Who is Copycatting Who in a Culture of Cruelty? A perspective on motivation behind shootings in Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, and Illinois from February 7-15, 2008
Who is Copycatting Who?
A perspective on motivation behind shootings in Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, and Illinois from February 7-15, 2008
By Nancy Grace Rosen, M.C. author, counselor, educator and speaker
www.mvfr.org Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation, Summer 2008, Issue 26
Profile Story Story by same author
According to Democracy Now our nation is not all that united.
Our government claims the war on terrorism justifies terrifying torture, senseless bombings,
murdering innocent people and using military force to control another country’s natural resources in the name of democracy.
This is a good example of how our country perpetuates a culture of cruelty.
More guns are sold in this country than anywhere else in the world and 80 people
die of gunshot wounds every day in the U.S.
On elementary school playgrounds, teachers are bombarded with continual complaints of hitting, kicking, shoving, tripping, pinching and name-calling during three recesses a day. Most overloaded and stressed out supervisors ignore or inadequately prevent these actions occurring again and again. This type of daily behavior is passively tolerated instead of developing effective ways to solve conflicts between students.
Before I became a mother at 36, I taught children 8-13 in an elementary and junior high school for ten years and served as a K-8 school counselor for 5 years. In Omaha, Nebraska, I worked as a math teacher in a black inner city Junior High. Training was provided for best way to request weapons (knives and lighters) from 6'4" athletes. It was routine during the mid 70s to find fifths of whiskey in lockers.
In 1973 as a fifth grade teacher, corporeal punishment was an accepted form of discipline in Missouri.
Teachers asked another teacher to be a witness before we swatted a child's bottom with a wooden paddle or palm of our hand. Demeanor was to be reprimanding, not angry or vindictive.
The aggressive or violent children in my classroom were the ones who were targets themselves of violence at home by one or both parents, an older sibling, uncle or grandparent. We teach more by what we do than what we say. These children are shown how you deal with disagreements is with violence such as: shouting, shoving, hitting, slapping, pinching, tripping and name calling. It is time for us as a nation to see the violence in all of these acts.
Bullying parents and teachers show children how to be bullies. Coercion or force to control behavior perpetuates violence.
Children learn to treat others by how they are treated by family members responsible for their care and protection, teachers responsible for safety and education.
When my 6 yr old son was in elementary school in Scottsdale, Arizona he started carrying a small paring knife tucked under his belt.
This was the first time I realized that my standard mantra of "use your words" wasn't helping him cope with aggressive bullies or face his fears of being hurt by someone bigger or meaner.
There are some serious questions we need as a nation to be asking ourselves:
What is the necessity and value of weapon free zones?
Why not have monitoring for weapons as well as drugs in public places such as schools, sport activities, assemblies and concerts?
Research reveals people with weapons over half the time have them turned against them if they actually need to utilize the weapon. In a 2006 national survey, most teens can have access to a gun within 24 hours of seeking one. Having easy access to this weapon increases the opportunity for violent results.
What alternatives are being offered our children to cope with daily violence surrounding them?
Non-violent communication offers viable solutions to addressing unmet needs of both sides. Greatest success in Israel has been between Palestinian and Jewish children 6-9. They catch on quickly how to facilitate resolving conflict by having each person state the problem, the feelings, the unmet need and the request. www.cnvc.org
Enemy consciousness diffuses when both sides of a conflict are recognized and unmet basic human needs for safety, understanding and affiliation are protected in the cafeterias, hallways, locker and classrooms. Most school settings do not have groups they can go to when tension begins to escalate between students.
Educating how to deal with bullies needs to be part of the curriculum concerning counselors, staff and teachers. In a climate of fear and intimidation, strategies such as these must be practiced daily in home rooms.
I am concerned about guns going off in an increasing number of places because it happened in my family. My brother at 17 takes a hand gun from a friend’s house. Hostile arguments escalate to raging threats with Mother. He tries to get her attention by holding the loaded gun to his head. When she ignores him, he shoots her. During his trial, he testifies he was a target and witness of his step-father’s alcoholic rages, physical and verbal abuse of his mother for 5 years. MVFR: Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation www.mvfr.org
Who is copycatting who?
These shooters are demonstrating a condition of our condoned culture of cruelty; extreme expressions of tragically unmet needs of our society.
NCADP~National Coalition Against Death Penalty MVFHR~ Murder Victim Families for Human RIghts www.murdervictimfamilies.org
www.mvfhr.blogspot.com
*I took this photograph during the AROHO: A Room of Her Own Writers Retreat July, 2007 at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico after a memoir exercise with Meredith Hall. I was buried in bed chagrined with another layer of rage while writing about my mother. My 20 something roommate from Idaho who wrote skiing sport articles gave me great wisdom in her simple statement, "Your rage is a gift." And it is what has fueled my compassion, courage and creativity through my healing recovery. I drug myself out of bed and down the hill to the grass near the cafeteria, sat in a chair and prayed for help to accept this inner intensity in me. When I opened my eyes, this is the rainbow I saw in the sky~ divine confirmation. www.aroomofherown.org
A perspective on motivation behind shootings in Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, and Illinois from February 7-15, 2008
By Nancy Grace Rosen, M.C. author, counselor, educator and speaker
www.mvfr.org Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation, Summer 2008, Issue 26
Profile Story Story by same author
According to Democracy Now our nation is not all that united.
