In many cases, people will perceive everyone as hating them, and because they believe it so strongly, they'll make it so. It's become more and more common with the advent and widespread usage of behavioral medication; almost every school shooter has had a history of being medicated.

A very simple way to stop shooters would be to arm teacher and qualified students, but that's unlikely to happen. Apparently people who are perfectly qualified to carry a concealed handgun will start shooting everyone in sight for no reason, despite the fact that on the very few shootings where someone was armed, it started and ended in a very short time.

In relation to colligate campuses, that may be plausible, however, on smaller grade school campuses, I would have to counterpoint by stating total absence of firearms, with the acception of police officers, would be more of a logical solution.

The campuses that have had major shootings did have a ban on all firearms on campus. The ones where students or teachers had firearms, either with them or in their vehicle, did have shootings, but it was much, much shorter than any of the others. The VT shooting, before the police arrived, there were only three students shot. The police don't have any reason to go in there and risk their lives to stop a school shooter, nor are they required to. So far, there has yet to be one school shooting that the police stopped on their own.

Speaking as a former teen from the Columbine generation, this is a point I wish the world would have considered long before the students pushshed back. Society would not listen to "Jeremy" or that kid from Stephen King's "Rage," but they sure pointed to both of them when 13 lives were lost that day. It really made me sick when people could not understand why these souls acted out like they did, and if you did understand, they though you would do the same thing to your class. So, what I tell them as they are ranting about how the media and video games made them do it is that these two teens had souls too, who was caring about them? But people don't understand that, especially when they cut down 2 of the 15 trees at the memorial; the ones that represented Eric and Dylan. Eric and Dylan were victims too.

However, it did not have to come to murder, or the destruction of life. Therefore on the otherside of this point; they made a bad choice, during their senior year back in 1999. We can go on about the fall out from this event, but as I stand on it, I pray that the All Mighty judges them fairly, and that they have or will repent for this sin. But it all ties back to the fact that we are all children of a higher power, and as far as I know that higher power loves us all, despite what we do. We know we have to face punishment for our sins/evil deeds, but there are usually reasons, weather legitimate or bad, behind most evil deeds.

I understand I took an odd turn with these comments, but this is something I tend to leave in the past and wonder how the next generation looks upon them. And things don't change, you still have assholes that go to high school and make being a decent human being hard. But it is how we deal with them that makes us who we are, and when you look at it, if it comes to a heinous act like the one that happened on 04/20/99, is that not hypocrytical?

I love it... great poem. Glad you put Jeremy in there.

I go to the school he used to. But even if I didn't, he still deserved to be mentioned.

that really touched me man....

Amazing poem, great symbolism and ideologies of sorrow and remembrance. That this world sheds victim in both forms alike.

More names will follow.