The
Trenchcoat Mafia Killings
4.23.99
Two days ago, at a high school in Colorado, a 17 and an 18-year-old walked
into school firing automatic weapons, killing 12 students and a teacher and
wounding 23 others. The two had thrown homemade pipe bombs and laid others
around the school. Then they killed themselves inside the school.
There's the simple update for anyone who hasn't turned on any TV's or radios
in the last two days. There's more of course. The two boys wore black trenchcoats
and are told to have been part of the "Trenchcoat Mafia". The purpose and motives
of the group, and these two boys actions, keep getting changed over time and
between reporters.
At first, I was looking for an angle to attack this from, but couldn't find one.
The incident was appalling. That's a given. A fuckin tragedy in every way. But
that would've been all I would've had to say had it not been for the very fine
coverage for the network news programs.
Had it not been for the news, I couldn't go and blame Marilyn Manson, Rammstein,
pot, Hitler, and the video game "Doom" for these kids killing kids.
Please note the immense sarcasm that line was thought with.
This is ridiculous. Another tragedy. These kids can't even pee straight, but
they can get their hands on semi-auto weapons and the materials to make pipe
bombs. They were kids with the same issues that almost every other kid has, they
didn't fit it. There have been so many other reasons thrown in for their action,
and no one is sure why this happened.
The AP actually went so far as to list the value of the respective parents' homes
to show that the students came from well-off middle class families that were
respected. So, of course you can't blame the parents. So who has the media been
pointing to? Anyone but the students, the parents, and the school.
These are two kids that made class videos about shooting all the jocks in school,
and not a single teacher or administrator found a problem with that?
One of the boys spent the 36 hours before they appeared at the school at the
other's house. The neighbor heard them breaking things from inside. And none
of the parents noticed?
These are kids that would openly praise Hitler and talk about killing the jocks
and minorities. And not a single person thought there was anything wrong?!?
Okay people, these two kids were fucked up. Everyone gets picked on. As President
Clinton said in a speech to high school kids yesterday, "Look, everybody gets
'dissed' some time in life, even the President." But there was something seriously
wrong with these kids... obviously. But whose fault is that? Let's see... whose
job is it to raise children with morals? Whose job is it to teach them right
and wrong? Whose job is it to guide them through life to make sure they don't...
let's say... walk in to a school and FUCKIN KILL EVERYONE!?!
Ummm... the parents and the teachers, maybe? But no. Everyone else chooses to
blame Marilyn Manson for providing the soundtrack to this murder. Let's blame
Rammstein because they sing in German about being outsiders. Let's blame "the
gothic culture" for drawing these kids in and making them kill everyone. Let's
blame the video game they played for hours on end for providing them with the
practice to walking down a hallway and killing people. Yeah, that's a much better
idea.
How about blaming MAVIA, the Mothers Against Violence In America for spending
so much time chasing down scapegoats that they don't have time to discuss with
their children what's wrong with what they're choosing to entertain themselves
with.
Let me tell you a little story. Before I had my little "emotional upheaval" when
I was 17, I was picked on, an outcast, being pulled in different directions by
my parents, my girlfriend, and school... I was just like these kids. And like
them, I had a really hard time dealing with and and wanted to kill someone...
myself. But I decided not to. With the blade already on my wrist, I decided to
carve a broken heart into my wrist. Not deep enough to do permanent damage, just
deep enough to scar a reminder in my wrist. Well, the point is, the very next
day, someone saw it on my wrist. Within 20 minutes I was down in the school counselor's
office and my parents were on their way. By that night I was in the hospital
getting an assessment done of my stability.
These were two severely disturbed individuals and no one saw any signs? no one
did a checkup from the neck up on these kids? and now they want to know WHY this
happened?
This happened because almost every teenage kid has issues to deal with, and the
only difference between the two of them and the rest of us is that someone, be
it friends, family, or teachers, were there to help us deal with those issues.
These kids had each other. They had each other and some imagination, some rage,
and some outside influences to help fuel it. And they had bombs and guns and
a way to get back at everyone that hurt them. And they did it because no one
bothered to stop them.
This happened because these children WANTED it to happen. They built the bombs,
they carried the guns to school, they pulled the trigger. But if blaming the
kids leaves a bad taste in your mouth, try swallowing this...
If you're going to blame musicians and video games (who never even met these
kids) for influencing them, how can you not blame the people who are with these
kids every day and are given the job of teaching, guiding, and influencing them?
05.06.99
It's been two weeks since I wrote the original commentary, and I've gotten a
HUGE response from it. I'm grateful to everyone that wrote in with their opinions,
even the opinions that differed from mine. Actually, ESPECIALLY the opinions
that differed from mine. They make me think some more... which I've been doing
a lot of.
There were definitely some holes in my thinking, I admit that. And I'm sure
there will be in all of my writings. But, so be it. One was brought to my attention
by a teacher at high school that reminded me that in most cases, teachers'
hands are tied when it comes to questioning students. I've noticed this too.
I also think it's a pile of bubbling shit that our teachers have to work in
the restraints that they have to work in. If they question a student's creation,
feeling the subject matter is inappropriate, or the presentation is beyond
acceptable bounds, the teachers are slammed with repressing a student's creativity.
If a student attacks a teacher and the teacher defends him/herself and cause
harm to the student, the teacher will be sued and possibly relieved of their
position. That means "fired".
And God forbid a teacher try to impose ANY moral value upon a student... all
hell breaks loose.
Now remember kids, the way that Hitler tried to commit genocide on the entire
race of Jews wasn't a bad thing, it wasn't "wrong" per say, it was just his way
of resolving internal conflict through external exercising of power.
