would create more jobs. Forget the usual hospital elitists, I mean janitors, electricians, plumbers, cooks, etc.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 26 at 2018 5:56 AM

2018-02-26T05:56:42-05:00

Lack of proper discipline at home and school.

Response by MAJ Montgomery Granger made Feb 26 at 2018 5:57 AM

2018-02-26T05:57:27-05:00

Psychotropic drugs and lack of sufficient security on school campuses.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2018 10:36 AM

2018-02-26T10:36:39-05:00

I think it is a combination of Godlessness, desensitization of death, the destruction of the values of an intact family, and liberal agenda. But I could be biased (of course)

Response by LCDR Gordon Brown made Feb 27 at 2018 12:35 AM

2018-02-27T00:35:26-05:00

The use of psychotropic drugs have become an ever increasing standard or care. Ask a military recruiter as to how few candidates they have to select from that have NOT been using these types of drug. The common thread with all of these mass shootings are the drugs.

Response by 2LT Ronald Reimer made Feb 27 at 2018 8:46 AM

2018-02-27T08:46:30-05:00

Multifaceted. 1st: society has been desensitized to violence through 24/7 news, graphic movies/video games and horrific events. 2nd: Access. There are millions more high capacity semi-automatic weapons than there was 30 years ago. Ammo is readily available. 3rd: Society has a lot more “crazy” people in it. People with untreated/undertreated mental health conditions are being allowed to roam around, and are prolific breeders. 4th: Our country is more divided now more than it has been anytime throughout history, and on many more issues. During the Civil War, you either supported the Union or the Confederacy. You were either for slavery or against it. Today, we can’t agree on whether or not the police are good or bad, is the President “ours” or “not mine”, transgenders, abortion, birth control for free, are the rich paying their fair share, should welfare recipients be able to buy Doritos and Coke a Cola, where was Obama born, should healthcare be free and does the 2nd amendment need to be updated. Schools are relatively easily accessible with a lot of unarmed victims in close proximity, and you know that they are “gun-free” so you don’t have to worry about being stopped. Same as movie theaters, shopping malls and outdoor concerts.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2018 7:17 PM

2018-02-27T19:17:37-05:00

It's not an issue of "taking God out of classrooms." It's an issue of mainstream society not dealing well with the fact that not *everybody* believes in the same God. I was raised religious up until I joined the Army after high school, and I never felt my faith waver just because I couldn't pray in school. Religion is best practiced at home and in church; it does society no good poisoning schools, courts, laws and governments.

Response by PO2 Dale Brown made Feb 28 at 2018 9:51 AM

2018-02-28T09:51:20-05:00

Most of these shooting are a form of suiside by cop. The shooters have no exit plan. A symptom of a greater problem that exists- are you aware of how many school age children have committed suicide in the last 10 years? Somewhere around 45,000- most experts in this field this that only 1 in 24 actually sucked in committing suicide. The vast majority of the school shooters are white males who were unable to comply with draconian discipline rules are were treated with psychotropic drugs to control their behavior. I don’t think bullying is as large an issue as mainstream media portrays it to be, as again, most shooters are white- as I am- but I have to think that given the dynamics of modern society that young Black men are bullied much more than the average white. Social media platforms have a great impact as well, allowing bullying to go on 24/7- I have no solutions, only observations- My advice to parents is to hold your kids close, be part of their life, enjoy and protect them while you can, because it won’t be as long as you think before they are adults. My wife and I pulled our kids out of government school and put them in private Christian schools. There is a fatal flaw with the government school system where compliance is valued over learning ( example- isolation booths in Iowa ), guns don’t have a great impact on the numbers, if it wasn’t guns it would be knives, stones, or cars. If it sounds like I don’t trust my government- you are correct- not since I came home from my 2nd tour in Nam - Love My Country

Response by SFC Robin Patty made Mar 8 at 2018 9:44 AM

2018-03-08T09:44:59-05:00

While I do see them on the rise, and this sounds heartless but it’s just a fact, kids are highly unlikely to ever encounter or even know someone that was in a building when one took place. At Virginia Tech both my dad and my sister were in buildings adjacent to where the shooting took place. All that they could do was hide as VT, even though in Virginia it’s up to the president of the university, was and still is a gun free zone. That’s a big part of the problem, eliminate gun free zones. Also make it easier for teachers and principals to expel trouble makers and/or report outbreaks to law enforcement or mental health professionals.

Response by SGM Frank Marsh made Mar 11 at 2018 4:05 PM

2018-03-11T16:05:04-04:00

most of these shootings are mentally disturbed individuals, on medications. I blame it on a system that lets these folks walk free among us and go to the regular schools and work next to us. All of this can happen, but only when they are regulated. In essence, I blame the laws and the physicians. On another note, most of these folks could have been stopped by a metal detector or even a taser.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2018 6:42 PM

2018-03-11T18:42:44-04:00

It get's the most attention at the moment in time and place.

Response by Cpl Gregory Romeu made Mar 12 at 2018 12:24 AM

2018-03-12T00:24:35-04:00

Because of the spineless pussies knowing that NOBODY,IS SHOOTING BACK!

Response by SGM Frank Marsh made Mar 12 at 2018 11:11 AM

2018-03-12T11:11:51-04:00

most of these folks are mentally ill and most on medication. I blame the laws for them walking the streets and the doctors for not monitoring the prescriptions better. a metal detector at the door could have stopped most, or even a taser. some of the blame goes to the parents of the shooters as well and in some cases the system that didn't report them to the government. IMHO

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Mar 12 at 2018 11:39 AM

2018-03-12T11:39:47-04:00

I don't get it, maybe it's because I am older or what. My brother and I were taught at a young age to always respect fire arms. When I was in school you could look out in the parking lot and see rifles in gun racks and not just during hunting season. No one ever took a firearm out, no one ever threatened anyone with a firearm. I just don't get what has changed over the last 30 years to make this happen.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 20 at 2018 1:04 AM

2018-03-20T01:04:50-04:00

I am for more ass whoopings

Response by SP5 Ward Posey made Mar 20 at 2018 9:48 AM

2018-03-20T09:48:19-04:00

As a former teacher (Social Studies) and a Viet Nam veteran, I feel that one aspect of the problem is the lack of respect for education and educators in this country. I have listened to parents and politicians bad mouth education for too long. Low pay, crowded classrooms, and the expectation that it is the schools responsibility to feed and raise the children. All this adds up to the descent of America into third world country status. Shooters and lax gun laws are part of this problem. Military weapons do not belong on the street or for sale to the public at large, period. (Yes I am a gun owner, Shotguns, and revolvers). Ask yourself, Why is it mostly young immigrants and the children of recent immigrants who take the majority of academic awards (Science and over all academic excellence) in national competitions? My answer, they want it more, know how to properly study and have good parenting, they flat get the job done. If you want to stop school shootings, then improve the schools, pay the teachers and hire more staff so classrooms don't have a student teacher ratio of 40 to 1. Instead of arming teachers, improve the classroom. AND GET THE MILITARY WEAPONS OUT OF CIVILIAN HANDS.

Response by CPO Mark B. made Mar 24 at 2018 9:36 PM

2018-03-24T21:36:37-04:00

When you shield your child from every possible inconvenience they'll end up either spoiled or overly dependent. Parents have strived to be their child’s friend and that cannot work. Parent must learn to demand respect from their kids. Teach kids respect. Be ready to discipline if needed

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Mar 25 at 2018 10:57 AM

2018-03-25T10:57:19-04:00

When I went to school every boy carried a knife on his belt! Most cars had gun racks and guns inside them no one would dare enter the school and start shooting them up

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 25 at 2018 12:50 PM

2018-03-25T12:50:06-04:00

PC is the culprit. We have had firearms before we even formed this country. What has been introduced that has allowed school shooting should have been the question. No accountability of children nor the parents of the children. What developed PC? Liberal ideology. Ban liberal ideology and allow parents, not the government, to raise children.

Response by LT Michaline Schalton made Mar 27 at 2018 4:19 PM

2018-03-27T16:19:10-04:00

Too much anonymous hate and not enough love. No one cares about anyone these days. Social media bullies pile it on people every day with no consequences. Under such pressures, some folks just snap. One wrong word in a chat thread and the bullies just pounce hatefully. I can only imagine what the recent murderers endured IRL and online.

Response by MSgt Lee Lamp made Mar 31 at 2018 10:09 PM

2018-03-31T22:09:25-04:00

There are many good observations in the discussion. My two cents...in addition to many of the things listed by others (lack of discipline, faith, family, structure) we have a failing judicial system. There are effective laws in place to “control” the purchase of firearms however people in the position to enforce those laws choose to ignore them. People having the responsibility of updating state and federal databases don’t do their jobs. Poor interagency communication results in people with disqualifying characteristics being approve to purchase weapons. Judges fail to follow the constitutional laws and wish to legislate from the bench. To me many times it’s a matter of wondering just why people don’t do their jobs.
A lack of overall respect for others is also a prevailing contributor.

Response by PO2 Stephen Bonelli made Apr 2 at 2018 12:07 PM

2018-04-02T12:07:42-04:00

There is a lack of family bonding tiday with their own children about coping with problems , peer pressure, bullying and not knowing if their children are using drugs.
The use of drugs to alleviate behavior problems is over used today with many children.
Mental health is needed more today with the stress some children suffer from.

Response by PO2 Stephen Bonelli made Apr 2 at 2018 12:19 PM

2018-04-02T12:19:28-04:00

There is a lack of family involvement with most children today.
Their problems can not be discussed at the home during family dinner time. It was done when I grew up at the dinner or at any time. My parents were always there when I need to resolve any problems which would effect physically and mentally.
Bullying and drugs are another major problem. The use of drugs to deal with mental issue is over prescribed.
We need more and better ways to deal with mental problems.

Response by MAJ Bob Firth made Apr 7 at 2018 9:57 AM

2018-04-07T09:57:43-04:00

Good question. I think it has a lot to do with de-institutionalization of many mentally ill people that took place in the late 70s and early 80s. There is also the copy cat factor, where individuals who have realized that their lives are meaningless and abnormal will commit outrageous crimes just to be famous for a moment. I think there is also a movement that convinces these monsters that their problems are caused by people/institutions in society, and that they are justified in taking revenge. And then there is how do you explain just plain batsh#t crazy? These things were extremely rare when I grew up, now they are common place.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2018 10:18 AM

2018-04-07T10:18:45-04:00

Because the Media and Politicians turn these events into circuses of every kind, and wannabe shooters see a chance for incredible fame. The word is copycat, and we can thank the Media.

