Kyle Erickson, who lives about 40 minutes from Red Lake, MN, reflects on the school shooting that yesterday claimed 10 lives, including those of the gunman, so-called “NativeNazi” Jeff Weise, and his grandparents.
Having lived just down the road from Columbine at the time of that horrific 1999 rampage, I can remember having some of the same thoughts Kyle expresses in his essay.
Moral: if a kid claiming to love Nazis threatens violence, take him seriously.
Back in my drinking (and subsequent sober) days in Minnesota, I hung out with, and know, and love, more than a few native people from Red Lake, White Earth, and Mille Lacs. This must be crushing to the community, and particulary the elders, who might be interpreting this deranged act as a personal failure of leadership. It isn’t, of course. Pray for the Ojibwa people of Red Lake, for healing, and for answers.
Thanks, Jeff. I’ve been meaning to start a blog for some time so I wouldn’t have to bug you guys with my inane comments, and I’m more than a little ashamed that it took something like this to motivate me.
I was horrified and angered (although not surprised) to read a BBC comment thread where a poster from Minneapolis, MN blamed this and other similar massacres on “right-wing politicians” and American gun laws. Leave it to a lefty to use a senseless tragedy such as this to flog a political agenda.
Also unsurprising is the fact that many commenters point to societal conditions on the rez as the trigger for the shootings, ignoring the fact that none of the other recent school shootings took place on reservations, and missing the very salient point that the kid was a deranged neoNazi wannabe. While poverty and/or abuse may well have played a part in this, it does not explain the whole.
I agree with you, Jeff, especially considering my sister and her family also live right down the road from Columbine.
Another issue that doesnt inspire humor..
Is it merely coincidence that these types of mass casualty incidences began occurring at or about the same time that our teachers were reduced to being little more than babysitters ? A generation ago teachers instructed our children in many ways. They obviously taught our children reading, writing and ‘rithmatic, but beyond that they imparted the basic ideas of morality.. a sense of right and wrong.. even a sense of patriotism and pride in ones country. They taught responsibility and meted out corporal punishment as necessary to maintain order in the classes.
Today, thanks to our Liberal Elite, teachers can no longer take a stance on any issue.. there are no truths, only shades of grey.. Morality, patriotism, belief in God.. all verbboten.. There are no more misbehaving students.. only misunderstood students that need more understanding and coddling. And God forbid that any teacher should even hint at corporal punishment..
Now once again we see where this avant-garde experiment in teaching has gotten us… We’ve created our own monsters.. or more correctly, we’ve allowed the seeds of evil to take hold in our children rather than nipping them at the bud early on.. Truer words have never been spoken than; “You reap what you have sown”.
-Baboon Savant
Turing word: ill
That about says it all..
Is it just me, or is this not receiving the same level of media hysteria as Columbine? Perhaps because it happened in a rural, rather than urban location.
To echo the Baboon Savant’s comments, neighborhoods used to be involved in the process of values instillment as well. When I was a kid (back in the day), if I was acting up or otherwise showing my ass, one or more neighbors would call me on it on the spot and then follow-up with my Dad when he got home from work. Ouch. Causing Dad embarassment in the neighborhood was an ass-whuppin’ offense. And though I received many of them, I was never on the receiving end of one I didn’t deserve…nor did I receive all the ass-whuppin’s I had coming to me.
I wouldn’t change a thing about the way I was raised…I ALWAYS knew right from wrong – no question – and I always knew where that ‘thou shalt not cross’ line was…didn’t stop me from tap dancing all over it, but I knew it was there.
spamword: question…as in, “no question in my pea-brained little mind where that ass-whuppin’ line lay.”
Matt,
You’re right…and it’s cuz it happened on the res.
Damn straight. Nobody gives a shit what happens on the rez, never have and never will. Case in point: my old stomping grounds in No. Dakota (brrrrr!)- a thriving Northern Lakota community of 12 shitty government shacks and a fuckin’ BAR for chrissakes…
Turing: planning
Take Jesus out of the schools, and you take Jesus out of the kids. And this is the result.
Someone tell me again why seeing “THOU SHALT NOT KILL” every day would have been so bad for these kids?
And forget gun control as the answer. Even if we removed all pointy objects from society, a teenager who wants to kill someone is going to be able to.
Hell, the Columbine boys have a load of pipe bombs made up..
“Had’ not ‘Have’ Oops… Dont Panic.
Tall Dave… To make the unqualified statement that that boy were wrong in killing his teachers and classmates is a bit presumptuous dont you think..? I mean, who among us is so perfect that he can judge others without first having walked a mile in his moccasins? We dont know what kind of childhood this child had. He may not have been suckled long enough by his mother. His father may well have not hugged him enough or worse, may have spank his butt..(He WAS a cop after all) The school may not have been inclusive enough for him.. He after all was a non-Native American in a predominantly Native American school. How was the boy to resist when that gun forced itself into his hand and fired itself over and over? Obviously this event needs to be studied in detail and more sensitivity training done for the teachers and students at the school to insure this doesnt happen again.
