Zero tolerance fails horribly
10 Die in Minn. Student’s Shooting Rampage
Red Lake High School in the Red Lake Independent School District was the scene of an indredible trajedy yesterday. A student armed himself with guns and went on a murderous shooting spree. When all was said and done 10 people were dead.
A high school student went on a shooting rampage on an Indian reservation Monday, killing his grandparents at their home and then seven people at his school, grinning and waving as he fired, authorities and witnesses said. The suspect apparently killed himself after exchanging gunfire with police.
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In addition to the shooter, the death toll at the school included five students, a teacher and a security guard, FBI spokesman Paul McCabe said in Minneapolis. Among the dead was Neva Rogers, 62, a teacher at the school for five or six years, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
As a federally subsidised school, Red Lake High has a zero tolerance policy against firearms.
I have elected to not post contact information with this post. Red Lake Net News has been overwhelmed with contacts and I can only imagine the school is in even worse shape.
(Tip credit to Jessie)
And in this case, ot seems there would be no point in contacting those involved except to offer support. This is a tragic incident, but from the immediately available facts it is not a specific injustice that we can address with open discussion and the light of publicity; merely the sad result of a comprehensive and vast-ranging set of policies.
I am so sorry. We must understand how and why violence is growing in our schools. The price of indifference is too high.
We have to much more then Zero tolerance. We all know that does nothing to stop these terrible tragic days from happening in our schools. We need to recognize the kids who are loners and who might be ridiculed day after day by others. It is a sad fact, but I think schools need to make cuts to the cirriculum for nonessential courses (ex. food and nutrition) and use that money to put more Social workers and psychologists in our schools. It is a much different world that we live in today, then even 25 years ago when I graduated high school. We need more services in the schools to help others avoid such tragic events.
Deb
Sad day…won’t be our last. More zero tolerance rules and gun restrictions won’t keep this from happening again…core values, once supplied by the home, are slipping away…
He came…he went,
Cool girl said, “hi” and he said nothing…”couldn’t be talking to me” he thought.
Good looking skin, he must be in.
Alone in the middle of the crowd.
He once spoke, but not with words…
So those who were supposed to be listening,
Did not hear…he was not heard.
Mom always said, “baby, it’s not your fault”
Dad said, “Don’t be a wimp, you gotta be tough”
From someplace dark and lonely
He spoke the words, “enough is enough”
Time to arm the teachers!
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/23/national/23shoot.html?hp&ex=1111640400&en=a0fefe745d609e8e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Several residents said they believed Mr. Weise had received medication for emotional problems. T-Anna Hanson, 21, a cousin of one of his victims, said Mr. Weise had been admitted to hospital last year for psychiatric help.
What a big global world for a tramatized orphan in a remote isolated community. RLN reports they didn’t think the teasing set him off. Maybe it’s the combination of media, socialization and fear that being a quirky misfit is a fatal flaw.
Some neighbors said Mr. Weise had recently been ordered to study temporarily at home, not school, because of a disciplinary problem.
The Nazi’s called him brother and the school falsely accused him, and society ostracized him. His family was not the source of power and their embrace could not save him; at least in his eyes. Their faith was not his faith, and their love did not mend his wounds any more than the hospital did.
Shauna Lussier, an aunt of Mr. Weise, said she was unable to talk about him. “We just can’t understand anything right now,” she said. “Keep us in your prayers.”
I can do that.
The notion of a Nazi sympathizer on an Indian reservation particularly offended some here. “You have to be white to be a Nazi, don’t you?” said one resident, who would give only his first name, George, and said he had known most of the victims all of their lives. “Believe me, there are no other Nazis here.”
I agree, this child was surrounded by loving family. You won’t find a smoking gun there.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com
sows a video cartoon, made by this young man. It is disturbing. It clearly shows thoughts of suicide.
This is a horrible tragedy.
From RLN news, part of a thoughtful letter.
Please take into consideration that being accepted into the white man’s community is hard. It is the tale of two sides. Go to school on an Indian reservation and then once you go off the reservation you are faced with the white man way’s. Native American’s are suppose to be free. However, with today’s society radical, hate and poking fun at Native’s are common. Pressure of adapting to society does build up.
I also seen on the news that Red Lake is the “poorest” Indian Reservation in Minnesota according to the United State Census. THIS IS NOT TRUE. This is the financial part of it. All the riches of the world are there. The stars, the true part of yours and our heritage. Please, do you see how this is and all builds up against the Chippewa name. Do you see how another person would automatically think; that the Indian’s are “poor”, “unstable” and “crazy”.