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Metal detectors and armed police may stop weapons from getting into our schools, but it also turns them into prisons. Parents searching their children's bedrooms for guns, bombs and illegal substances may alert families to violent children, but it also creates a family home of distrust and fear. Making parents accountable for violent crimes committed by their children doesn't solve anything. It creates teens who, intent on their goals and set on asserting their independence, become better at hiding their lives from their community. What these solutions do is give society someone to blame. None of these solutions stop the problem of youth violence and anger where it starts. The youth from Columbine High School whom I have seen interviewed say the same thing. They say that Dylan and Eric were members of an anti-social group. They were anti-social because they were ostracized by the "in-crowd" at school and made to feel like outsiders. As a youth, I know what it's like to want to fit in and be valued and admired by my peers. In high school especially, it is one of the most important things. While this is certainly not an excuse or rationale for what Dylan and Eric did, it points to the attitude which exists in society where some people are labeled losers and are excluded. These people, relegated to the sidelines, don't learn how to interact with others in positive ways; they have their self-esteem attacked on a daily basis and are made to feel worthless. To make our schools and our society safe, we need to shift the focus from fixing the "losers" through stricter gun laws, metal detectors, armed police and militant parents to changing the attitudes and behaviour of the "in-crowd." The dominant group often fails to understand how they have excluded and hurt others on the basis of race, class, appearance, intellect, gender, sexual orientation… because it is unconcious. There is a meaningful place for everyone in society. I believe that everyone has something to share and deserves to be respected. It is up to parents, teachers, fellow students, friends, family to encourage the sharing. I think the real solution to ensuring this doesn't happen again--anywhere-- is for society to learn how to love.
 
tgmag@tgmag.ca
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