Story of Columbine shootings greatly exaggerated

[K Frame]

"The warning signs include:
* Thoughts or talk of death or suicide
* Thoughts or talk of self-harm or harm to others
* Any recent attempts of self-harm
* Mood changes such as an increase in aggressive or unusual behaviour, irritability, agitation or worsening of depressive symptom."

Funny...

There are any number of sources that give those exact same symptoms as being the danger signs of UNTREATED depression.

MY GOD! HE'S GOT UNTREATED DEPRESSION, HE MIGHT KILL US ALL!!

sounds a lot like

MY GOD! HE'S BEING TREATED FOR DEPRESSION! HE MIGHT KILL US ALL!

doesn't it?

[S. Williamson]

What answer did you formulate?....

4kg human head traveling at 10cm/sec in a path intersecting a 1kg locker door at rest, with unknown variables including "bad day" factored in.  I should've been hit with a Physics book.  :rolleyes:

[280plus]

MY GOD! HE'S GOT UNTREATED DEPRESSION, HE MIGHT KILL US ALL!!

sounds a lot like

MY GOD! HE'S BEING TREATED FOR DEPRESSION! HE MIGHT KILL US ALL!

doesn't it?

Paradoxical.

[freedom lover]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm?se=yahoorefer

 Contrary to early reports, Harris and Klebold weren't on antidepressant medication and didn't target jocks, blacks or Christians, police now say, citing the killers' journals and witness accounts.[/i]

That's funny. My school had an assembly called Rachel's Challenge (after Rachel Scott). We saw a video with the lecture, part of which contained an interview with an eyewitness. The guy said they taunted one of his black friends before shooting him. And who wouldn't target jocks?

The whole point of Rachel's Challenge was to teach students to use kindness to make others feel better and hopefully avert tragedies (including suicide). Being friendly might work to stop the occaisional angry outcast type, but it will not work on the real maniacs.

[Ned Hamford]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_KUkrukx5M

I give people candy and cupcakes all the time... just to be safe.

[Matthew Carberry]

Hate to admit it, but same situation here.  Had zero interest in guns at the time, though... thought Bud K knives (ack) were awesome, but never bought any.

Thought it was hilarious when we sat around one day trying to figure out what we'd do if that happened at our school.  The general consensus was (we were nerds, after all) "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few/one" and figured that we'd stop the shooters by any means necessary.   This actually ended up being where I got my first taste in unconventional melee tactics and weapons.  Explaining to my parents exactly how I got hit in the face with a math book, twice, was tricky.

"I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons & Dragons without learning a little something about courage Agent Scully."


(X-Files episode "Jose Chung's From Out of Space")

[S. Williamson]

Just spat cookie crumbs onto my keyboard.   

[Strings]

>I give people candy and cupcakes all the time... just to be safe.<

Where are mine, Sunshine? You're a lil' behind there...

[Matthew Carberry]

*DingDingDingDingDing!*

Correlation does not imply causation.

Actually it can, it doesn't prove it though.

[AJ Dual]

The whole point of Rachel's Challenge was to teach students to use kindness to make others feel better and hopefully avert tragedies (including suicide). Being friendly might work to stop the occaisional angry outcast type, but it will not work on the real maniacs.

IMO, "being nice" can backfire. I certainly was never angry, or picked on during those years. However, I can certainly relate to depression, feeling invisible, and outcast.

The bright shiny happy popular people who were nice and friendly to you in passing in the hall, or next to you in class were worse than being ignored, when after a brief surge of hope, you realized it didn't really mean anything other than that you're a generic sounding board for their need to be nice.

After that realization, the bright bubbly, camp-counselor type of pretty girl who'd chat you up was like nails on a blackboard, because she was no more a friend or a potential love interest than another girl who ignored you completely. It's like being a homeless third-world kid given a five minute tour of an American mansion decorated for Christmas, then dumped back into your slum.

[SteveS]

droogs were a factor?

According to the article, no.  They weren't on anti-depressants.

Does this matter? Really, does it matter?

It matters in the sense that all the people that were trying to blame guns, video games, medication, etc. were wrong, as were the knee-jerk officials that pushed through all sorts of legislation.