School year is 'officially' open, again

[CdnCarrie]

No one is gloating. I am pointing out that it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY IN AMERICA!!!

YOU are choosing this. YOUR country is choosing this.

Other countries are not like this.
It has nothing to do with being positive about the USA. It's about CHILDREN BEING GUNNED DOWN!
And if I say something about children being murdered I'm being negative? Really?

Minneapolis is only 7 hour drive from me. I have spent lots of time there. It's sad that this happened.
What did YOU do today to stop this? What is the plan?

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'm going to suggest that's not true. MN and CA both have the strictest gun control in the nation. Both have had incidents. There is no correlation. Mental illness however - 100% of the shooters have suffered from mental illness. Every one of them. But sure, let's make this political and blame red states. That's what Gov. Newsom did today. Doing something to do something is not the same thing as making a difference.

There's a controversial topics board for you to discuss what Gavin Newsome did or didn't do.

The mere fact that he had decided he was "transgender" is in fact, a sign of mental illness.

Most of the cause of mental problems among the transgendered comes from the ill treatment they receive from bigots, who are often family members, and friends that reject them or worse, harass and abuse them. Whatever happened to love thy neighbor as thyself?

That correlation got pointed out very early in this discussion and was very quickly dismissed - why? There has definitely been a correlation in the recent past.

Correlation is not causality.

I could not tell you why that is,

Then why bring it up?

but the data does not lie

So when you want to claim Transgendered folks are Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffs, despite not having the chops to be making such judgements, the numbers don't lie. but when it comes to 8 of the top 10 states for homicide rates being
Louisiana
South Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Alabama
Missouri
Alaska
and Georgia
in no particular order, Why that's just playing blame games.

. If that was all that has been uncovered in the last 24 hours then maybe you could call me nasty names for pointing it out - but no. This guy had all sorts of mental health issues, and ignoring it cost lives. We really need to stop politicizing and start addressing the mental health crisis in this country.

Nobody has called you anything. And once again who cut mental health programs is a topic for the other board.

 

[Lumpy1106]

It sounds like the shooter changed her name in 2020, so why now?

Does being transgender cause someone to buy a gun and murder people? How many trans people are out there that have not committed a violent act? Do you think they are mentally ill as well?

Just being transgender does not make someone mentally unstable. There are plenty of non trans people who are mentally unstable….

You have to understand how the trans movement is taking hold. You have depressed kids who see support by "coming out", but then it's incremental, seemingly benign steps. First it's a change in appearance - cut or grown out hair, then the pronouns, then a name change. There is a whole new vocabulary, and anyone that does not agree with the vocabulary or the pronouns, or has the gall to use their "dead name" is cut out of their life. Finally it's the hormones and surgery. Each step seems harmless, but taken as a whole it's really dark and very toxic. At the root of it all though is depression, is MENTAL ILLNESS. Seriously, read through what I just wrote - what of any of these steps would you consider normal, would you consider...healthy?

Are there people who get caught up in this and are not violent? Absolutely. But you can see how, once you are deep enough in, there is no going back, and if you are mentally unstable to begin with there is nothing about this that will not make the situation 100 times worse.

 

[mom2rtk]

but when it comes to 8 of the top 10 states for homicide rates being

Louisiana
South Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Alabama
Missouri
Alaska
and Georgia
in no particular order, Why that's just playing blame games.

States have red and blue areas. The high crime in those states is coming from the big blue cities.

 

[rowan1813]

I am hesitating to write this because I don't want people to take it in a direction it isn't meant to, but as a teacher in a high school, I can almost guarantee the shooter's teachers over the years has had misgivings and have tried to say something but weren't taken seriously. A lot of times we can see little things that make us think twice and raise red flags and when we try to speak up, we are dismissed, for a variety of reasons, usually by those who have more power than we do and by parents who either don't want to hear that their precious angel isn't perfect or are terrified of bigger issues.

Obviously I do not know that this is in the case in this situation but I am seeing more and more info coming out that this person was likely very mentally ill but there was no formal diagnosis and people questioning why wasn't his issues addressed before this. By the time students get to us in high school (especially as upper classmen that I teach and interact with), their personality, moral compass, and thought process is pretty well fixed (not saying that people can't change but you can see where some of these kids are going to succeed, some are going to have major struggles in life, and some just plain creep you out because something is very wrong). We try to get the kids who raise these red flags with us as much help as possible but often times we hit major road blocks either from admin, parents, legal restrictions/litigation and it scares us because we see what the future could possibly be but no one will listen to us.

