h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Cheese says
Do you think this would have happened had it
not been for the heavy coverage of previous shootings?
---
I think it's too easy to blame the media. Would we rather let these incidents go unnoticed?
Should we hush it down and pretend these things don't happen? I think that would be a
little too convienient for the rich and powerful.
-B-

The media often use the excuse that they are reporting true events and life as it really is - if this is the case why are all - well almost all - reports are sensationallised towards bad news and bad human behaviour. People do copy and follow others, in a way, we are sheep who follow our leaders. Trying to emulate others comes from our learning concepts as children.

Cheese said 'would we ever learn' - the answer is NO - but will we ever grow up and accept our responsibilities to our children ? - from what I have seen the answer to this is also NO.

Copycat events will always happen and I am afraid that newspapers are there to make money and if it hurts others, their attitude will always be 'Who cares', ' We give the customers what they want'. I could go on but, 'Who Really Cares'
vegiman

In the US we have the constitutional right to "freedom of the press". I was taught from an early age that with freedom, comes responsibility.

I, personally, cannot see the purpose in elevating what should have been a local issue to a worldwide news story, other than gross irresponsiblity.

Our journalistic freedoms were set in place to insure the public would not be "snookered" for political purposes, not to line the pockets of those who who deal in sensationalism.

While Columbine did deserve the attention it recieved, I can't see where a playground fight between two six year olds stands as an equal...no matter how tragic it was. It was a local story, and should have remained as such.

NM

I do NOT think the events should go unnoticed. However, giving them constant coverage for 3-4 weeks after the incident occurred is overkill, don't you think? And also, young viewers are tremendously influenced by what they see on TV, especially when it gets such heavy coverage.

Agreed !!!!

There was just one notice about it in the Norwegian media so I don't know how you excperienced it.
I guess the American press handled the tragedy different. But I wish people would talk to their kids about what they see and hear so that the violence is not left alone with the kids fantacy. But I guess that _everyone_ to take responsability for their own kids is a farfetched idea. Still i hope that that notion wont be a sleeping pillow.

-B-

I agree to a lot of the points here. Especially that a lot of parents don't seem to take responsibility for their children, but then on their side of the arguement, parents have a hard job bringing children up these days without either breaking some Geneava convention or some government telling them they're doing it wrong.

Pastey

I know that problem! Discipline in the States has become a major problem. God forbid you so much as raise your voice to a child in this country.

If anyone dissagrees with your meathods of discipline and guidance, all they need do is contact the local social services office with an annonymous tip, and you are left to prove your innocence....minor infractions count as much as major ones.(there is no "little sin" when it comes to child discipline and guidance)

With this kind of government influence, no wonder parents prefer to leave well enough alone......until something terrible happens, then the standard line is; "We couldn't do anything with the child".

Well...no kidding! If you had done what was needed, you'd have been in jail before your kid was!

NM

Parents do not receive training. Each one is left to their own devices to bring em up. I cringe when I see what my grandchildren have to put up with. I see my kids making the same mistakes I did. or even worse they go in totally the opposite direction to extremes.

Will we ever learn - Its no good telling your kids how to bring up theirs - it is called interfering - so most grandparents grit their teeth (if they have any)and hope for the best.

a school for parents - what a good idea theat would be - but would they listen.
veg

Hey chess playing pastey - I'll be emailing you in the next few days - I have my new comp but remember:I only get cableinet emails at the mo, my vegimandelivery is not been reset yet - I forgot the username.

Catch u all soon

EErrmm...Veggie....that opens up a whole new can of worms!LOL I think that idea has been so well "hashed out" in the last few decades that it is now "creamed potatoes"

There are a lot of good points and bad in the idea, but your observation is the one lone truth....they won't listen, anyway. If you think Grandparents' intervention is frowned on, try government intervention!

God luck on the chess game!

NM

Boy, am I ever glad to finally find someone who agrees with me!! What is it going to take before the Powers that Be realize that the problems society is having with children are mostly caused by the lack of early discipline? This is aging me, but years ago you lived in fear of the principal at school, fear of being seen doing something wrong by a neighbour or relative, fear of reprimand from everyone from your father to your music teacher! And did it hurt us? Not in the least! I was fortunate enough to raise my child when it was only not socially acceptable to paddle his little bottom, not illegal. He never was an angel, but he's turning out to be a fine man that we can be proud of. His take on this? Total agreement with our methods of discipline. I guess we weren't all wrong!

My son is now 24 with 3 sons and a daughter.....he is more strict than I was. He also has the best behaved young children I've seen of late. He's not cruel, just demanding when it comes to their behavior.

You are so very right. When I was a child, one didn't just fear the parents. Any adult at any time could step in and enforce correct behavior. It was understood that, if the parents were not around, the present adult was in total charge. (insert your diety here) help you when your parents found out(and they always did). The punishment was always repeated.

I do not care much for Hillary Clinton, and have not read her book, It Takes A Village. I don't know if the book is in agreement with the title. The title says it all, nonetheless. Until our communities are willing to help guide our children, and take everyones' child as their responsibility to society as a whole, the situation will not improve.

Government interferrence has only made matters worse. Who wants to step in and correct an unruly child when the end result could very well be a lawsuit, or criminal charges?