Response by SCPO John Millar made Apr 8 at 2018 5:35 PM

2018-04-08T17:35:58-04:00

We have become so liberal, relaxed laws to many parents not being parent, to many drugs and to much PC with to many personal opinions and not the constitution

Response by MAJ Frank VansEvers made Apr 8 at 2018 7:32 PM

2018-04-08T19:32:00-04:00

lots of great comments

Response by SGT Roger Bunton made Apr 8 at 2018 10:49 PM

2018-04-08T22:49:35-04:00

Too much time in front of the tv, lack of parental discipline, not enough time outside and a lack of God in the family home.

Response by CPL Thomas Artiaga made Apr 11 at 2018 5:03 AM

2018-04-11T05:03:04-04:00

I agree, people mock Christianity but it makes a better person. Children/teens need to be trained to be good adults. There is a total lack of discipline. Children are being raised with no father's to teach them how to be good men. Girls have no father's to look to as examples of good husband's. Society has pitted women against men and men against women. God is cast out and now children look to other children as examples of how they should act. Finally, social media has given every child the ability to verbally destroy a classmate, torture them to the point where they feel their life is destroyed.... When a child feels all this... They are still children and they will act in the only way they really understand. They will revert to primal instinct and attack their attacker. I simply refuse to believe the any school shooter was a very popular person that was loved and treated well by everybody in school my guess is they were treated horribly they were called names probably pushed around in the hallways please like total s***. It is likely if you just stop the bullying in school you wouldn't get people shot up.

Response by MAJ Christopher M. made Apr 13 at 2018 9:03 PM

2018-04-13T21:03:23-04:00

Myth: Mass public shootings are increasing
MASS SHOOTINGS - Mass Public Shootings 1976 through 2011Fact: Over a 35-year period, the number of mass public shootings rose during the violence escalation decades of the 1970s and 1980, then leveled off, despite a growing population and greater availability for firearms (more people, more guns).

Special Note: The FBI created a study of what they labeled “active shooter” events from 2000-2013, but they merged both ASEs and MPSs. Combined, this data shows an increase whereas other studies that separate the two do not. But it must be noted that their study starts in the year 2000, which had an abnormally low number of public shootings (only one).
source-- http://www.gunfacts.info/gun-control-myths/mass-shootings/-

Nothing found for Gun Control Myths Mass Shootings

We hold one fundraiser every year to earn the money to buy the tools we need, finance operations and give some to our researchers.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Apr 18 at 2018 12:33 AM

2018-04-18T00:33:01-04:00

You have hit the nail on the head but no one is willing to admit this fact because it goes against the narrative we have been being spoon feed for all these decades. Some have actively tried to tear away our moral foundations and have left a vacuum in it places and then need to try to find a scapegoat as the answer to the poisonous crop they planted and we are now reaping.

Response by SGT Chas Brothers made Apr 18 at 2018 10:32 AM

2018-04-18T10:32:54-04:00

Gee, let's see...We threw God out of our schools, let our government teach our children that e evolved from ooze one day, monkeys the next! Has anyone seen a monkey or any other species evolve into something else lately like your uncle Herb? Then we threw out corporal punishment in the schools, parents forgot or refused to parent their children so they grew up wild and felt entitled to do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted! Look at the school shootings, you'll find each one was isolated, a loner, and mental illness and should have never had access to a gun of any kind in the first place! Now you've got David Hogg being a professional fear mongerer playing off everyone's emotions of the Florida shooting, a shooting by the way he WASN'T EVEN AT!! And those were his own words!! So who's feeding him all this gun negativity to get the halls of legislators and citizens so worked up about the wrong issue? Yep, the dems and the liberals. Meanwhile the second Amendment is slowly being taken away from responsible citizens who sit back, see the train wreck coming, but can't keep their yes off it and just watch doing nothing. The problem isn't the tool, it's mental illness! According to the FBI & CDC, more people WILL be murdered by use of a club, foot, or fist than any other tool. Guns ranked way on down the list. But we had over 30,000 gun deaths last year!! Sure did! Now, start subtracting the suicides, the accidental deaths, and such, and that number is reduced to about 1,250 deaths per year by gun. Of course these numbers don't include Chicago which no one including our legislature, David Hogg, the City Aldermen of Chicago or the people of Chicago or anywhere else for that matter, seem to give two cents about. David Hogg has this whole nation stirred about 17 dead kids and that's a tragedy to be sure but, he's pointing out the wrong platform and where has he been hiding this whole time while kids ave been dying in Chicago or being slaughtered by the millions in abortion houses? We need to focus on mental health and enforcement of our current laws which are already the best anywhere but like everything else have chinks in their armor as was discovered when the FBI failed to follow up on a complaint which eventually led to people getting killed. Talking to those in law enforcement, for years they have told capital hill that in order to enforce properly they need manpower and for years those on capital hill have given themselves pay increases, bonuses, junkets, and lavished upon themselves many things no average American could ever afford all while just rattling a sabre for show, but no go.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Apr 20 at 2018 1:16 PM

2018-04-20T13:16:33-04:00

Monkey See Monkey Do coupled with Target Rich environment with no protection

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 20 at 2018 1:19 PM

2018-04-20T13:19:13-04:00

IMHO, I blame a lot of it on bulling. A lot of the shooters are tired of it.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Apr 20 at 2018 4:51 PM

2018-04-20T16:51:07-04:00

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/04/19/illinois-dems-push-bill-rewarding-schools-that-replace-armed-officers-with-therapists.html

Illinois Dems push bill rewarding schools that replace armed officers with therapists

Democratic lawmakers in Illinois have drawn up a piece of legislation that would give extra cash to schools that reallocate funds toward replacing armed security officers with unarmed social workers and behavior therapists.

Response by MSG John Wirts made Apr 22 at 2018 4:39 PM

2018-04-22T16:39:27-04:00

Well just look back to my school days, every 8 year old or above carried a Cub Scout or Boy Scout pocket knife, everywhere! When I got to high school I joined the California Cadet Corps, A National Guard run Military Science course. We had drill rifles, ceremonial firing rifles, and target rifles and pistols. We had an on campus firing range. We were a semi rural campus, the farm boys came to school in pickups with gun racks in the back window, during pheasant season, the rack held shotguns. During deer season the rack held rifles. We had no shootings, after Joe Biden declared school Campuses "Gun Free Zones" mass shootings started to "happen at schools".

Report: 92 Percent of Mass Shootings Since 2009 Occurred in Gun-Free Zones
On October 9, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) released a revised report showing that 92% of mass public shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 took place in gun-free zones.
The CPRC report was released in response to an Everytown for Gun Safety study claiming only 14% of mass public shootings took place in gun-free zones. Everytown actually claimed 86% of such incidents occurred in places where guns were allowed.

CPRC showed that the 86% claim rests on Everytown’s “inclusion of attacks in private homes” and “numerous errors in identifying whether citizens can defend themselves.” For example, Everytown “[ignores] rules that prevent general citizens from carrying guns [for self-defense]” in certain cities, and they fail to recognize that “allowing police to carry guns is not the same thing as letting civilians defend themselves.”

Response by PO1 Robert Anderson made Apr 23 at 2018 2:09 PM

2018-04-23T14:09:56-04:00

Violent video games ascension matches perfectly with mass shootings. Correlation, certain. Causation, highly probable.

Response by Brad Miller made Apr 23 at 2018 5:15 PM

2018-04-23T17:15:52-04:00

Discipline -- at home, self, at school -- goes down, bad behavior goes up.

Response by SPC Nanette Porter made Apr 24 at 2018 7:45 PM

2018-04-24T19:45:31-04:00

Today everything is about right here right now satisfaction. Everyone want's respect but no one wants to give respect and they have forgotten you have to give respect in order to get it back. People are allowed to bully each other in and out of school even though the school has a no bully pollicy kids find a way to get around it and still do it and get away with it so you have a kid that is a lone rapped up in a world that has no real face to face contact no respect and in a no on to talk to most often or no one that is hearing him or her. And no disapline they are not taught right or wrong or how to deal with life or people or that they have to take responsibility for what they do.

Response by SPC Bobby Orme made Apr 27 at 2018 1:15 AM

2018-04-27T01:15:24-04:00

Because schools are gun free zones. To be exact kill zones. No one there to return fire.

Response by Sgt Johnny McCalom made Apr 27 at 2018 3:22 AM

2018-04-27T03:22:09-04:00

I agree with your opinion but wish to add more on Parenting and the indoctrination of our youth in the school system. We used to learn many things that would benefit us in life while in school such as cooking, sewing, wood working, metal working repair of small and large engines and so on ... now that is also not the case. Plus our youth is being taught many things that are just flat out wrong. Math problems that took us 2 steps to complete now take 10-20 steps and if they get a wrong answer they are still correct because they showed the work to get the wrong answer. Spelling doesn't matter as long as they are close to the right way to spell it or it can be read correctly. and there is an Anti American attitude in the schools like never before. Plus some parents feel it is up to the schools to raise their children and allow their children to do nothing all their lives but play video games or leech off them instead of doing chores and teaching them responsibility.

Response by SPC Howard Walker made Apr 27 at 2018 3:00 PM

2018-04-27T15:00:53-04:00

I think taking God out of school have no impact on the students. As a parent I do see more kids being disrespected and also bullying more then when I was on school. With the cellphones in school the school should have a cellphone jamming so the students can learn and not be on their phoned.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 29 at 2018 3:22 PM

2018-04-29T15:22:29-04:00

Good question, maybe it’s all because of the media hype and constant violence in our everyday life in our society. We now have access to everything and anything in our lives today than 30-40 years ago. The mindset of our society and in general our families breakdown comes to my mind first. You have children growing up with no father or mother figure. You a one parent, who is most likely working while the kids are at school and home alone. You have bullies that want to prove to themselves that they’re great people. Children see people doing things bad and get away with it and they tend to follow that trend. You’re right about one thing though. Our Society as a whole need to be addressed at the lower level of our communities, to our families, and our law abiding people. Will this help with the children harming others? I don’t know, but I pray that it does.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 29 at 2018 4:14 PM

2018-04-29T16:14:48-04:00

Soft targets with high terroristic effect. Nobody likes seeing our kids shot up and schools are a likely and easy target.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 29 at 2018 6:35 PM

2018-04-29T18:35:34-04:00

I think its due to children not having the social coping mechanisms to deal with confrontation due to being sheltered and so sucked into there phones that they've lost the problem solving skills obtained through social interaction and minor confrontation

Response by SFC Richard Dougherty made Apr 29 at 2018 7:06 PM

2018-04-29T19:06:16-04:00

I think it's a left wing scheme to ban guns, the more school shootings the better chance they have of achieving this. By the way we never are told the gun man's political leanings.

