[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

RE: RAT Columbine



	Radical Departure Department:

	I think part of the problem of High School taunting, cruelty and
violence is a result of putting growing humans into segregated groups based
on their age. High Schoolers have no younger kids to look after and serve as
an example to. They have few 19 and 20 year olds to look up to. High School
is isolated as the be all and end all of life (during that time) rather than
part of a continuous process of growing and part of a cultural continuum
that includes 8 year olds and 20 somethings.

	Bottom Line: I think puberty is alienating enough but we make it
worse by putting all these hormone ravaged crazies together alone in one,
usually ugly, place. Maybe if Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had been able to
go hang out with some younger kids they wouldn't have been so alienated.
Maybe if the Jocks had 24 year old friends to keep them in line they
wouldn't have teased Eric and Dylan.

	So thats my theory. Please comment.



	From Salon

	Even today, looking back on high school brings up bad
	                                  memories. Sure, I was a little
eccentric -- quoting
	                                  William Burroughs in drug
awareness class and
	                                  flicking boogers at pretty girls
-- but that didn't warrant
	                                  four years of torture and
harassment. If only I had
	                                  known then that the beautiful,
trendy people who
	                                  made my life so difficult only
picked on me because
	                                  they themselves were insecure, it
might have helped.
	                                  Maybe if I had more people to tell
me they loved me
	                                  and that I was beautiful, too --
even though I was
	                                  different -- I would not have
spent so many years
	                                  isolated and afraid. Maybe that's
all Eric Harris and
	                                  Dylan Klebold needed.