[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by lane912

knife doesn't go off on accident or when you drop it-

Neither does a gun.

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

The only solution that is realistic is the same solution that has served manking from time immemorial - we are, each and every one of us, responsible for our own safety. That's a tough pill to swallow for far too many today, for the legions who have abandoned every vestige of personal responsibility. They long for someone else, anyone else, someone in "authority", to assume responsibility for them, for everything. Especially in the arena of personal safety and protection. It frightens them beyond words to even think about assuming such a responsibility for themselves. They find those of us who would be so bold as to assume such for ourselves somehow repugnent, old fashioned, and even a bit frightening. They would like nothing more to strip us of those rights, so we would be forced to cower as they do. And, as we all know, they can barely mask their glee at yet another opportunity to spout off about all of that. They could care less about these kids and their families. All they care about is their own agenda. It's high time the rest of us give them the attention they deserve - none - and go about providing for the real safety of ourselves and our children.

Maybe if there ahd been a few armed teachers...

Excellent, excellent post. All the laws in the world can't protect you. Banning guns can't protect you. Banning knives can't protect you. Regardless of what you want to believe, you are responsible for your own safety and the safety of your loved ones. You can either take this to heart or bury your head in the sand. Sadly not much could have been done to prevent this tragedy, and my prayers are with those impacted. Sometimes $h!t happens, and it sucks when it happens to kids.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Heard the kid had been aggressively bullied by some older kids. No excuses but if true, it's hard to imagine how a badgered child might react.

Originally Posted by berettafan

I would suspect that social media plays a big part in making many a child feel like all is lost when ostracized.

The meds thing is interesting, and scary. a 'friend' of one of my kids was recently started on meds. the kid has generally changed quite a bit. less anti-social and generally less of a dick. but reading about the med this kid is on brings to light that there can be severe violent reactions to stopping the dosage.

I understand the parents motivation and find it hard to say they did the wrong thing in choosing to medicate their child. Who knows the situation for the kid in this story.

You have to wonder how much modern society, single parent homes, dual income households, and extensive medication of kids plays into this. I was a fat kid that didn't play sports, I was bullied through high school. "Snapping" for me was putting one of my roommate's head through a wall after he dumped beer on a girl friend. I didn't blame others, or society, for what I went though. But I had a solid home life with two parents, my mom stayed home with us as young kids, good solid extended family relationship, etc. It seems that kids today are more stressed than ever before - overmedicated, dysfunctional home life, high divorce rate, little time or interaction with parents, lack of physical activity, etc. 50 years ago most households had guns, many displayed prominently in a wood and glass case - yet there were no mass shootings. So what changed in our society to spur this behavior?