Response by FN Douglas Finney made Apr 29 at 2018 10:36 PM

2018-04-29T22:36:09-04:00

I've done some reading about this particular subject, quite a bit lately. I have found several things they shared. these kids were from single parent homes with the father figure not present in their lives. It seems that they were also tormented by their peers for whatever reason the tormentors could find. Nearly all had access to firearms through family members or owned firearms. They all picked gun free zones to do their deeds. All had mental illnesses, whether or not they were diagnosed before their crime sprees. These each aren't enough to arouse alarms, but as a whole, these taken together should be a warning. Even when one shooter lost his firearm rights, he managed to get firearms. I think that the concept of moral behavior is slowly being replaced by rudeness and abhorrent behavior. I'm sure there are other things that these situations have in common too, but so much information isn't available to the public.

Response by CPL Thomas Artiaga made Apr 29 at 2018 11:27 PM

2018-04-29T23:27:27-04:00

I agree with your two points: God bring removed from schools and zero discipline (both academic... Such as detention with extra reports, or my favorite... Physical punishment in conjunction with detention and extra homework). I actually believe men have damn near disappeared. These snowflake underage males have no real men to guide them into being real men, because they have no father's. Are bullies part of the problem? ... Yes, because if the bully has a dad, his dad is likely a large coward picking only on the weak, and his kid does the same. The bullied kid likely doesn't have a dad to teach him that when required... after you attempt diplomacy... You must Savagely physically pursuade a bully to leave you alone. My opinion is based on personal experience and those of most my friends. Yes we all were physically persuaded to be respectful both in school and at home... And yes we all had fathers and even mother's for that matter that were fully willing to physically persuade us to be respectful to them and others.

Response by PFC Todd Jordan made May 2 at 2018 3:33 AM

2018-05-02T03:33:08-04:00

I agree with the fact that children are being catered to the instant gratification and not taught to have patience and respect for others. Which came when God was in our schools. You take that out and you take away discipline, you want fair. The world isn't fair. You WORK your way up. You overcome obstacles by not letting something stop you. Even if you change what you want to do that fits WHO you are. It takes time to figure it out. This liberal agenda of jumping on a hateful bandwagon of excuses kills the spirit of human GROWTH. All of that is wrong. Don't blame a car for a dwi, don't blame a gun for a shooter, blame a society that wants stupid slaves to work cheap. Blame Democrats for pushing the cheap labor agenda. Blame big biznez greed for bribing our corrupt Congress to do all this. But don't kill the American worker for wanting fair pay by letting greed kill what is trying to do to go back to slavery. Other countries and companies have given fair pay, fair insurance, and are thriving when greed is killing a once great nation.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made May 2 at 2018 9:12 AM

2018-05-02T09:12:54-04:00

Too many broken moral compasses.

Response by PO3 Anthony Nichols made May 3 at 2018 11:19 AM

2018-05-03T11:19:03-04:00

I am sure you can blame anyone if you accept the story we are told. We are not informed. Idiot savants enter schools got everything they aim at. Better than a trained soldier. One even blender in and evacuated with the victims. This is an organized domestic terrorist attack. Homeland security only monitors domestic travel. Or play psycologist and blame it all on mommy.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 3 at 2018 12:33 PM

2018-05-03T12:33:19-04:00

Lack of real solution. We need education, we need to teach people what these guns really are about. Once people become educated, then the stigma and fear will subside. The second part is Fire Superiority. These gunman are entering these schools having more firepower than anyone else. We were taught this basic tactic in bootcamp. More guns+More bullets= Win. In this case the shooters win for lack of opposition. They pick soft targets, they are cowards. If we have armed guards the school shootings will go down drastically because none of these guys really want a fight. they want to be a wolf among sheep. Bring in the warriors to protect our children, they are our future and most precious asset. Why is our money in banks protected by guards and not our kids?

Response by CPT Don Kemp made May 3 at 2018 12:44 PM

2018-05-03T12:44:30-04:00

We take God out of schools along with the Ten Commandments which prohibit murder. We teach kids that there are no absolutes - no right or wrong, just do what feels right to you. We teach kids about deviant sex at early ages and teach them that abortion is an easy way out. We teach kids the Founding Fathers are just Old, Dead White Dudes and replace them with minor historic figures. We tell kids not to tell their parents stuff and to report things parents do wrong. We teach kids to be sensitive, offended, and want protections afforded by a large government. The very people raising a ruckus about bullying are the biggest bullies. All of this is the carefully cultivated product of the National Education Association, a far Left union organization, and far left teachers. Many of the good, God-fearing teachers have been frightened into being quiet.
We whouldn't wonder why school shootings are up.....We should be asking why we have gotten off so lightly with school murders.

Response by PO1 Tom Follis made May 5 at 2018 8:41 PM

2018-05-05T20:41:49-04:00

Easy. Parents are not allowed to parent.

Response by Karen Harlow made May 6 at 2018 10:23 PM

2018-05-06T22:23:38-04:00

Parents today do not discipline their children, they do not set rules and make the children abide by them. Both of my son's were raised around guns. Neither one of them ever shot anybody. One son is 45 now, the other one would be 41 but he passed in 2013

Response by SPC Robert Gilhuly made May 9 at 2018 2:13 PM

2018-05-09T14:13:51-04:00

Poor parenting, video games which goes back to poor parenting, lack of value of life, politics, lack of religion, the indoctrination of children in schools and college by leftists twisted ideology, the list goes on and on, we know how to fix it, the question is when !!!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 2:06 AM

2018-05-11T02:06:05-04:00

There are many factors influencing this issue. My personal belief is that one of the main reasons it is the God out of school thing. There are many schools curriculums that teach based on theories and not on hard evidence. Mainly in science the subject that claims beliefs on hard evidence, except some unproven theories of the beginning of the universe, where the man comes from but reject religion or witchcraft or ghosts. For the most part, witchcraft and ghost don't really teach us good values. However, Christianity the beliefs on which this country was founded, does teach us great values and morals. Don't go by what other humans, Christian humans have taught us but what Jesus has taught us. You cant go wrong even if everything is a lie and you cannot go to heaven through Jesus, you'll be a greater person. In the end, you finish school and decided that you don't like the way this country was founded and don't like to live like a true Christian that is ok don't torture yourself there are 190 + countries out there I hear in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea they are atheist move there.

Response by CSM Patrick Durr made May 11 at 2018 2:29 AM

2018-05-11T02:29:46-04:00

Classic soft target, hard to defend. Society refuses to give the means to defend.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2018 6:39 AM

2018-05-11T06:39:15-04:00

I think it is because Right Wing America has been radicalized and it has caused a huge surge in gun possession in an environment where gun possession laws are too lax. The only other countries with comparable levels of gun violence are countries riddled with terrorists/cartels/etc.

Response by SSG Jeremy Jennings made May 18 at 2018 7:26 PM

2018-05-18T19:26:08-04:00

I think it's pretty damn simple. Our nation claims moral superiority over anyone else in any conflict and then blows the shit out of them. Our movies display the same behavior, as do the video games, the music, the sports, the porn, the toys, everything! Smart phones mean that our kids can NEVER leave the critical gaze of their peers, never be away from the violent noise that saturates our culture. Any messed up kid can go on the internet and find the supporting materials to justify their acts of fantastic violent revenge or attention-seeking. Guns are simple to get a hold of, and made so that even children can operate them. Every shooting in the news inspires the next shooters, and the chain-reaction goes on.
Y'all can blame gay marriage, loss of christian values, psychotropic medications, Libtards and Oprah, or Sasquatch, but until we wake up to the deeply violent culture of American exceptionalism, the shootings will only grow more frequent. We've been at war since 9/11, right? Well, surprise surprise, our kids at war too!

Response by Al Smith made May 20 at 2018 6:08 PM

2018-05-20T18:08:09-04:00

Sadly , I've read some of these postings and all that resonates is that WE are to blame. Each and everyone of us. Our inability to rally and affect change at a political level is seeded in our inability to maintain our own households. We have con artists for presidents, rap stars as heroes and everyone knows the end game is to get paid. Its no wonder children feel nihilistic. The level of our cultural decadence is at an all time high and it goes to the very nature of our freedom at all costs mentality and our free markets pontificating. Greed at all cost has caused this and until we (if this is even possible to reverse) as family's and then communities begin to to recognize this will continue. These tragedy's are simply reflections on a greater national dilemma - the decay of the Ideal That America was originally founded which no longer is pertinent a new time is emerging we're the cancerous free market economy ideology is being rebuked and discredited and hopefully superseded. My hearts go out to all these parents who have lost their children and I fear for my own and often reflect if it is time to leave.

Response by SPC Peter Pagnotta made May 20 at 2018 11:01 PM

2018-05-20T23:01:52-04:00

I do feel that we need to be tougher on our kids when we raise them. We also did not have tp remember we did not have social media, video games and access to any kind of media possible instantly. As people, we have become much more distracted with our lives and worries and unless it affects us directly we don't do much. Many families do not eat dinner together anymore and mental illness is not being treated. We also have become so politically correct now we are afraid to be tough and honest. As far as religion I 100% disagree with you. As a Public school teacher in a neighborhood where we have kids from 18 different countries and many different religions, we would spend all day on which god to choose. America is not the Christian nation that earlier generations grew up with. My Muslim kids, my Hindu kids my Christian kids all stand and say the pledge all state the words "under God." My Jehovah witness kid and assistant do not and in fact, do not even stand.
God or religion is not going to solve the gun problem.

Response by A1C Robert Ocasio made May 21 at 2018 12:04 PM

2018-05-21T12:04:57-04:00

Lack of parenting turning public schools into free daycare centers focused on antisocial indoctrination. Many young people harbor resentment because their parents are not home for them when needed. The growth of dysfunctional families over the past 590 years has done much emotional damage and created chaos in the mind of our youth. They no longer trust authority, because the crucial authority models by parents have been absent to do more important things than raise their own children. Society along with our corrupt media and politicians keeps looking in the wrong direction on purpose, so they don't see that they are the for reason of the radical increase of the school shootings we are witnessing today.

Response by Anthony Parker made May 21 at 2018 4:05 PM

2018-05-21T16:05:14-04:00

Basically because parents don't parent and adults are worthless in cases of bullying in schools. This leads to the kid taking their own action which usually is to try to fight them. But it's been ending in more and more shootings. If parents would still say no every once in a while and comfort their kid when the kid needed it, this wouldn't be happening. Teachers are pretty horrible in a lot of cases as well.