Oh.. and of course.. Get rid of those damn evil guns…
While the national media are just starting to pick up the story in earnest, the local and regional media are, of course, dominated by the story.
The above comments about nobody caring about what happens on the rez are, sadly, quite accurate. However, I do not believe that is due to any institutional racism, but rather to the metrocentric, parochial nature of MN media, and even extending into the Dakotas. Rural events, for weal or for woe, are rarely covered unless there is some sort of tie-in to the metro area, or unless it is a dark event such as this.
Not to say that racism doesn’t play some role, but I wouldn’t assume that is the driving force behind the relative lack of coverage.
Wikipedia already has an article up on Jeff Weise and his possible motivations for the shooting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Weise
“Libertarian National Socialist Green Party”?
What the hell?
To this day in Denver we have rules here that prohibit students from wearing trenchcoats. There are also numerous focus commities on bullies and any “bullying” is quickly given the four alarm investigation.
Unfortunately, none of those things with why those two went on a murder spree.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/&e=747
Now, this Weise kid goes on a rampage. People want explanations. Video games, Marlyn Manson, trench coats, nazism and poverty seem to be the explanations here. You know, some people are just FUBAR. There’s no rhyme nor reason but I’m sure this will create yet another full persuit posse charging in a totally wrong direction. He didn’t kill people because he’s poor, plays video games or even likes certain types of music. Hell, he didn’t even kill people because he’s a racists nazi lover. Believe it or not there are a lot of racists nazi loving idiots who haven’t gone on murder rampages.
Seems like some psyco drinks diet pepsi before his melt down and we automatically have to believe there’s a plausable correlation.
Alpha Baboon and TallDave,
Things that happened during the other 16 or 17 hours of the day (and 48 hours on Saturday and Sunday) may have a bit more to do with this killer’s actions than his academic environment. I don’t see how higher academic standards and a sign saying “Don’t shoot your classmates” would have stopped this tragedy.
Blaming guns at least focuses on direct causes of the deaths. Liberals can be incredibly stupid at times, but at least they’re somewhat on target when this kind of thing comes about. I still think they’re dead wrong in regard to gun control. It’s all idiotic political posturing, but blaming guns can be a better base-firing-up political strategy than blaming society, schools, rap or metal music, secular beliefs, trenchcoats, internet chatrooms, exposed underwear, the red pill, or those MTV video games. And pornography. A sexually permissive culture always leads to 10 gun deaths (or 9+1, by some suicide attack reporting standards).
Can’t we focus on the scumbag and not on our favorite targets? A guy kills ten people and someone always brings up school prayer. It’s just as pathetic and tired as bringing up the NRA after such an event.
As Kyle points out in his article, we’ve seen a series of these kinds of attacks. What we’re sorely lacking, IMO, is some new thinking on what to do about them. So far the answers have been: Search the lockers, put in ‘School Resource Officers’, install metal-detectors and cameras, and, as you actually listen to the kids, you need to watch out for bullies and loners. But what we’re missing is that, as tragic as these incidents are, the perpetrators have been complete amateurs.
What are we going to do if and when the US sees a Beslan-style attack?
I don’t think we’re thinking far enough ahead on this problem. We’ve got to get our heads out of the box of thinking that higher and thicker security walls around our schools will solve this problem.
I’m willing to consider that teachers and staff be allowed to arm themselves. Of course, there will have to be some discussion to come up with some standards for training and method of carry. Some–the NEA certainly–will howl that guns belong no where near a school, but I just don’t think the above solutions are hacking it against the amateurs–much less against determined professional attackers. I think we’re setting ourselves up for a large-scale attack somewhere, and we’ll be left wondering what we could have done to prevent it.
First Jon… What did I possibly say that made you think that I blame guns, MTV, trenchcoats, porn, stupid ass hip hop pants or goths for this boy shooting up his school..? I dont blame any of those things.. I kind of lean toward the idea that he was just messed up.. not the fault of any one person or thing..Stress makes people do strange things. Appearantly there were people that saw warning signs and dismissed them. But its all too easy, from my airmchair, to say ‘they’ should have been more observant.
I was simply pointing out that when our educational system took the stance that nothing is right or wrong.. there are no absolutes.. God and country and family traditions no longer matter.. that it turned our kids loose in society without a moral compass.. without context to view the world from.. and all sorts of antisocial behavior has been the result, IMO. And I certainly didnt want to imply that force feeding the boy religion would have changed anything
Turing word: systems
As in: Warning! All moral compass systems failing
azlibertarian:
The schools in the parts of Arizona I live around (Tucson) have high steel fences surrounding them. If a few non-amateurs decide to shoot up the places, all this “security” will just happen to also make it more likely that the attackers will be able to corner their prey inside an area that will be difficult to escape. It won’t keep the gun-wielding nuts out, but it will keep their victims in an enclosed area.
