School Shootings

This is the stuff of parent's nightmares.

Minnesota is a state in mourning after a teenage boy killed his grandparents and opened fire on his school. This boy killed nine people and then himself.

I don't care who you are or where you live. This affects you. You have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.
He blew past the guard, whom he killed, and the metal detectors. And then he made his way to students who didn't know it was the last minutes of their life. A student overheard him ask another student if he believed in God, right before he shot him. This resonates of Columbine. The same question was asked of a female victim before she was shot point-blank.

How do we insulate our children from these acts of violence?
We can't.

I pulled my children out of school 9/11. I was at work and had their Grandmother pick them up. The fear I felt was palpable. I didn't care if I died, but I would protect my children at all costs. But I can't go to school with them everyday.
I tell my children to be nice to others. They don't bully. They're pleasant. They will actually go out of their way to help somebody. All of them will. The middle chicken found a wallet with money in it a couple of years ago. She turned it in. That is all too rare nowadays. They will hold the door open for an elderly person or someone who has their hands full. My baby has an "adopt a child" program going on at McDonald's. She'll find a small child and play with them the entire time so the parent won't have to chase them around or climb into the tubes.

It's the age of children raising themselves and having blurred vision about what's right and wrong.
They stumble onto a website that promises purpose and acceptance. And hate. Violence. And venom spewed from every word. These are the gangs of the Cyber Age.
These are still children. Seventeen years-old is still a child. Their minds are malleable, and if their heads are filled with hate, then hate will come forth. And so will violence and bullets.
Have you ever seen children left to their own devices? Some will do as they are told. Others will deviate and see how far they can push. If there is no boundary, EVER, then they will push until they snap.

I know that parents cannot be with their children 24/7. I realize that in today's world of split homes and rising costs, parent's must work their ass off to even make a home for a child. Single parents are putting in more hours for their children to have things. But I absolutely think that time is the most precious commodity we give our children.

A child, repeatedly left to his/her own devices, will push. No boundary for a child will mean destruction. Their emptiness will be filled with violence and hate. And a weapon will find its way into their hands. It's the only control they think they have.

Nine people and a seventeen year-old boy dead.

This is the stuff of parent's nightmares.

*****