I definitely feel like it has a bit to do with the fact that people are trying to be more open to everything. Essentially, society got so soft that it can no longer fulfill some of the necessary roles of producing another generation of strong people. Challenge forces people to become better to get through them. With no challenge, there is no reason to become better. Some would argue the opposite, that the shootings are the challenge to overcome. I suppose the memories the survivors have could be seen that way. A new challenge to overcome. But it doesn't really work like that for PTSD.

It also may have something to do with the nature of technology. The younger ones had access to everything at their fingertips when they were still extremely young. Granted, that allows them to be very smart at a young age. It also leads to things like the tide pod challenge and other attention seeking behaviors when combined with the terrible adults and being spoiled.

Response by SSgt William Blanshan made May 24 at 2018 5:50 PM

2018-05-24T17:50:17-04:00

There's no father in the home . That's part of it. Little boys NEED a father figure to look up to and idolize. You know, "When I grow up I'm going to be just like my dad". MY dad was a veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. I joined the Corps in 1981. My dad was an honest, hard working man who never put himself forward, bragged or said a bad word about anyone.
The welfare system has made it possible for women to crank out carbon copies of themselves without having the personal responsibility of supporting or being married to a good man who can support her and her children.
This "gotta keep up with the Jones's" mentality is forcing the mother out of the home so they can afford a "certain lifestyle". Greed is killing this nation.
When you take God out of the schools (some are replacing it with allah) and tell children that they are nothing more than a slightly more evolved form of animal life, they have no sense of purpose. No reason for being. They are an accident with no reason for being.
Lastly, children aren't being taught the value of human life. They aren't being taught the value of good reputation. criminals are glorified. Law breaking is glorified. Hell, when a political party defends a gang of troglodytes like MS-13 simply to gain power, something is seriously wrong.

Response by SSgt William Blanshan made May 24 at 2018 6:07 PM

2018-05-24T18:07:35-04:00

There aren't as many as the liberal media want you to believe. In truth, over the last 35 years there have only been about 20 actual school shootings. The media has used things like criminal activity near a school and a child was caught with a gun in his backpack to inflate the numbers. Most of what they put into the "school shooting" category is nothing of the kind. You can do your own research and find this out for yourself.

Response by 1SG Ernest Stull made May 28 at 2018 8:43 AM

2018-05-28T08:43:21-04:00

Society has banned the good old fashion discipline. When little Johnny gets into trouble we want to blame anybody or anything except little Johnny.

Response by PO2 Arthur Escalante made May 28 at 2018 11:32 PM

2018-05-28T23:32:09-04:00

Things that encompass Family values and Respect for others seems to be forgotten nowdays. Kids need to be less involved in problems that should be their parents problems. High schoolers get out of school and they can't function in the 'real world', can't cook,do laundry,sew a button on,manage money,have lost the ability to solve life problems. They have to work to get ahead,starting at the bottom and working to get to the top,not starting off where their parents are now in life.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made May 28 at 2018 11:53 PM

2018-05-28T23:53:06-04:00

For much the same reason far more drowning deaths occur by open bodies of water, I imagine.

Response by MAJ James Woods made May 29 at 2018 11:54 AM

2018-05-29T11:54:18-04:00

"...the taking of God out of the classroom..."? Do elaborate. There weren't many if any school shootings while I was in public school in the 80s and 90s and it had nothing to do with prayer or religious discussion in school. Internet and cyber tech, increased exposure to radical ideologies and behavior, the changing family dynamic (more apathy and less discipline depending on meds to help control children), mental health, poor education, poor cultural values, lack of accountability by children and adults, accessibility of firearms (not the buying but the fact a kid knows where and how to access an adult family member's firearms), and lack of mentorship.
Religion begins at home with the family not in school. If parents want God in the classroom, go to a private religious school.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 29 at 2018 7:52 PM

2018-05-29T19:52:07-04:00

COL North said it is due to Ritalin. I myself think they are angry virgins.

Response by SrA Matthew Oneil made May 29 at 2018 9:47 PM

2018-05-29T21:47:12-04:00

BECAUSE THE BUS COMES BEFORE THE SCHOOL

Response by SPC Ralph Ellis made Jun 1 at 2018 7:00 PM

2018-06-01T19:00:52-04:00

"God in the classroom" has precisely zero to do with it.
There is absolutely no correlation there whatsoever.
(As if you could keep a purportedly omnipresent, omnipotent deity out of a given area anyways)

Where there *is* correlation, is the soft, entitled, and emotively-driven nature of society that has been born of our success at the global level. Consumerist society where children and mass sections of society are told how important their feelings are, and how everyone else should capitulate to them.
*There* is your problem.

Americans are historically a "pioneer" people. We were used to the rough rigors of life, and absolutely knew how, for the most part, to move beyond rejection, and blaze our own trails. A stalwart pragmatic nature was a part of our fabric that we cut out somewhere along the way.

Now it's all mocha frappes, Twitter, and Facebook.

Interestingly, even though I have nearly 2 decades in IT, I think it's also a product of being able to regularly interact with and project ones shadow self (Sorry. Jungian theory here.) so frequently due to the anonymity of the internet. This allows people to identify with, interact, and readily make available traits of their darker personality.

Combine persistent violent internalized and justified introspection with the idea of immortalization and teenage angst,. and tuh duh! Mass shootings.

Response by CPO Thomas Schussler made Jun 2 at 2018 3:49 PM

2018-06-02T15:49:23-04:00

30% of American children live in single parent households. 25% of American children live in poverty. 19% of American children to to bed hungry. Given these facts it seem logical to assume that the breakdown of the family unit and the resulting consequences i.e. lack of positive role models, lack of discipline, etc. in combination with a feeling of hopelessness can only result in abhorrent behavior. Guns don't have anything to do with it...anymore so than spoons causing obesity. Bullying may play a role but only to the extent that society has come to the conclusion that kids shouldn't have to stand up for themselves. To the contrary....a kid that punches a bully in the nose often finds him or herself in more trouble than the bully!

Response by SrA Michael Magro made Jun 11 at 2018 5:49 PM

2018-06-11T17:49:05-04:00

The problem is bullying. If these kids didn't bully each other, there wouldn't be shootings. When I was in high school we used to fight after school under the bridge. Now they shoot each other. Kids have no respect for one another. Emma González admitted to bullying Nikolas Cruz since middle school and her excuse was we didn't know him. Maybe if she offered to eat lunch with him, or even talk to him, 17 students would still be alive. Its time to start holding bullies responsible and accountable is the person they bullied murders someone.

Response by MSG Gary George made Jun 13 at 2018 9:31 PM

2018-06-13T21:31:31-04:00

Well I just retired from teaching and coaching. I spent 30 years in the AD and Reserves side of the Army. In the last 10 years or so how many of you have seen bewilderment in the eyes of a Soldier when they get in trouble? There are no consequences in schools for your actions. When your butt in the seat determines how much money a school district gets it determines consequences. I have seen kids fight and be back in the classroom that day. The few times they do get suspended is when they go after an administrator verbally or physically. They can do almost anything to another student or teacher. Parents don't think their johnny or susie can do anything wrong. If a kid fails it is usually cause they missed to much school. As far as God not being in schools it doesn't matter if He is not in the homes.
Next if you back in history to the late 60's through 70's and they stopped institutionalizing people with mental problems you can see the results. Instead of putting people in institutions they medicate them. These people stop using their meds and this is what you get.
Trying to solve this problem with just one solution will never work. It has to be a multiple prong attack. Bringing discipline back into the schools and families. Raising expectations for all students. Introducing God back into the family will solve many of the problems. The last is the hard one and that is the mental aspect.

Response by PO1 Sean Reynolds made Jun 15 at 2018 8:42 AM

2018-06-15T08:42:55-04:00

Seriously, not enough of old school discipline. Yeap, butt whoop'ns and just telling kids "No." Plus now days a lot of parents just don't parent for if they did and knew their kids - actions, routines, moods, and behaviors, then they would know if their kid was being bullied or was off-in-their-heads mentally. Truth be told and you have heard it first hand from students that even they knew the "said shooter" was not right in the head and/or was being bullied. Kids need to know it's the fucking right thing to do to tell the teachers, their parents and authorities. HOWEVER, even that has failed us in that one shooting where the kid was investigated.

So in all, it comes down to parent(s) and peer pressure.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 20 at 2018 12:34 PM

2018-06-20T12:34:43-04:00

JP4 said it. There isnt a one size fits all answer. But if we ppeel back the onion far enough, I blame the Hippies. My mother's generation. They are the ones hat started that love and feelings for everyone bs. It has spread through the decades like wild fire. Now its not Johny's fault anymore, its the bad kids that picked on him. Johny now needs meds to cope with being picked last for Elementary school soccer in PE. but everyone still gets a trophy! When will we learn that this is only going to get worse as long as we continue this type of behavior. Im not suggesting that we flip the script and are straight mean to our youth but instead raise them with a sence of realism. The good guy dosent always win like in the movie and life is hard. Oh by the way no one owes you shit get out there and work for it. If that kid is picking on you, stand up for your self. My boy was 6 and anothe kid was picking on him. He stood up and knocked the older boy down. The principal called me in. At the end of the conversation he told me that he did not condone violence even in defence of oneself. I told him that the weak ones never do. My son wasn't picked on anymore by that boy though!

Response by PO2 John Driskill made Jun 23 at 2018 11:53 AM

2018-06-23T11:53:26-04:00

Social media where children can bully each other on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Then it becomes pay back time. The schools are to blame also. The school in Santa Fe Texas allowed the shooter to wear a black trench coat year round. So are they surprised when he shows up with weapons under his trench coat? The father of this shooter didn't keep track of where his firearms were located, so the kid saws off the barrel of the shotgun to tote to school. The only hero was the school police officer who got shot in the line of duty unlike that coward in Florida. Back in the '60's when I went to high school, there was a .22 rifle range in the school and I attended the Army ROTC program. We got to go to an Army Reserve range and shoot the M-1's we drilled with. We didn't have school shootings back in those days. If someone was going to bad mouth you, it was done among students in secret, not on social media like today. The Genie is out of the bottle now.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 24 at 2018 12:57 PM

2018-06-24T12:57:22-04:00

There are many who will claim this is about God or religion. I disagree. Blaming Liberals for kicking God out of schools is a symptom of the real problem. The REAL problem is parents teaching their children that someone else is at fault for everything that is wrong.