Our government claims the war on terrorism justifies terrifying torture, senseless bombings,
murdering innocent people and using military force to control another country’s natural resources in the name of democracy.
This is a good example of how our country perpetuates a culture of cruelty.
More guns are sold in this country than anywhere else in the world and 80 people
die of gunshot wounds every day in the U.S.
On elementary school playgrounds, teachers are bombarded with continual complaints of hitting, kicking, shoving, tripping, pinching and name-calling during three recesses a day. Most overloaded and stressed out supervisors ignore or inadequately prevent these actions occurring again and again. This type of daily behavior is passively tolerated instead of developing effective ways to solve conflicts between students.
Before I became a mother at 36, I taught children 8-13 in an elementary and junior high school for ten years and served as a K-8 school counselor for 5 years. In Omaha, Nebraska, I worked as a math teacher in a black inner city Junior High. Training was provided for best way to request weapons (knives and lighters) from 6'4" athletes. It was routine during the mid 70s to find fifths of whiskey in lockers.
In 1973 as a fifth grade teacher, corporeal punishment was an accepted form of discipline in Missouri.
Teachers asked another teacher to be a witness before we swatted a child's bottom with a wooden paddle or palm of our hand. Demeanor was to be reprimanding, not angry or vindictive.
The aggressive or violent children in my classroom were the ones who were targets themselves of violence at home by one or both parents, an older sibling, uncle or grandparent. We teach more by what we do than what we say. These children are shown how you deal with disagreements is with violence such as: shouting, shoving, hitting, slapping, pinching, tripping and name calling. It is time for us as a nation to see the violence in all of these acts.
Bullying parents and teachers show children how to be bullies. Coercion or force to control behavior perpetuates violence.
Children learn to treat others by how they are treated by family members responsible for their care and protection, teachers responsible for safety and education.
When my 6 yr old son was in elementary school in Scottsdale, Arizona he started carrying a small paring knife tucked under his belt.
This was the first time I realized that my standard mantra of "use your words" wasn't helping him cope with aggressive bullies or face his fears of being hurt by someone bigger or meaner.
There are some serious questions we need as a nation to be asking ourselves:
What is the necessity and value of weapon free zones?
Why not have monitoring for weapons as well as drugs in public places such as schools, sport activities, assemblies and concerts?
Research reveals people with weapons over half the time have them turned against them if they actually need to utilize the weapon. In a 2006 national survey, most teens can have access to a gun within 24 hours of seeking one. Having easy access to this weapon increases the opportunity for violent results.
What alternatives are being offered our children to cope with daily violence surrounding them?
Non-violent communication offers viable solutions to addressing unmet needs of both sides. Greatest success in Israel has been between Palestinian and Jewish children 6-9. They catch on quickly how to facilitate resolving conflict by having each person state the problem, the feelings, the unmet need and the request. www.cnvc.org
Enemy consciousness diffuses when both sides of a conflict are recognized and unmet basic human needs for safety, understanding and affiliation are protected in the cafeterias, hallways, locker and classrooms. Most school settings do not have groups they can go to when tension begins to escalate between students.
Educating how to deal with bullies needs to be part of the curriculum concerning counselors, staff and teachers. In a climate of fear and intimidation, strategies such as these must be practiced daily in home rooms.
I am concerned about guns going off in an increasing number of places because it happened in my family. My brother at 17 takes a hand gun from a friend’s house. Hostile arguments escalate to raging threats with Mother. He tries to get her attention by holding the loaded gun to his head. When she ignores him, he shoots her. During his trial, he testifies he was a target and witness of his step-father’s alcoholic rages, physical and verbal abuse of his mother for 5 years. MVFR: Murder Victim Families for Reconciliation www.mvfr.org
Who is copycatting who?
These shooters are demonstrating a condition of our condoned culture of cruelty; extreme expressions of tragically unmet needs of our society.
NCADP~National Coalition Against Death Penalty MVFHR~ Murder Victim Families for Human RIghts www.murdervictimfamilies.org
www.mvfhr.blogspot.com
*I took this photograph during the AROHO: A Room of Her Own Writers Retreat July, 2007 at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico after a memoir exercise with Meredith Hall. I was buried in bed chagrined with another layer of rage while writing about my mother. My 20 something roommate from Idaho who wrote skiing sport articles gave me great wisdom in her simple statement, "Your rage is a gift." And it is what has fueled my compassion, courage and creativity through my healing recovery. I drug myself out of bed and down the hill to the grass near the cafeteria, sat in a chair and prayed for help to accept this inner intensity in me. When I opened my eyes, this is the rainbow I saw in the sky~ divine confirmation. www.aroomofherown.org
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