Who Is To Blame?

We all wonder about the horror of school shootings that have been so abundant the past weeks. In Ventura County California, a 7th grader shot an eighth grade boy putting him into a coma where he was later pronounced dead.

Of course we all want to find someone or something to blame. This may be in hopes of preventing another tragedy or just to vent rage. So who is to blame? Fingers will point at the media and to the gun owners and firearms advocates.

When I was in school twenty plus years ago I knew troubled kids. Some in particular were full of anger and hate. This was a small school. There must have been kids like this everywhere. But shootings were nearly unheard of. What has changed?

I was anguished to learn of a young man shot and killed at junior high school. I lost a child to cancer in 2002 and know the pain that no parent should ever have to face. I also learned that the young man had outward homosexual attitudes including wearing women’s makeup and shoes.

Perhaps the shooter felt intimidated. We may never know. The wrongness of murder is an absolute truth that does not become better or worse with motive.

Then I learned that schools are not allowed to enforce men’s and women’s restrooms. Why? Because kids must not have gender roles put upon them. While one boy is exploring his sexuality outwardly, some powers that be encourage that whatever anyone wants to do or be is alright.

Blame who you might, but this is where the biggest change has been.

By teaching universal tolerance, society is refusing to draw any lines between right and wrong. When there is no right or wrong, there is no absolute truth. If there are no absolute truths, killing is not wrong.

My heart goes out to the family of the murdered boy and also to the family of the shooter. I also fear for the rest of the children who live in fear of school violence every day.

Parents love your children. Accept them for who they are and love them. But teach them right from wrong. If you do not, you leave it to peers, schools, the media or society. Don’t leave it to them to set moral standards for your children. We may be seeing the results today.