If you want your kids to know about God, YOU TEACH THEM. Don't expect someone else to do this, and then use that as an excuse for why Little Johnny is such a terror. If you want your children to respect others, YOU TEACH THEM. If you want your children to accept responsibility for their actions YOU TEACH THEM, perhaps with a board or a belt if they are especially stubborn.

At the core of these problems is the cult of blame. I can't do anything about your children, but I and only I am to blame for how mine were raised.

Response by PO3 James Foley made Jun 25 at 2018 12:09 AM

2018-06-25T00:09:28-04:00

Why? Because we have a leftist agenda driven media that gives them the glory and publicity that they seek to the detriment of all other news coverage. Otherwise they get hung up on the old Russian election conspiracy once again. When there is no whacko shooter ready to be wound up and set loose, then they will manufacture something like Stormy Daniels. When all else fails they fall back on the Russian election fixing story rehash.

Response by SSgt Michael Cox made Jun 26 at 2018 2:06 AM

2018-06-26T02:06:31-04:00

So this has been on the news everywhere lately. The number one reason in my opinion is bullying be it physical, verbal, or online. Also the school systems reluctance to do anything about because of possibility outing a child of being gay.

Personally if the child’s life is danger I would care about what mom or dad might say or do. There are city and state services that could help even if it meant foster care.

Schools need to punish offenders legally also and put bullies and the bullied In detention together. And parents of bullies should also be held accountable just like parents of kids that skip school. My Ex GF was arrested at work in front of her employees because her child was skipping school to play world of warcraft.

Response by Michael Enderle made Jun 26 at 2018 11:21 PM

2018-06-26T23:21:46-04:00

We have a society that is morally abstract. "If we don't all agree about what is right and what is wrong, then morality must not exist at all... So I can kill people who don't matter to me and it's okay." We glorify people who commit these murders ie Tsarnaev Boston bomber on the cover of Rolling Stone. Even negative publicity is publicity. Most importantly, schools are extremely soft targets and we advertise the fact. "This school is a gun free zone" Many schools still conduct fire drills where kids march out single file and line up along the fences. Many schools leave doors unlocked. Most schools HAVE video and audio recording. In reference to school shootings this only allows a murderer to document their actions and does nothing to prevent it. In the late 1800s- early 1900s fires were killing scores of people. We eventually had had enough and got our act together. Panic hardware on doors, fire extinguishers, self closing fire rated doors, smoke detectors. How many people died in fires this year? Very few and typically due to problems that were known and ignored. We need to have a similar revelation to combat shootings (not just school). Abolishion of open ranges (Gun free zones), dedicated armed personel, lower the tax burden and degrading treatment on the average person being wishing to legally own and carry a weapon, and becoming a society that is realistic about the risks (Israelis are used to rocket attacks and accept that it may happen at any moment and know generally what to do, the western countries are still very naive about the risks). Perhaps we should consider more carefully when we are going into a public event. Most are uneventful but ever ballgame, concert, parade we're taking a risk. Many attacked can't be stopped except by a high likelihood of failure and difficulty in carrying out an attack (even then?). My $0.02.

Response by LTC James McElreath made Jun 28 at 2018 3:06 PM

2018-06-28T15:06:04-04:00

I do believe that you are on the right track, but there needs to be consequence's for ones own negative actions. It never hurt to believe that the principal might wish to help you see the error in their ways. They need to rekindle the children's desire to learn. It is all about the end of school year exams that are used to decide if: 1) Child has learned anything and 2) if the teacher has taught the child anything. The latter is demonstrated by the scores the child receives from the test. The teacher is then graded as well! But anyway the bottom line is below!

"One of the biggest thing contributing to violence is the fact that the shootings are being sensationalized on the news. The child see the shooting result and have to one up the last incident. Keep the incident off the news."

Response by PV2 Deserie Sanders made Jun 28 at 2018 7:32 PM

2018-06-28T19:32:22-04:00

Personally I think the way society is going now did this...because like many have said there were guns forever and kids used to go hunting before school and parking lots in schools were filled w/rifles in the kids pick-up trucks and it was never an issue. Society these days outwardly at least is very democratic/liberal in nature, I say outwardly because despite all you "hear" and "see" as far as open hate against anything right leaning and trump...he won which leads me to believe that while the media openingly oppose as they have done since the campaign trail anything trump and amp people up left and right w/the fear mongering, etc people, alot of them still voted for him. Anyway...there is alot of open hatred and animosity the last few yrs....towards the idea of traditional 2 parent households, towards free speech, towards the idea of a fetus having inherit value and the right to live, towards anything that would be categorized as a conservative viewpoint, towards the country in general, the flag and anything else that doesn't fit the social justice/progressive mold. These ideas are constantly being push by the dems and the media, there constantly lying then retracting stories to stir the pot. The openly glorified violent hateful groups like antifa and the BLM to everyone and wonder why kids think it's perfectly fine to automatically resort to violence and have no idea how to cope with anything. It's alot that lead to this. the fact that we can no longer properly discipline our children doesn't help.

Response by PFC Robert Falk made Jun 28 at 2018 10:47 PM

2018-06-28T22:47:14-04:00

Today's video games side don't help.

Response by PO2 James Kottinger made Jul 1 at 2018 8:14 PM

2018-07-01T20:14:31-04:00

Who knows for sure what's going on in today's youth. They say that there were more acts like this in the 80's and 90's then there are now, but I find that hard to believe specialty when the so call news is in your face 24/7. What I do know is everyone is overly emotional about everyone's feelings or afraid of being sued and it all starts in our school system...a kid can't be a kid anymore look at your school years and ask yourself what's missing today? I believe kids today are afraid to take a good old ass beating from each other and yes they no longer know how to communicate or cope with others because of the internet/ cell phones. They are always asking advice from others then thinking things out for themselves. 25, 30 years ago cell phones came about and so the increase in shootings...maybe their minds can't take the RF, and they want to roll out 5G, we all know we have use this in the military...for what?...
We can also say it's the lack of parenting, but one has to be truthful with themselves to admit to it...we all can stand back and point fingers, but I believe we need to talk with our children ask them what's going on and let them know we have their backs but also teach them right from wrong, and respect to others and not to be afraid to put your foot up your child's ass when necessary.

Response by Capt Hale Meserow made Jul 1 at 2018 8:25 PM

2018-07-01T20:25:02-04:00

Beginning in 1960, liberals have been insisting on the eradication of the Judeo-Christian ethic on which our country was based. That has meant the elimination of God in our schools and largely in our society. In 1973 it became legal to murder babies --God's creation-- in the womb, or even minutes after birth. Every form of aberrant sexuality is now not only legal but celebrated. Welfare is expected. My view is that God has said "You don't want Me? You prefer death and sloth and irresponsibility over obedience to My Word? Very well, you can't have Me. I will allow Satan to run amok and infect your society with havoc."

Response by SMSgt Greg Karrels made Jul 2 at 2018 9:45 PM

2018-07-02T21:45:10-04:00

1. They took away the ability to discipline kids from the teacher and parents.
2. They always try to blame someone else. Bad parent, bad teacher, coach etc. No one will accept
Responsibility for their own actions.
3. People need to give kids a stable house. Weather single or married. Be a parent not their damn friend!

Response by 1LT Kate Callahan made Jul 5 at 2018 9:26 AM

2018-07-05T09:26:12-04:00

Lack of good parents is a reason. Not the only reason. But the fact that so many kids are being raised by U-Tube instead of Mom & Dad as well as lack of respect for life due to the computer could be a reason.

Response by Dartagnon Puissant made Jul 8 at 2018 10:18 PM

2018-07-08T22:18:28-04:00

I agree God has a LOT to do with it. Also we need to let them know that they are NEEDED, AND LOVED, and an IMPORTANT part of our society. If the students felt better about themselves and their fellow students I believe there would be less shooting. Students, and everyone in general, need to love themselves FIRST and that should overflow to their fellow students, their peers. Morals is the toughest to teach kids bc they don't totally understand them. We are ALL here to HELP EACH OTHER, not hurt each other.

Response by SP5 John Paul made Jul 10 at 2018 8:21 PM

2018-07-10T20:21:14-04:00

I think it is because parents are so tied up in trying to make a living that they don't have time to be full time parents. Thus a lot of kids are basically raising themselves. Then when they make a mistake, a lot of the time they don't have anyone to correct them. So they don't learn that all their actions have consequences.

Response by Pvt Charles Schwalbe made Jul 11 at 2018 9:10 AM

2018-07-11T09:10:24-04:00

When I was i high school I had 2 shotgun and a rifle in a gun rack of my truck. And got my farshare of being bullied and never even thought of take my guns into the school and shooting the place up. I would just pick a fight with the bully and try to kick his ass.

Response by SP5 Jay Molyneaux made Jul 15 at 2018 9:09 AM

2018-07-15T09:09:37-04:00

I think our children are in large part, being raised by their schoolteachers. These are generally leftist who have no respect for life (pro abortion; with little respect for the military (sequestration) or other American institutions. Next in most large cities mindless violence in always occurring and it covers the TV. No values are being implanted in many of our children by parents, such as honesty, self reliance, hard work and compassion. This my take.

Response by MSG Danny Mathers made Jul 15 at 2018 10:38 AM

2018-07-15T10:38:03-04:00

The problem is not guns but the culture. I was brought up by two parents that would knock the fire out of me when I did something stupid. I knew kids that had both parent work to make to pay bills and stay at home Moms. Both ways made no difference. The main factor was both parent spent time with their kids, they ate together, went to parks together and did family things and visited relatives. I have seen and have a few family members that didn't do these thing and their kids are still adult living at home, drop outs. The gun violance has to do with the ganster culture where kids not paid attention except by the street gangs. There are also, street gangs out in the rural but the culture is the same. You can blame a lot of things but parenting and mentoring could change it all. However, its too easy for someone else to raise their kids, school and gangsters. Opinions vary....

Response by PO3 Don Goracke made Jul 15 at 2018 7:54 PM

2018-07-15T19:54:01-04:00

They took the Bible out of the school and brought in the Koran

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Jul 22 at 2018 11:35 AM

2018-07-22T11:35:10-04:00

I don't know about making God part of the equation, but children need to be taught about taking responsibility for their actions at an early age.

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Jul 28 at 2018 5:36 PM

2018-07-28T17:36:32-04:00

I attended public school in the 50's and early 60's. I don't recall God being part of the curriculum, but most everyone did attend church on Sundays. My parents and the school were stern disciplinarians. I mean the teachers actually walked the halls carrying boards. I had total access to my father's guns and anyone who's parents owned them did as well. Yet the thought of using them for anything other than what they were intended never crossed my mind. And, I never heard anyone else threaten to shoot anybody. I really think bullying might be one of the major causes of school shootings today. I mean people bullied kids back in my day, but now it's like the whole school attacks one person.