It's a sad state of affairs. I can think of no way to correct it with the present mindset of the modern public. I'm only glad I will not be around to see the end result!

NM

NM, I'll admit I didn't read this whole thread top to bottom, but I have to agree that you just hit the nail on the head. The sad fact is, the "killer" was living in a crack house; people knew of this, and did nothing. And yet we will choose to blame the gun, because as an inanimate object, it can't turn around and put blame back on us.

We're ALL to blame, for each of us probably knows someone--- a neglected child, an abused wife, an employee treated unfairly--- who we could have helped, yet chose to "live and let live."

My father is a teacher who for nearly 40 years has loved his job. He can't wait to retire now. The politics behind it all have gotten out of control. And, when a teacher DOES step in and try to help an out-of-control child, the parents are quite likely to call the school and want to know why the teacher is picking on the poor helpless student.

We are currently a nation with a victim mentality ("It wasn't may fault, because I was "). Until we, as a people, stand up and start to realize that we and we alone can make our own lives better, nothing will change. Believe me, I know. I've tried both paths, and taking responsibility for my own life has made me a much happier person.

P.S. But I must disagree on one point; I don't think very many good parents are brought up on child abuse charges. It is exceedingly difficult to take a child away from its parents, and many children die each year because the hands of social services were tied by the courts. Judges will usually rule to send the child back home, even in some of the most severe cases of abuse. I took some graduate classes in Counseling, and my Bachelor's is in education: some of the statistics are frightening. More than 2000 children die each year in the US due to abuse or neglect.

BUT, it doesn't take physical violence (or the threat of it) to keep the majority of kids in line. My brother and sister and I were never hit (actually, I got slapped on the behind once, and I thoroughly deserved it). But we were taught respect, and that's the key. We didn't litter cuz we were taught to respect nature. We didn't trample the neighbor's flowers because we were taught to respect property. We didn't mouth off in school because we were taught to respect our teachers. And we were taught this respect by example. It's the only way.

Children whose only example is television and parents toting bumper stickers on their cars that say "My child could beat up your honor's student" haven't got much chance in this life. The parents of the six-year-old we're discussing certainly weren't concerned with what social services would think; they lived in a crack house. One of the shooters at Columbine left the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun lying on his dresser, and his parents didn't notice. I don't think fear of getting in trouble with disciplining him was very high on those parents' list of worries. Matter of fact, I don't think they cared much, one way or the other.

PPS:

...and I certainly mean no disrespect towards anyone here, or their parenting methods....

I admit it is a shame that that child was killed by a gunman - but how about the thousands killed each week in car accidents?
At the end of the day, do you care if someone you know is dead because of a car or a gun, if they are dead? No matter which, they're not coming back.
But the media don't care about car accidents unless they're VERY bad. Give them a gun story, and they get all obsessed.

Just think what its going to be like for the rest of that six year old's life. What is going to happen to him now? It seems to me that two lives could well have been lost over this incident, the life of the girl that was killed and the ... I don't have the word; something like digninty, self respect... whatever of the child that did the shooting.

Innocence, I think. Not innocence as in naivety. More than that. Imagine meeting a man now and having him tell you that when he was 6, he killed someone....

He is forever changed, in his own eyes and in the eyes of the world.

How true. It's one thing for someone totally consious of their actions to commit an act of violence, but a six year old surely doesn't understand the ramifications until it is too late. Now this boy must live with the memory of what he has done for the rest of his life. He also must endure the views which others may have of his actions as a small child. That will be a hard life. If he ever forgives himself, will those around him follow suite?....not likely!

Let us not forget, most acts of violence(as well as most murders)are commited with something other than a gun. A point the media is well adept at avoiding. Being bludgeuoned to death with a baseball bat doesn't sell as well as a good "gun story". There's no controversy in a baseball bat.(given a choice, I'd much rather be shot!)

It's much the same as airplane crashes. I'm a pilot....I'm well aware that planes don't, normally, fall out of the sky. They have a glide path which gives the pilot some time to make some very hard decisions. The wrong decisions result in deaths, the right ones make the pilot a hero.

Considerably more people die in auto crashes, than in airplanes.....even if you take into consideration "seat miles"(miles traveled per passenger), the difference is exponential. What does the media tell you about? Airplane crashes. It's much more "graphic". It "sells" better!

As for parenting....everyone has their own way.(lately, it seems no one knows what that way is) It can't be taught, it is the last remnant of human instinct. While I do not endorse abuse, one must understand that humans are born as wild animals. There is a certain amount of physical correction necessary in the first few years....after that, vocabulary and civilized understanding are in place and language can be used to make a point.

Respect cannot be forced! It must be earned! If your child is to respect you and those around you, they must be shown it is deserved. Be respectable, and they will respect you. Sounds simple....it is!

A child growing up in a crack house cannot comprehend the term "respectable". He never had a chance!

NM

Interesting discussion! The problem with the media is if it bleeds, it leads.That way we get all the gorry details, and no one seems to consider what's going to happen to this 6 year old as he grows up. Someone I know calls the media slavering dogs, and he's not far wrong. Because we're fed all this tripe about what is essentially a double tragedy, another young life is ruined.