Topic : 10/12 Homecoming Shooting

I take exception to Dr. Buss's statement about the school shootings being an infrequent occurrence.  Does he live on another planet?? There have been 22 shootings this year alone.  Columbine seems to have started a trend for those looking for revenge which is a sad statement for this country.  I agree there needs to be some plan to protection not only our children and teachers, but how do we do that so everyone is safe?

Maybe it's time to go back to square one! Remember when we said the pledge of allegiance in school with reference to God allowed?

Remember when we were allowed to pray in school if we wanted to?

Remember  when Christmas decorations on public property could include references to God?

Remember when the majority meant something in this country?

Well, in our great country 80% of the population profess a belief in God, yet we cave in to pressure from about 10%, maybe less than that, of the population that are against prayer or any mention of God in or on public grounds!

A majority of the posts that I've read today refer to praying for the families of the people involved, or they end in 'God bless you'.

Before God was taken out of our schools, the worst thing we saw from our children was a fight, and usually after that fight there was reconciliation between the parties involved.

These murderous outbursts did not start until after we took God out of the schools! We turned our back on the one sure thing we had: Our creator!

Until we allow Him back into our lives, we can do all the studies we want and change all the rules, but none of it will help if we don't allow God back into our schools!

I cannot believe you would even entertain the notion that we should profile persons!! Has anyone seen the movie "Minority Report"? This is dangerous territory. The answers to some of these questions lie right within the walls of our own homes.

The availability of guns is not necessarily the issue. Don't even get me going on gun control issues. However, Parental control and supervision is a major factor here. Parents need to be parents. I agree with one of your visitors (cannot remember her name). She said this boy did not simply "snap".  The "snaping" is just an excuse to shift blame and not take responsibility for extremely violent behavior. Herein lies a problem not only with young kids, but in society in general; that is, how can I shift blame and not take responsibility for my actions.

It is obvious this boy knew before he went to his girlfriends home that he would end up shooting here. I remember in my youth heraring the words, "tough", "you should have thought of that before",  These words and many others come to mind about the feelings of rejection and/or disappointment I (we) had to live with when we made bad choices. I fear there are many homes where things like integrity, responsibility and accountability are not taught.

It is time parent take back their right, power and duty to be a parent, a leader and confidant. As a society we have become too sensitive for our own good. Of course, their must be restraint and control in all this.

Let me finish how I started...STOP with the nonsense about "can we predict"...."Can we recognize and profile these bad apples"....muy dangerous to think this way! Shame on you for even entertaining the idea. This is stepping into our constitution right to privacy.

I live in a suberb near Cleveland and graduated high school last year ( I did not go to Cleveland schools)  I am in shock only because no one believes it can happen where they live.  I wasn't shocked it was Cleveland though.  I don't think its the guns themselves or the technology it's the mind of the person or people who decide to do this.  I can't and don't believe that there is no profile these kids are loners quiet and often yet not always disturbed in some way and most of them speak about it beforehand.  I don't ask is there a profile for these kids but I do ask the following questions:

We are presented with a lesson over and over agian until we learn it so How many more shootings will it take? how many more innocent lives do we have to lose before we learn?  When are people going to start listening and doing something to help these kids.  In Cleveland we are extremely lucky that the only person lost was the shooter.  I am sorry about those in Wisconsin who were lost.  These are just my thoughts.

This is a terrible tradgedy for the families and the townspeople. I agree with you that this young man has a family(and are too victims of this terrible act of violence.  How he became a member of the police force is not thepoint of the matter.  There are a great number of respected members of law enforcement out there, and hopefully will not be dis-respected .  This is one profession that truly deserves the highest acccolades one can have.  What  I don't agree with is why give this guy the publicity about why or how did he do this horrible act.  I'm sure his family has or will be counselled, about his behaviour or lack of.  Listening or watching the show is not worth my time for an open unended question and answer period. If I may end this with my heartfelt sympathies to all the families, so sorry.

thank you

My eleven year old son has shown signs for quite some time of depression and has had many obstacles in his short life to overcome. Partially because we moved often during his first few years of school, he has never fit in very well where we live now. I am a believer that children need security by planting roots in a community but I guess we chose the wrong one to settle into. The children here are mostly from families who have been here for generations. We have always felt like the outsiders.

My son started middle school this year and has had such a rough time so far. He has been teased and humiliated by other students - a boy who already has self-esteem problems. He is a very meek person but lately I am seeing another side to him that scares me. On two occasions just in the last couple of weeks, he has wanted to retaliate on a boy who visits his grandparents on our street and picks on him when they play together. The first time I had to take a ball bat out of his hands and last night I had to take a knife away from him because he said that he had had enough of being picked on and was going to stop it. I have always tried to teach him that fighting is not the answer and he gets so upset when he is picked on that he just doesn't know how to respond. I am afraid that he will have enough some day and explode like these other people. He was put on medication this past week for depression and I pray it helps. He is also seeing a counselor (all of which we are having to find the money to pay for out of pocket). My son's mental health is as important to me as his physical health and I don't want him to hurt like he hurts sometimes. But kids are so mean and disrespectful to each other these days. I feel that the school is already frustrated with him and me for having to deal with our problems.

After talking about everything last night after the situation with the neighbor's grandson, my son said something that was simple but made so much sense. He said, "I don't know why they don't teach a class in school about how to treat other people." I think that a sociology class on how people are effected by each other and how to deal with life should be mandatory for sixth grade students. I think many of them don't really understand how their personal actions impact other people. I think it would also be good for them to learn in this class how to deal with people and how to deal with their own emotions.

I hurt for those victims and their families who lost lives. I also hurt for those misunderstood individuals who didn't know how to deal with their situations and the families they left behind wondering why they didn't see the signs. I hope my family is never on either side of that situation.