Response by SSG Brian G. made Aug 20 at 2018 8:33 AM

2018-08-20T08:33:52-04:00

The blunt of it? Kids are not being taught the basics from home and school and that is respect and how to handle the fact they are not special and are going to get rejected. They are coddled in today's society rather than raised up to be human beings and adults with consciences.

I was born in '70 and so in the 1980's it was nothing to see several trucks in the school lot that had rifles in the window racks. Nothing at all. Of course there was the occasional nut that brought a gun in their backpack but there was not the thing where they brought it to shoot up the school or kill someone. It was a 'look at what I got, hey neat' type of thing.

Response by Georgianna Lee made Aug 22 at 2018 9:16 PM

2018-08-22T21:16:08-04:00

The reason there is so many shootings is that the Liberal Left endorses these actions and school shootings is a substantiated fact that the Antifa groups, the Muslim brotherhood Jihadists homegrown, and psychiatists giving out medicine that enhances this behavior, and also no parenting in the home and Godlessness.

Response by CPO Richard Weir made Aug 25 at 2018 8:44 PM

2018-08-25T20:44:58-04:00

I think bullying has much to do with it

Response by LCpl Troy Gwyn made Aug 26 at 2018 10:31 AM

2018-08-26T10:31:48-04:00

Before commenting I read a few of the other comments.
Not one mentioned, notoriety.
We now live in a society where if a kid shoots up his school, his name and face will be all over the internet and television.
He'll be famous. The same as Billy the Kid from the 1880's.
At the core, are kids really all that different? Or does the news just travel faster?

Response by LTC Stephan Porter made Aug 26 at 2018 1:05 PM

2018-08-26T13:05:51-04:00

Your question presupposes thy there are more shootings. “Mass shootings” are down; but unsure about the ‘school’ subset. Heightened communication and speed makes it in the news more.

Response by SFC Robert Walton made Aug 27 at 2018 8:52 AM

2018-08-27T08:52:38-04:00

I will try to be kind here. Parents no longer raise their children the schools do. Both parents work and have very little time after work to interact with children because of homework levels and parents job continuing into the home environment, lets face it teachers spend more time with our children than we do. Now where I am going to make folks mad PRAYER IS NOT DEAD IN SCHOOL. Mass prayer is dead in school. School shootings are there because bulling is running rampant in schools not to mention the lack of morals, and over abundance of self worth. Kids to day need a gold star just for participation and if they do really well then they want all the stars and awards from the lowest to the highest level earned (a award for paying attention in class?) Back before we started candy A**ing out kids if I came home with a bad grade you can bet my parents were going to have a real reaction to that poor grade. I was not doing well in reading (mostly because what we were reading was not interesting) Punishment for the crime I got to read in my room while every one else watched tv then my Father would ask me questions about what I read.
On the weekend while everyone else was having fun I was reading and Mom ask the questions. That was for a D If you got an F some one was breaking out the leather. If you got in trouble in School your parents knew and the reaction was not going to be good. This has all changed. We now raise kids with cell phones and game machines. No such thing as parenting kids running the streets and parent not sure where they are the leave for school at a min. one hour early and home after dark because of extra things they do at school. we need to get children back in school for and education and maybe one extra activity ( football, Cheer, or what ever). When they got to school cell phone stays home. Be honest Now and just ask your self when the last time you checked you Childs back pack and bags before they went to school? Don't post it here just think about it. anyway this is to long already we need to more involved with our children to include knowing what they take out of the house with them and what they are doing, Not just trusting they will do the right thing. MHO

Response by SGT Bryan O'Reilly made Aug 28 at 2018 3:49 AM

2018-08-28T03:49:05-04:00

Until about 100 yrs ago guns were as common a household item as a wash basin. They were a part of daily life. Not so much for shooting each other as for keeping food on our tables. There were no Denny's or McDonalds. You want to eat You hunt. So everyone had them and because of that they were familiar with thier use and less likely to fixate on them, Times changed but The laws that governed guns then, for the most part, still govern now. But the weaponry has changed dramatically. add in that US Gun ownership is not just a privilege it is a birthright. That means until you demonstrate that you are not worthy you are allowed to own them. 400+ Million guns at large mean that the odds are you will encounter a gun whether you choose to or not. How you behave when you do depends on whether or not you have been properly trained to use them. This is where the breakdown comes. Some of you will pretend they do not exist and will do all you can to protect your kids from them . You tried that with sex and drugs, How did that work out? Studies show early safety training mitigates fascination. But, we are a gentrified populace that lives under the blanket of freedom and protection our military and police provide for us, so we do not have the same familiarity or the need our forefathers had. nor the discipline nor regular drilling that our military and police have.Personally, I believe they should be limited to only those who demonstrate an ability to handle them safely. and recertify annually But not training is a no go also. I am retired and have not used a weapon in several years., but would definitely want to I would want to spend a day on a range before I would feel qualified to carry again. And today's weapons are much more capable of doing damage placed in the right hands then in the early days. Any one of you know what kind of damage a well trained indiv. can do with an M16 or M4 I would rather give a baby a running chainsaw than give an untrained undisciplined civillian access to assault weapons. The only solution is to teach your child 1. a gun is always presumed to be loaded. 2. never point it at anything you are not ready to shoot. 3. Always point it down range. And this will not be popular with many folks, but unless you are trained military or a police officer and agree to annual safety cert.you should not have access to assault weapons period. This would not solve the problem, it would help mitigate it and if something is not done about it eventually unarmed parents will rise up in a populist wave and strip that right entirely, which could set the precedent necc to remove other rights.

Response by MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 30 at 2018 1:45 PM

2018-08-30T13:45:33-04:00

Easy targets bc most were(are still) Gun Free Zones

Response by PO2 Frank Inscore made Aug 31 at 2018 6:37 PM

2018-08-31T18:37:29-04:00

Lack of men teaching in schools.
Schools doing little about bullies.
Single mother homes where the father has been blocked by the courts from interacting with their children.
Single mothers raising boys.
No discipline in the schools, when I went to school we all had rifles or shotguns in our cars during hunting season. We also shot skeet behind the school FFA building almost everyday after school. Granted we lived in a small town. NO one got shot or stabbed and we were allowed to carry a knife to school.
Single mothers raising boys.
and last but not least
Single mothers raising boys.
Lack of men in the school system.

Response by SSgt William Blanshan made Sep 1 at 2018 7:52 AM

2018-09-01T07:52:03-04:00

The answer is very simple, although no one wants to hear it. Liberalism has succeeded in taking God out of nearly everything.

They teach our children that they are nothing more than an animal. An accident. A genetic fluke. they teach them that there's no purpose for being. THEN they teach them that emotion is rational thought. That rational, logical thought is an emotional disorder. They teach black people that they don't have what it takes to make it without the help of white liberals (as long as they do, think and say what the rich white liberals tell them to). They remove the fathers from the home so that boys are raised by women who feel that little boys should act like little girls, They put them omn medication when they don't. Young boys need a male role model, desperately. A father figure. Not some know nothing criminal sports or (c)rap star. Someone to teach them what it means to be a man. someone like I had as a child. My father, married only once, to the same woman for over 60 years, a veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam. A man who knew the value of human life and imparted that to his children

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 3 at 2018 12:49 AM

2018-09-03T00:49:53-04:00

I have not checked crime statistics but is it possible that the number of mass shootings now is comparable to 30 years ago and they are publicized more now.

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Sep 5 at 2018 10:32 PM

2018-09-05T22:32:17-04:00

When I was a kid, we used to have school-yard fights; two boys would push, shove, and throw punches until someone was knocked out with black eyes and ripped clothes. Then your parents would punish you for fighting at school! Now a days, the problem, or bully is taken care of in 30 seconds or less! Shoot the bully and now the bully will not be a problem anymore! Times have changed.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 6 at 2018 9:11 PM

2018-09-06T21:11:51-04:00

Meds. The US has the highest number of CHILDREN on psychotropic medication, especially anti-depressants and neuro-chemically altering meds in the world.

Response by Sgt Mark Harrington made Sep 8 at 2018 6:42 AM

2018-09-08T06:42:29-04:00

I agree with you and with PO3 below

Response by 1SG Michael Bonnett made Sep 17 at 2018 8:00 AM

2018-09-17T08:00:34-04:00

This answer will piss off a lot of folks. Tough.

We live in a world where morality and ethics are not ingrained into children. Instead they are taught it is a legal "Choice" to kill babies if you kill them soon enough.

NO crime, no problem, if you do it soon enough.

You can not teach both choice and ethics and morality.

A decision was made to teach choice in our schools, not morality and ethics. We teach do what feels goods and you can kill if you do it early enough. You can even make money on it.

Unfortunately, kids tend to be unable to distinguish hypocrisy when they see it. If their parents can kill kids and Choice is OK so they should be able to as well. They do not get the you have to do it sooner, not later.

We used to be able to buy fully automatic weapons from the Sears mail catalog, no license required. We did not have mass shooting. Back then we taught morality and ethics.

Then we threw them out so "choice could be taught. Mass shooting began.

A guy I knew, now dead, told me of an interview he witnessed of one of these kids who did such an act. The kid did not seem to think he was in any life ending trouble for what he had done, after all adults did it every day in this country and they did not get arrested so what was the big deal?

The kid had no grasp of morality and ethics. A family has a hard time competing against a state that teaches killing babies is OK.

Response by LTC Gene Moser made Sep 23 at 2018 8:26 PM

2018-09-23T20:26:32-04:00

Gentlemen, oops - I see we have one female voice here - difficult and complicated problems do not get easy solutions. We get the picture that school "shootings" are a new thing. Wrong. I know of a case in a one room schoolhouse in the latter part of the 19th century and two or more older boys, students in the school apparently killed their teacher and may have raped her first. In the 1920s a school house in Indiana (?) was the scene of the single greatest loss of life with a school killing - in this case by a large bomb (s) - and one didn't go off. There are other examples. One thing we face is instant news.
The fact is, people have bad mouthed those coming after them for a long time. A certain famous thinker once said something like this - and this is a paraphrase. "Kids today. No respect for their elders, or religion, or anything good. They don't want to work, they want stuff given to them. What is the world coming to? We're doomed!" Who said this? A famous Greek philosopher. When" 5th Century BC (BCE)

Response by PO2 Matt Shippee made Sep 26 at 2018 12:06 AM

2018-09-26T00:06:45-04:00

Personaly, I honestly believe it comes down to a lack of discipline in the home. It's not that parents don't "spank" their kids anymore, it is a total lack of punishment when they do wrong. I hear 10-12yr old kids telling their moms to "shut up" if not worse. It's one thing not to spank your child, but failure to instill discipline in the young leads to all sorts of problems. The school shootings are only the visible tip of the iceberg.

