Parents as Pushers
by Don Wrege
The mass murders at Columbine High School begot the copycat shooting
near Atlanta begot the nationwide cries of alarm about the "Youth
Violence" problem. Talk about a gold rush mentality, everyone with a luke
warm political or social agenda has taken up the battle cry: "Youth
Violence must be addressed!" (Their way, of course.)
The Gun Control Folks blame these shootings on the easy availability of
firearms and then demand more laws, as if more gun laws will help
prevent another such incident.
The Culture Control Folks blame the entertainment and video game
industries for poisoning the minds of our young people (while the teevee
runs in the background entertaining their own kids before supper). This
group wants more restrictions on Hollywood when they should have a
little more self-control over their television's "Off" knob and their own
children's viewing and computer preferences.
The Hate Crime Folks blame racism, classism, cliqueism and a bunch of
other isms for the blind hatred which drove these misguided middle class
white boys to aim and fire at their peers. "More hate crime legislation is
needed!"
Newt Gingrich just blames thirty years of liberalism.
Hate crime? The Columbine killers hated everyone. Equally. Authorities
agree that no one group was singled out; that the victims of the Columbine
shootings were victims of opportunity. Wrong place, wrong time.
More than sixteen standing gun laws were broken in the commission of the
Colorado crime and sixteen more guns laws on top of them wouldn't have
prevented it. Would more hate crime legislation have stopped this horror?
Of course not. How do you punish or threaten someone bent on suicide? You
simply cannot.
Liberalism? How about this for a contributing cause of the problem: two
out of three of these little criminals were taking parent-approved,
physician-prescribed psychoactive drugs. So far, I haven't heard much of a
public outcry about that. D.A.R.E. to keep your kids off drugs, except the
ones that help you cope with your kid?
As long as yuppie parents, for their own convenience, dose their children
with powerful drugs we will not see a solution. The same parents who feel
comfortable giving little Johnnie a glass of funny orange juice in the
morning to "help him focus," because "the doctor said it would help" and
"the teacher can't control him," are the very parents who feel more laws
will prevent more tragedies. They are very wrong - wrong about so many
things.
Light anyone?
