Are all these shootings a "generational" problem?
@hockeygal4ever (10021)
United States
April 16, 2007 3:58pm CST
Yet another "school shooting", this time in Virginia at Virginia State University. A gunman goes on a rampage and kills 30 people, within a span of 2 hours time.
This seems to be a very "typical" headline anymore for a certain generation of people. This is the same generation that experienced the Columbine shootings and then a surge of many different local shootings.
My question is, are these shootings something that this particular generation seems to be using as a way to lash out or is it beyond the generation itself and perhaps involves others too and I'm just not noticing? What I've seen thus far is basically the generation of born from about 1985-1990 or so who seem to use guns as their weapon of dealing with stresses. What was once "high school" shootings have now become "college" shootings, aging with those involved.
What do you think? Is it a generational thing or a complete society sliding?
8 people like this
11 responses
@theponch (198)
• United States
16 Apr 07
Now the count is 33 and the shooter shot himself too. There were two more shooters on the other side of the campus as well. I believe moreso that the shootings are a society sliding. In the wild west it was the thing to do out of hatred and I think history is just repeating itself. There are different reasons for the anger and frustration these individuals must have been feeling in order to have been able to take others lives with hesitation. I'm sorry for the lose, but I'm gad for those who are okay. This could be a generational thing, but I's rather think that is not.
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
16 Apr 07
I think someone that was very upset at the school or someone they knew and decided to take it out on certain people but nobody knows for sure. The person is obviously sick and twisted and had serious mental issues for sure to do something like that. Today was a very sad and dark day for our country and hope that something can be done to prevent more killings like this one. I feel for the families and friends who lost their loved one. I do not know anyone there but it hurts me so much to hear about what happened and pray for all of them.
@hockeygal4ever (10021)
• United States
16 Apr 07
When asked if it was a "student" the authorities are saying "something like that"... which could mean he was a former student, a professor or someone expelled, etc. I find it odd that they aren't saying WHO it was at this point unless there is truly a way it would hinder their investigating. They've said it is one of the worse crime scenes they've seen as the body count and the type of massacre involved was quite horrendous. It just makes my skin crawl. I hope everyone remembers to take a moment and pray for the families of all those involved, including the gunman.
@Idlewild (6090)
• United States
17 Apr 07
I don't think it is necessarily a generational problem. School shootings, for all the publicity they get, are very rare.
In the 1990s there seemed to be lots of incidents of 'angry white males' shooting up their former companies after being fired or laid off, etc. These were people who were born in the 1950s and 1960s.
As for the Va. Tech gunman, I've heard he was a student, but don't know how old he was. In a couple of cases, older students have committed violent crimes.
1 person likes this
@brianfb (33)
• Philippines
17 Apr 07
It is not necessarily a generational thing,but it also comes from society.Some kids nowadays are highly influnced by their surroundings and that's what is driving them to do things,being influenced by voilence.The blame can also be attributed to them,they have their own minds,they can decide what is right or wrong,there always are choices for us to pick,and we have nothing to blame but ourselves for what our choices make out.They know what the outcome of their choices would make and they still did it,they are also partly to blame for their own actions.
@clary21 (54)
• United States
17 Apr 07
It is hard to say, but I believe our society is getting worse because people do not seem to be able to handle their frustrations in the traditional way. Maybe these individuals get so deperate and have a feeling of being trapped that they do not know what else to do. Instead of seeking out a counselor to discuss his/her irrational feelings, he/she resorts to violence which only makes it worse when innocent lives are destroyed. I hope the university creates some type of program which will help disgruntled students where they will not have to resort to violence which hurts so many others.
1 person likes this
@Thoroughrob (11742)
• United States
17 Apr 07
I think that we should stop telling all the bad things. I think they tell way too much and put things into peoples heads. I think some of them do it just to be famous before they die. It is sad but you can watch alot of the shows on TV and figure out how to break into places, make bombs, committ murder and get away with it.
1 person likes this
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
17 Apr 07
This is the first college shooting that I can remember- I'm not sure why these gunmen are doing this... It just doesn't make sense- The last shooting I remember was the Amish schoolhouse- and that was by a grown man- a father and a husband... and I remember one prior to that when another grown man went into the school and took only girls prisoners-- I think he ended up killing 1 of them--
so I don't think it is a generating thing.. these men don't fit into that category.
Columbine and the other school shootings after- make you really think about how safe your children are- I often see kids picking on other kids in the 5th grade already- and wonder-- will these kids someday turn on their classmates-- enough to shoot them? Something needs to be done about bullying! Its a scary world right now!
@katzbee (91)
• Canada
17 Apr 07
Well Ms.Hockeygal4ever, you maybe right. Although not too long ago, any shooting was blamed on violent TV shows. But we are experiencing an unusual number of school and other institutional shootings done by people born within the time period you have stated.
I remember being a student in 1966, when Charles Whitman a student at U of Texas at Austin, went on his rampage from the clock tower killing about 15 and wounding 31 innocent students and passersby, all of this after killing his mother and his wife. He was eventually shot by a policeman. I happen to be in Austin, Texas on that day, I think it was also a Monday, August 1 1966 for a seminar.
Because it came 3 years after the JFK assassination in Dallas it set the whole world on edge with a lot of speculation about communists, Russia, Cuba etc.
Turned out that Charles Whitman had an abusive father.
@ceasarlaro (2)
• Philippines
17 Apr 07
Yah, probably we could say it is generational thing in a way that as we move forward for the future there are inventions/innovation especially war thing which instilled in the mind of individuals. Crimes may occur anywhere but what we ignore to know is the influences given by the new set up now a days. Try to think of the movies right now. Most of them revenge, violence and killing. We must always remember that movie is one of the greatest medium for learning and thats the fact, I just want to make this clear I did not blame totally the movie industry but the way they used it. To answer the said problem is love. Try to research about mauricious island there is a 0% rate crimes happned in their place even if they have their four religions.
1 person likes this