But at least it cuts down on ditching classes.
Alpha Baboon,
You strengthened my point while refuting my point. I’m quite impressed at your rhetorical skills.
Note: there was some other guy mentioned in the heading of my letter to the comments. Just pretend the other stuff is aimed at him, and you can feel at ease that I wasn’t attacking you.
Another note: I wasn’t saying you said all those things in any specific way, but employing what is known as a reducto ad absurdum, which means “wrench upside your skull”.
And another note: I ridicule your statement that secularism in the schools is a cause of school violence, and you repeated your claim again. Maybe I lack objectivity, but I never had to learn not to shoot my classmates at school. In fact, basic morality wasn’t really covered in school. It really shouldn’t have to be, since it’s the job of parents to teach some things, right? Of course, I learned it from television like everybody else.
AZLIB,
I’m not sure that arming teachers is such a great idea.. Fairearms combat shooting is more than handing a person a gun.. One has to train & practice and most importantly, be mentally prepared to shoot another human being without hesitation.. The last one is the one most people arent prepared for.. I think the solution is in providing good solid security at schools.. not prison-like but I dont think the same standards of privacy should exist in schools that exist in your home. Teachers shouldnt be afraid to or restricted from investigating anything that peaks their bat sense. And secondly devising ways to spot possible/probable risks before they crack and address any problems.eg Psych tests, covert observation, whatever.. I mean, look at this latest shooter.. Look at the Columbine kids.. these werent your average well adjusted teens..They had problems they wore on their sleeve. Somebody should have ask at least, ‘whats up with them? ‘ I read one of those sickly funny things on Fox the other day.. It was about an orderly that had raped all kinds of patients in a hospital.. When they asked how he could have gotten by unseen for months without raising suspicians, the nurses said they noticed he was spending an unusually long amount of time in female patients rooms, but he was hispanic, so when they attempted to discuss the issue at staff meetings they were called racist and insensitive..
When dealing with our kids security and safety, teachers should not be afraid to question the actions of anyone.. regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, economic background or anything else.. PC ends where our kids safety begins.
Jon,
So exactly what is your arguement.. that guns are ultimately the cause behind this sort of rage killing ? If I understand you correctly, you dont want to blame any of usual suspects like Marilyn Manson, MTV, Violence in video games, exposed underwear, etc, and you dont want to blame lowered standards in school or the change in school policy away from moral absolutes, religion and patriotism. Or even blame the fact that Political Correctness and Cultural Sensitivity has trumped all other concerns in our schools.
So again I ask, what exactly is your stance that I strengthened?
Oh and Jon, are you really Hellblazer in disguise? Jeez Hell, I know I told you that you should change your name and come over, but youre supposed to be working on the humor stuff.. Now go try out your wit on the Kerouac thread.. Go on now…
Jon, on a serious note.. There have been twisted psychos as long as their have been people.. but something has changed or is changing that has allowed teens to plan and execute mass murders against their peers.. Guns have always been around in this country.. I grew up with them but never considered randomly killing people.. in the 60’s I think we started seeing this type mass murder.. Whittman ‘66..U of Texas.. and these rage killings seem to have been getting more and more frequent ever since.. Whats brought on the change?
Alpha Baboon,
I am quite aware of what is required to carry a gun…I’ve been carrying a concealed weapon for years. You’re right that it takes regular practice and a mindset that some might not be able to handle. An armed teacher will have the especially difficult moral obstacle of potentially having to shoot a student whom they might be quite close to. So some teachers/staff won’t want to volunteer for this duty. So what? Preventing all from having this tool in their toolbox just because some don’t want the responsibility doesn’t make much sense to me.
Part of me says that all the locker searches/metal-detectors/bully-quashing efforts have done about as much to eliminate the problem of the murderous loner-student-in-a-trenchcoat as we’re going to see. We’re never going to eliminate all of this.
My larger point was what are we going to do when we’re faced with not just amateur school attackers, but with professionals. It’s just my opinion, but I think the SWAT team will arrive far too late to be of much good.
What we keep seeing is teenage boys going on rampages. That’s just the last scene of the film. Porn, violent videos, all of that crap is just more of the symptoms.
It starts when they are little and don’t connect with men who can lead them to adulthood. Little boys need some good, strong, decent man to spend a lot of time wrestling and playing and doing goofy crap so that they know that they are valued and loved. Someone to show them what it means to be a good man. Someone that they respect who is willing to draw them up short when they get out of line. How many little boys have this? Many fathers are out in the “real world” making money, watching sports, doing anything and everything but raising their sons. Moms can’t do it. What the hell do I have to tell my sons about being a man? I’ve never done it.