And I give this to the teachers of this country, you have the most valued jobs
of anyone in the world, despite the way THEY treat you. Without you, there would
be no space exploration, no hopes for cures to cancer and AIDS, and no great
artists to make the world a prettier place. So I applaud you.
Now turn the coin over. Right now there is a teacher, or teachers, that saw the
video these two kids made about them killing all the jocks with guns. This teacher,
or teachers, saw them parading around school praising Hitler, speaking in German,
and doing a bunch of things that, while can't be called on a moral basis, can
be taken as a sign of something just not right. And while we all sit around wondering
if there was anything we could've done to stop this tragedy, wondering who's
to blame in all of this, wondering why no one noticed that something was out
of whack with these kids... there is a teacher, or teachers, sitting in even
deeper thought, admitting to themselves that they DID notice something was wrong,
they DID think the video was a bad sign of a trouble to come, that, just maybe,
they COULD HAVE prevented this from happening.
And that teacher, or teachers, is a sign to all of you that sometimes you just
have to do what you believe is right. Sometimes you HAVE to take matters into
your own hands and step outside the lines for a few moments. Put yourself in
the shoes of those that saw the signs. Imagine that you witnessed events prior
to a massacre that set off warning signals in your head, and you did nothing
for fear of the repercussions of challenging a student's creative motivation
and pissing off the parents. Some time later, the same parents you were afraid
of pissing off are crying to you because their son just went on a killing spree
then killed himself. Put yourself in that place and tell me you still believe
that you should've kept your nose out of it. Tell me you don't feel guilty for
your part in what happened. Tell me these things, and I'll tell you you're either
a craven weakling or a pathetic liar.
The other big argument I've had thrown at me, and with good cause,
is that we need to be blaming society as a whole for this tragedy.
They say that society is crumbling, these kids are just products
of that society, and their actions were just their way of acting
within that society under the new rules of social order. And these
people have a point. Society IS going to shit. And yes we do have
to do something to change before we just CAN'T change anything anymore.
So my question is:
could we possibly blame anything more intangible?
Blaming society is crap. It's an easy way out. Here's a test to show you what
I mean...
Would you kill someone?
Okay, I'll make it easier.
Would you walk into a building of your peers and
kill them off one by one, getting as many as you can?
No. Of course not.
Why?
Because it's just wrong. That's really all there is to it. It's wrong.
And how do you know it's wrong? Did "society" teach you that it's wrong?
Not likely, especially not since our society is the one going to shit. "Society" as
they blame it, is what's teaching these kids that violence IS an answer, that
death is just another part of life. On that, if you learned your morals from
society alone, you'd be out robbing stores and killing kids and cops and not
giving a damn about anyone, right? So someone along the way gave you a good base
of morals. Someone taught you that these things that "society" is all about now,
are just all wrong.
So, WHO taught you right from wrong?
If you're actually thinking, most likely you came up with answers like "my parents", "my
teachers", "my religion" and "the law". Unfortunately, some people don't have
a good sense of right and wrong, all they know, and all they follow is what legal
and illegal. Actually, sometimes that can be a good thing, but not on the level
of personal strength. Anyhoo...
We can't blame an intangible constant for the differences in the subject affected
by the constant. In scientific experiments, they call that the "control". It's
the one thing that ALL the subjects being tested are affected by. Or, it's a
condition that would have no affect on the subjects, this way there's something
against which to judge the differing results of the subjects.
To break it down... We are ALL affected by the same "society", if you're blaming
the society of the United States of America (for those reading this that live
here). If that society is negative, that's a problem in itself to be fixed. But
you and I are living and growing up in the same society that produced the two
kids that blew the heads off of their classmates. So how do you explain the difference?
Why aren't we doing the same if "our society" caused this?
The answer is that we were taught differently... dare I say, "better". We were
taught that the things society these days represents are bad, we were taught
to have a better moral code, we were taught right from wrong... and we taught
well enough to not be affected by "society". Well, not affected to the extreme
to which these two kids were affected.
So where does the responsibility for these kids actions lay? Once again, with
them, and the people charged with teaching them better. If you really want to
push the blame further, blame the kids that tormented and teased them, and the
people charged with teaching them that that kind of behavior is wrong. If you
want to push the blame far enough, you'll go back generation by generation, until
you reach (depending on your beliefs) blaming Eve for biting the apple and giving
it to Adam. Of course then you'd have to blame Adam for not satisfying Eve in
some way, causing her to look for fulfillment elsewhere. And then, of course,
you'd have to blame God for making Adam inadequate. OR, if you want to push the
blame outward, you can blame the school system this happened in. But then you'd
have to blame the State the system is in. But, of course, then you'd have to
blame the country. And we're back to blaming society. And once again, blaming
something so intangible is just an easy way out.
How do we make sure this doesn't happen anymore?
We can't. Not in our generation. Probably not in our kids' generation either.
MAYBE some time after that. Make the change in yourself. If you think the media
is too violent, if you think businesses thrive on violence, don't support them.
Don't WANT the violence. If you don't buy the product, that's one less person
to supply the demand for. Teach your kids to do the same. Teach them right from
wrong. Teach them not to advocate violence in the media and entertainment. Teach
them not to glorify power and death and guns. That's a little less demand to
supply to. And when the money isn't made on products and broadcasts that glorify
all the things you think are wrong with society, they'll stop. Because this American
Society is also part of the American Dream... becoming rich and successful. Isn't
that something we pride ourselves on as a country... that ANY PERSON can become
rich and successful? And as long as someone can achieve that Dream, can you blame
them for doing it at the cost of a little piece of Society.
So if you want change, you have to change yourself. And change those around you,
those that follow after you. That's the ONLY way things will get better. If you
think I'm wrong, keep blaming "society" instead of yourself, and see how much
gets done.