Response by AN Donald Miller made Sep 30 at 2018 10:46 PM

2018-09-30T22:46:58-04:00

Bullying.

Response by AN Donald Miller made Sep 30 at 2018 10:49 PM

2018-09-30T22:49:11-04:00

More bullies today than there was 25 to 30 years ago.

Response by Maj John Bell made Oct 1 at 2018 1:19 AM

2018-10-01T01:19:29-04:00

Today when a kid feels bullied, fighting is not an option. In my school days it wasn't even a suspension offense. It didn't matter if you won or lost, the fact that you were willing to fight sent most of the bullies somewhere else. At the same time, reporting that you are being bullied makes you a social pariah. Finally, teachers are not out on the playgrounds and courtyards to stop bullying and protect the passive or weak. No steam is let off, and the pressure is not turned off. Eventually a kid feels trapped and decides they have no option.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 1 at 2018 1:52 AM

2018-10-01T01:52:23-04:00

Simply said, though it is a very complex subject. There is a lack of human virtues and spiritual values thought at home and society in general. We are more concern about the next text or the next tweet than how people actually feel. When was the last time any of us had a meaningful conversation with a friend or a stranger?

Response by CPL Douglas Chrysler made Oct 1 at 2018 11:58 AM

2018-10-01T11:58:28-04:00

In 2017 there were over a quarter of a million deaths due to medical mistakes as compared to10,000 shooting deaths. So,maybe there are fewer doctors.

Response by SPC Robert Conway made Oct 4 at 2018 5:28 AM

2018-10-04T05:28:28-04:00

This is really a question? Whether you want to admit it or not, it is the guns. Easy access to firearms is the defining characteristic of this country as compared to other First World powers and it shows in every compsrison where you talk about people acting with lethal consequences.

Suicide rates, mass shooting, violent crime, easy access to lethal firepower is the only outlier.

If you absolutely refuse to acknowledge the thing pistol whipping you in the face, if you wanted to discuss the loss of funding and respect that we have for education in this country we can go there. Ignorance is applauded and rewarded, teachers are unappreciated and disrespected by parents, and the benefits of getting an education are dwindling.

Okay, gun humpers, let's hear it.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 6 at 2018 12:44 AM

2018-10-06T00:44:25-04:00

I saw a video on youtube of a guy who was almost a school shooter. He spoke of how his loneliness and isolation from society contributed to his desire to inflict pain and suffering on others. I believe most of these shooters are all the same way: alone and with a desire to cause pain on others. Combine that with the recent development of social media, where our newsfeed is full of photos showing how great and happy everyone else is. Social media has given us the option to show a very filtered version of our lives, leading others to only see the good parts of our lives and not the bad parts.

I also believe that these potential murderers choose mass shootings because they know that in their last moments, they will achieve international recognition with their face on every news site and channel.

Response by SrA Curtis Knull made Oct 7 at 2018 6:55 AM

2018-10-07T06:55:42-04:00

Religion or not, kids are not taught respect for human life, the idea that everybody has different opinions, and they matter. Really, though, it's a combination of factors, I think. Discipline, the fact that you may not get what you want simply because you want it. Kids aren't taught to deal with rejection, that they may have to try harder, or(gasp) they just don't have what it takes. Participation trophies? Alternate games so the third and fourth stringers get playing time? Something, somewhere got missed.

Response by SSG Michael Williams made Oct 7 at 2018 2:23 PM

2018-10-07T14:23:03-04:00

I agree...our "society" wants to punish parents for whipping their kids asses when they do wrong and instead wants to cuddle them and try to talk to them like an adults. Wrong answer.

I grew up back in the days when (while living on base) if I got into trouble which was my fault I got an "neighborhood whooping" which every parent that lived in the neighborhood WHIPS YOUR ASS so that by the time I got home my parents would ask "So, have you learned your lesson"?

Now, people will IMMEDIATELY videotape you on phone and call the Police before even know why you are whipping your kids, yet they will also be the SAME PERSON complaining when your child acts out while in public.

Educate your kids and punish them when they don't listen, period.

Response by SSG Jess Peters made Oct 8 at 2018 12:53 AM

2018-10-08T00:53:30-04:00

Use of guns are glorified in the media. Children are no longer taught to respect others. They believe their own wants, desires and needs trump those of others.

Response by SSgt Christopher Clinton made Oct 9 at 2018 10:00 AM

2018-10-09T10:00:17-04:00

Communities have become less connected; church communities are disappearing; social responsibility has been replaced with an ever greater focus on materialistic self-serving views; and too many parents are raising kids with the mentality that the kids can make choices on their own or parents aren't willing to put in the work it takes to set structure and consistancy that kids need. This leads to kids that become isolated from support that once existed; kids lack coping skills and feel overwhelmed. Also, people in the community and schools dont take time to really listen or pay attention to the kids and make sure they get support they arent getting at home. (Maybe it has something to do with teachers being overwhelmed by lack of staff and low wages!)
Until people recognize this and take responsibility, these issues will continue. No amount of firearm legislation will fix this. I think shooters will just find some other eay of attacking.

Response by SGT Ron Murphy made Oct 10 at 2018 2:41 PM

2018-10-10T14:41:17-04:00

Guns are not the issue. If they were, school shootings would have been epidemic back when you could buy them out of the Sears Roebuck Catalog, no questions asked.
The problem is in the home. Or what is lacking in the home. Children are not taught responsibility, morals, respect (self and towards others). Religion is a part of this too. All of the ideals listed above have roots in most religions. With out these things in the lives of kids, you get the garbage we see today.

Response by SSgt Kerry Dillon made Oct 10 at 2018 11:19 PM

2018-10-10T23:19:08-04:00

I think that kids should be raised the way we were raised taught morals and that there is always consequences to their actions good,bad or indifference. Instill discipline and responsibility. Take more of a active role in their lives. Teach right and wrong be stern when needed and console them when needed. Be authoritive not best buddies. Love,care and understand them. I think society these days disregard the principles that were instilled in the way our parents raised us.

Response by SrA Zo Evans Sr made Oct 13 at 2018 12:56 PM

2018-10-13T12:56:56-04:00

Very true...the lack of discipline is a huge factor . It was easy to gain access to guns 25 years or so ago than now and there were no shootings.

Response by MSgt Allen Chandler made Oct 14 at 2018 8:30 PM

2018-10-14T20:30:57-04:00

I wish the answer was that simple are you telling me that all the other countries in the world that don’t have this problem I doing it right and it has nothing to do with the number of guns in the gun and title bench mentality of the United States

Response by PVT Christine Shaw made Oct 28 at 2018 12:41 PM

2018-10-28T12:41:51-04:00

Discipline was taken out of the parents' control. They are so afraid of CPS and that's a big mistake. My parents were very much into whooping the butt with anything at hand. I'm not really into the idea of God being taken out of the schools because I was forced to go to church when I was younger, and some unfortunate things happened to me in a church when I was a teenager. To this day, I will not set foot in a church, and on top of that, I'm a atheist. Respect and discipline can be taught without that--and anyway, religion is a personal thing, not for someone to use as a reason to deny other people who doesn't agree with them/their beliefs civil rights. I've been taught that if you were in a government or public service job, you leave your religious beliefs at home. You can't use them as an excuse to refuse to do your job--if you have to do that, get out of government service. We are a country with a government that is supposed to serve ALL of its citizens in an impartial manner, yet I've seen so called "Christians" not only NOT doing that, but they are profiting from their behavior. Separation of Church and State exists for a reason, and if our political leadership is willing to let the Church take over the running of this country, then the Church owes taxes. If you're going to participate in government, then ladies and gentlemen of the church, you have to pay for the privilege like the rest of us. Give control back to the parents and let them discipline and train the children, and this craziness will come to a screeching halt.

Response by SMSgt Jeff Kyle made Oct 31 at 2018 10:26 AM

2018-10-31T10:26:54-04:00

Simple answer. There have been and probably always will be bad people who want to harm children. Their reasoning is abhorrent as is their actions. In today society, the “gun free” zones are thought to be the answer for keeping guns out of school. It may have a slightly positive effect to this in that child on child assaults are lessened under this policy. It has a huge negative effect in that those inclined to do harm know they have a target rich environment with zero chance of being caught before committing unspeakable chaos and death to our children. No guns = gun free zone = dead kids. Arm up the teachers who wish to carry, add armed guards at school entrances and do proactive measures to find these wackadoos and shut them down before they hurt someone. Before someone feasts on my nether regions, social media is just one of the ways to identify these miscreants. They are, historically, unable to keep their mouths shut about their intentions. When found, turn them over to law enforcement and have them psych tested. Shut them down before they can act. As for the “lone wolf” wackadoos, the only way to stop them is to shoot them before they can act and that must be done by the people who are the targets. Teachers can save lives.

Response by SP5 Tim Moore made Nov 5 at 2018 1:54 AM

2018-11-05T01:54:18-05:00

We live in a time where we have teenagers who have some massive screws loose. We can go back to Charles Whitman, who in 1966 killed his mother and his wife with knives, and then went on a random shooting spree at the University of Texas; or Kip Kinkle who killed both of his parents and went on to shoot 27 students; and there is a fair amount of evidence that the two teenagers in the Columbine spree were going deeper and deeper into a black hole. Take any of the school shooters, and you have a degree of mental instability often coupled with a suicidal urge. There have been a number of theories floating around as to what brings a teenager to the point of picking up one or more weapons and cold bloodedly shooting their classmates, but theories are a dime a dozen and often have nothing to do with what actually drove the individual to that point. Among them are violent games (Columbine), isolation coupled with rejection/teasing (Parkland), lack of God/religious upbringing, lack of discipline, and the speculation goes on. I don't know of any evidence that teasing causes the depth of disconnect which would lead someone to kill multiple random others. If they sought out the few who were actually teasing and killed them, perhaps... but these are mass random shootings. And the massive news coverage is likely part of the issue in that it reaches other youngsters who are mentally unstable/mentally ill, providing them with a stage in which to work out whatever demons are driving them.