It takes a man to make a man.
Flame away.
Ana, you are quite right.
AZ.. I see where youre coming from but as an ex-Special Forces NCO, I cant imagine a few armed teachers (presumably armed with handguns) being much of a problem for pros executing a planned and organized attack such as the one at Beslan. I’d rather see better security, particularly constant monitering of key access points.. I dont think metal detecters are a problem. Random locker checks either. I’d like schools to at least be as secure as an average tech or utility company.. not like a prison or fortress , but a more low key , invisible but constant monitoring like the Microsoft Campus..
and of course with direct action paramilitary teams trained in hostage rescue, etc available (swat) on standby for immediate deployment if a threat alarm is activated.
T-word: defense
This AI is just too smart
As long as hundreds of children are hearded into indefensible buildings for eight or more hours a day, Beslan is a possibility. Sure is convenient though. Just saw the bus drive by to pick up another load of soft targets. We’re not going to give up this convenience any time soon.
Parents in our culture have largely failed. And continue to do so.
AB,
…I cant imagine a few armed teachers (presumably armed with handguns) being much of a problem for pros…
I agree that we’ll should never believe that armed teachers (and let’s keep in mind that they’d be teachers first) would not be likely to be an effective defense against determined attackers. However, they would be some defense, as opposed to schools today which depend soley on the School Resource Officer.
I don’t put a lot of faith in the Wackenhut Corporate Security officer myself. He’s there mainly to prevent strangers from simply walking into a building with some corporate secrets. I hope I’m not stereotyping, but I imagine he’s likely to be someone hoping to one day pass the test to be a prison guard. In the realm of providing security to his business like an armed teacher would do the same to a school, maybe they’re not all that different.
I hope–but am not optimistic–that School Districts and the NEA will have these discussions more than you and I.
AZ.. I agree with a lot of what you say.. I’m also a gun owner and fully support our right to keep and bear arms. What I invision when I talk about a better security system isnt window dressing like an unarmed Wackenhut security guard.. but rather something along the line of a system like Casinos use to protect their assets. Casinos spare no expense to watch every inch of their gaming space but a security guard and a metal detector is the best we can do for our kids? I invision a centralized security facility that can moniter via remote cameras all of the various schools in a given district. A system that would dedicate security people to watch each school with the same critical eye that they use at casinos now. And of course, the security center would have direct communications with Law enforcement and medical support so no time is wasted to send a patrol officer to a school to find out whats happening before calling for backup and swat.. Of course, a school district wouldnt find competent professional security people willing to work for minimum wage to I dont know if such a system would ever even be considered.. A good active core security system supplemented by metal detectors and a few on site guards..perhaps even specific personel with access to weapons for emergency use.. and of course realistic ‘privacy policies’ could work.
Putting guns in the hands of teachers is folly. How easy would it be to wrestle a gun away from one of them?
Alpha is right. If we’re going to attempt to protect the schools we need to take a lesson from the way we protect something we really care about. Our money.
Kids keep getting bottled up with no way to vent their aggression, and then they explode. This kid was profoundly unhappy with everything in his life, had no way to change any of it, felt persecuted by his entire existence, until bam, he went off.
There is entirely too much ‘understanding’ occuring in cases such as these however. Too many fingers pointing at causes OTHER than the killers. I think these disturbed kids feed on that, when they see previous school shootings. They see that the killers are made famous, are feared, are powerful, yet were misunderstood, were driven too it by various ‘influences’. The media and our society make them larger than life.
Much like they do with other criminals.
I say we make a concious effort to stop doing this. We, as a society, must draw the line; past this point, there is no ‘misunderstood’, there is no ‘mistake’, there is no ‘temporary insanity.’ There is simply a crime and a criminal that is totally repugnant, totally evil. And anyone who commits them is damned for it.
I advocate defiling this boy’s memory. I advocate burying him in a septic tank on national television, as people curse him to eternal damnation. There is no understanding cold-blooded murder like this. There is only revulsion.
Yeah. Or what Eric said. I’m cool with that.
I agree, at least in principle, with the thoughts abouts increased school security. Here in Minnesota – especially poor, rural MN – the first roadblock that would run into is funding. Rural school districts do not have a large, lucrative property tax base to fund even basic programs without scrimping. I’m not sure where the money would come from to fund full-time guards, install cameras, implement retinal scanners or whatever form the additional security might take.
That being said, what price Red Lake? In light of the fact that MN has seen two fatal school shootings in less than two years, it is easy to jump to the argument that security should be priority number one. And I don’t know that I would oppose that line of thinking at this point. But when teachers in Crosby are in the sixth week of their strike, and when a handful of other districts are either working without contracts or are having difficulty negotiating new contracts… Hard decisions need to be made, and soon.
Hey ppl i live on the rez so don’t be talking!!1
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