All this long rambling to say, I wish this event and others like it, had never happened. It terrifies me that we as a society have not found a way to keep students (and their teachers) safe from acts like this. I wish that there was more emphasis on helping people with mental health problems, and (a more controversial opinion, I know), I wish there was a way to require mental health treatment for those who need it. In the end, I just try to do the best I possibly can for my students and I hope they turn out to be good people who contribute to society positively.

 

[mom2rtk]

. but when it comes to 8 of the top 10 states for homicide rates being
Louisiana
South Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Alabama
Missouri
Alaska
and Georgia
in no particular order, Why that's just playing blame games.

The crime in those states is isn't coming from the red areas. It's coming from the big blue cities.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

What did YOU do today to stop this? What is the plan?

For reference: I am a middle aged, middle class male US Citizen.

This hasn’t all been today, but in the past year I’ve mentored youth and children including discussing violence in hopes that they don’t lean to violence, I donate to a charity that mentors kids in areas that often have increased gun violence and provide them with positive role models, I pray, and I keep “how would they lower gun violence” as a priority when I vote.

If I had a bigger voice, I’d use it. I don’t think my voice in this thread will help much (with all due respect to the influence of the Dis) but I thought I’d share my plan.

Perhaps others, including our friends from more successful countries, can share what they do?

 

[CdnCarrie]

For reference: I am a middle aged, middle class male US Citizen.

This hasn’t all been today, but in the past year I’ve mentored youth and children including discussing violence in hopes that they don’t lean to violence, I donate to a charity that mentors kids in areas that often have increased gun violence and provide them with positive role models, I pray, and I keep “how would they lower gun violence” as a priority when I vote.

If I had a bigger voice, I’d use it. I don’t think my voice in this thread will help much (with all due respect to the influence of the Dis) but I thought I’d share my plan.

Perhaps others, including our friends from more successful countries, can share what they do?

Well for one we accept trans people with pride. That might help those who are struggling like the latest shooter.

 

[LilyWDW]

True. She’s being smart to protect herself.
But to me, refusing to cooperate with police and hiring a criminal defense lawyer may also suggest some sort of culpability. I guess we’ll see.

I disagree. Not cooperating without a lawyer is the smart thing to do no matter what.

 

[HopperFan]

I am hesitating to write this because I don't want people to take it in a direction it isn't meant to, but as a teacher in a high school, I can almost guarantee the shooter's teachers over the years has had misgivings and have tried to say something but weren't taken seriously. A lot of times we can see little things that make us think twice and raise red flags and when we try to speak up, we are dismissed, for a variety of reasons, usually by those who have more power than we do and by parents who either don't want to hear that their precious angel isn't perfect or are terrified of bigger issues.

Obviously I do not know that this is in the case in this situation but I am seeing more and more info coming out that this person was likely very mentally ill but there was no formal diagnosis and people questioning why wasn't his issues addressed before this. By the time students get to us in high school (especially as upper classmen that I teach and interact with), their personality, moral compass, and thought process is pretty well fixed (not saying that people can't change but you can see where some of these kids are going to succeed, some are going to have major struggles in life, and some just plain creep you out because something is very wrong). We try to get the kids who raise these red flags with us as much help as possible but often times we hit major road blocks either from admin, parents, legal restrictions/litigation and it scares us because we see what the future could possibly be but no one will listen to us.

All this long rambling to say, I wish this event and others like it, had never happened. It terrifies me that we as a society have not found a way to keep students (and their teachers) safe from acts like this. I wish that there was more emphasis on helping people with mental health problems, and (a more controversial opinion, I know), I wish there was a way to require mental health treatment for those who need it. In the end, I just try to do the best I possibly can for my students and I hope they turn out to be good people who contribute to society positively.

DS is a High School Teacher and Coach and you are 1000% correct. Luckily kids love him, and I think he's able to create a relationship enough that he has helped guide a few through some tough times. Even harder when kids tell him stuff because he is a mandated reporter. It isn't easy when you don't have support.

As a parent, I fear my kid going to school every day.

 

[jennab]

No one is gloating. I am pointing out that it DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY IN AMERICA!!!

YOU are choosing this. YOUR country is choosing this.

Other countries are not like this.
It has nothing to do with being positive about the USA. It's about CHILDREN BEING GUNNED DOWN!
And if I say something about children being murdered I'm being negative? Really?

Minneapolis is only 7 hour drive from me. I have spent lots of time there. It's sad that this happened.
What did YOU do today to stop this? What is the plan?

I live in MN and wish it wasn’t this way…