Response by SSG Robert Perrotto made Nov 6 at 2018 1:01 PM

2018-11-06T13:01:21-05:00

15 minutes - that's why, the shooter will be talked about for days after. shoot up a school and your name will be on the lips of every reporter, be a part of nearly every political conversation, and become a house hold name.

Response by PFC Kenneth Cochrane made Nov 12 at 2018 9:41 AM

2018-11-12T09:41:48-05:00

Personally I believe that the reason we have more mass shootings than we did 25/30 years ago is because the Government has taken the right of the parent to Discipline the child away, I also believe that today’s youth with the dumbing down of America as well as the Economic and educational withdraw.
America doesn’t invest into the youth anymore they do not teach theses children life skills they are teaching them common core math which is rediculous, they have a 0 bully tolerance which has been taken to far this country has become a bunch of lazy video playing junk food eating whimps.
I’m 54, and I believe in a hard head makes for a soft ass, I also believe in the ATM method
Ask them to do something, if no compliance.
You TELL THEM TO DO IT, if still no compliance...
YOU MAKE THEM DO IT, by stripping them of their phones games tablets allowances and not just for a day or two I’m talking weeks at a time.

Response by LTC John Wilson made Nov 16 at 2018 5:16 AM

2018-11-16T05:16:48-05:00

The idea that there are MORE School Shooting now than 25-30 years ago is a MYTH... There were FAR more shootings back then.

According to the suppositions of the researchers featured in the linked article, the rise in "active Shooter" Drills (along with the sensationization of school shootings in our present 24/7 news cycle, in my view) has fooled us into BELIEVING they are common, even though empirical evidence proves otherwise:

"After the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, schools across the country began holding active shooter drills in which they huddled together in a corner or hid under their desks. Such exercises—which may include someone walking around pretending to shoot students—can be very traumatic, Fridel said, and there is no evidence that they help protect students. “These measures just serve to alarm students and make them think it’s something that’s common,” she said."

https://news.northeastern.edu/2018/02/26/schools-are-still-one-of-the-safest-places-for-children-researcher-says/

Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they...

Northeastern University's official news source

Response by PO3 Mariano Mendoza made Nov 22 at 2018 7:51 PM

2018-11-22T19:51:17-05:00

Yes so true .Kids are trying to become adults quickly and self entitlements are expected.

Response by PO3 John Wagner made Nov 25 at 2018 11:12 PM

2018-11-25T23:12:06-05:00

Video games aren’t reality.
When we were kids you went out and got your peck of dirt.
Made up our own games.
Crashed our bikes and bled. And survived. We built things.
The video game virtual universe is more real to kids now than reality.
By proxy they have a diminished ability to grasp long term consequences of actions.
I hear that Silicon Valley executives put their children into schools which allow no electronic devices in the classroom..
Seems they understand.

Response by SPC Larry Johnson made Nov 27 at 2018 12:01 PM

2018-11-27T12:01:23-05:00

I agree but I also think devaluing human life is a big problem. I am not one to blame video games and music but I do believe some of these have had some effect.

Response by PO2 Dale Brown made Nov 28 at 2018 9:22 PM

2018-11-28T21:22:07-05:00

Most shooters die during the event- suicide by cop or they do themselves- only 1 or 2 shooters have been arrested afterward. “ Going out in a blaze of glory”...this all relates to an untold story, child suicide, according to CDC nearly 40,000 children between 1st grade and 12th grade have committed suicide in the last 10 years.
Schools have become low tech prisons, most of the shooters are taking, or were taking , psychotropic drugs during their school years, often at the insistence of the schools themselves.
It is a complicated issue that deserves more study than is being provided.
It’s easy to point fingers at the parents, but the fact of the matter is that the school system we have is broken, and is based on a model created over 100 years ago.
Current schools “teach” obedience and behavior, NOT information or problem solving!

Response by PO3 Don Goracke made Dec 3 at 2018 11:48 AM

2018-12-03T11:48:51-05:00

Because we replaced Jesus with the moon god

Response by SPC William Bryan made Dec 6 at 2018 1:21 AM

2018-12-06T01:21:32-05:00

Let's look at the Florida shooting.
How much hate did it take for that kid to go kill the people he had gone to school with for all those years?
He had lost his Mom, lost his Dad and was being Ostisized at school.
The little girl in the interview even said they were doing it and the excuse was we didn't know the kid.
I couldn't phathem the depth of sarrow that guy was in. I can't relate, I can only imagine. I don't justify what he had done, but I do hold the students that went to school with him partially responsible.
The no bully zone is a joke, it's fake and the teachers turn an eye to what they want to see.
All I'm saying is you would have to push somone really hard to get them to the point of not caring about life and want to kill to take away your pain.
Personally I think alot of it is revenge.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Dec 13 at 2018 10:02 PM

2018-12-13T22:02:26-05:00

They are a gun free zone.

Response by PO3 Kevin DeLong made Dec 16 at 2018 11:55 PM

2018-12-16T23:55:49-05:00

Because all Christian values have been removed from schools. Another reason is worthless losers kill people so they will get on CNN.

Response by SPC Chris Searles made Dec 17 at 2018 1:12 AM

2018-12-17T01:12:00-05:00

It is the breakdown of families. Too many single parent families. It is also the lack of morals.

Response by SPC Jasen E. made Dec 17 at 2018 3:52 AM

2018-12-17T03:52:16-05:00

I think the a$$ whooping is the biggest part of the problem. Kids know no consequences for their actions. They have been coddled and wooed ever since they were born and they know no form of rejection. They don't understand that not getting your way, not being a member of the cool crowd, no getting the gadgets and gizmos, not getting the girl/boy of their young dreams, are not the end of the world and are not kill-able offenses. They have little to no socialization skills because they are always playing video games, reading garbage on the internet that they take as gospel, or hiding behind social media. Make your kids turn off the electronics and go outside and make friends in person. Go explore the great outdoors with a friend or 2. Just do something that doesn't require electrons.

Response by SPC Martin Meyer made Dec 22 at 2018 12:52 PM

2018-12-22T12:52:00-05:00

Discipline begins at home with the parents the children need to have set borders as to what they can and cannot do. Children today are too coddled they do not know the difference between the thrill of winning and the agony of defeat. I saw a cartoon the other day and a child was saying to his father, I came in First Place but Johnny came in last and we both got the same trophy. I do not think I need to try so hard the next time. Unfortunately, this statement is so true today.
Also, I do believe that religion plays a big part in all of this as it sets a basic moral compass for our children to live by. God has always been a important part of our culture here in the United States. I know when I went to school the first thing we did in the morning was recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Old Glory and then we said the Lord's Prayer and I am not worse for it.
As far as a good ass whooping I am not so much in favor of that as I know it is easy to move from discipline to abuse. I know this from my own childhood. It is one thing to swat a child on the rear because they did something wrong to beating them out anger over something they did. A spanking to me was something to be feared as it always came with anger and bruising with a belt buckle included. I know that we have an issue with my grandchildren over this as they are spanked by their 3 older brothers, the mother and the live in boy friend. The youngest one had a big bruise on his bottom from being kicked by one of the older brothers. Currently, they have been removed from the mother's household and staying with my wife and I and my son and his soon to be wife.
Children need direction and they need to learn the difference between winning and loosing and they need a good moral compass to know the difference between right and wrong.

Response by MSG David King made Dec 24 at 2018 11:43 AM

2018-12-24T11:43:35-05:00

Because we have more idiots per square inch than before.

Response by Dartagnon Puissant made Feb 17 at 2019 7:35 PM

2019-02-17T19:35:11-05:00

I was picked on in grammar school until I realized I was BIGGER than the other kids picking on me so after that I stopped taking crap from everyone, tried NOT to be a bully about it, but I have always believed if you stand down from bullies they will pick on you forever bc ur an easy mark. If you stand up for yourself the bullies cannot stand the BAD PRESS from the other kids so they leave alone those who stand up themselves. It's pretty much that way all throughout life. Eventually you stop having to prove yourself when you settle down and get married and get to know the neighbors and blend in with the whole mess. You gotta learn to love YOURSELF B$ u can love others ... too many broken homes and failed marriages are heavy loads for children to carry, even though they shouldn';t have to .. for some reason they always feel responsible. MORE LOVE is always the solution to tragedy. A firm hand keeps the kids in line but you don't need to beat them physically. The best thing a parent can do for their kid is to teach them responsibility by always keeping their own word and standing behind their commitments. Kids watch the parents a lot more than anyone will admit so its important to be a good example always.

Response by SPC Joshua Ulch made Apr 17 at 2019 12:06 PM

2019-04-17T12:06:05-04:00

I believe it is one of those events that occur once someone knows it can be done with no intervention or protection against, it demonstrated to those who thought about it can now act upon it because it works. No gun zones are places were the aggressors know they can be effective with little resistance. Military minded know easy targets when they see them. Gun free zones and anti-gun laws only apply to the law abiding. Criminals see it as opportunity.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2020 5:10 AM

2020-01-29T05:10:45-05:00

Because people are pussies, raise there kids as even worse assholes than when we were kids, and they go after the mentally unstable or less fortunate kids mercilessly. Those kids then shoot up the fuckers that made their lives hell.

Response by SP5 John Paul made Feb 7 at 2020 1:56 PM

2020-02-07T13:56:36-05:00

I think you hit the mail on the head.

Response by SGT Herbert Bollum made Apr 7 at 2020 11:47 AM

2020-04-07T11:47:30-04:00

Main reason I see is too much exposure of the bad guys.
They get their names and pictures on the news, they thrive on publicity.
More exposure means more want it too.
Nowadays, with everybody posting a video of events it goes viral immediately.

Response by SP5 William Johnson made May 16 at 2020 3:51 PM

2020-05-16T15:51:56-04:00

Blame the efforts of the 'left' and the laziness of the 'right'.
Taking God out of Home. Taking God out of Schools. Destruction of the TWO Parent Household.
Acceptance of the drug culture. Shrinking Morality. Lack of Parental Discipline (court enforced, sometimes). Minimization of the American Male and Father image. Lack of Marriage.
Takeover of 'Public Education' by those who do not believe in the USA-Civics, American History, Real history Not 'taught' any longer. I could go on...
Until 1968 we could by 'weapons' of war Through the Mail-Garands, M1 Carbines, Springfields, Enfields, Mausers etc. AR platform around since 60s.... There WERE NOT MASS SHOOTINGS BECAUSE OF EDUCATION, FAMILY, MORALES...We had BB and .22 rifles in Boy Scouts (now destroyed) in Jr High and High school shooting teams...Without problems.
Lack of Family, Religion, Morality, Education has brought US to this. Sad.