On December 1, 1997, a fourteen-year old named Michael Carneal walked inside his high school near Paducah, Kentucky and killed three students.
The brutal incident hit close to home, not just because it was in my home state, but because I knew someone who went to Heath High School at that time. My friend's life was spared, but the trauma--holding her best friend while she was dying--severely injured her emotional state. I don't know that she has ever recovered. As the nineties drew to a close and we added Jonesboro, Springfield and Columbine to the list, the "will my school be next?" question pervaded the minds of many students. Parents, educators, concerned citizens, national leaders, pastors and talk show hosts all tried to soothe the traumatized student psyche with an impassioned cry, "This has got to stop!"
The Paducah shootings happened fifteen years ago, folks.
Tonight, I noticed some Facebook feeds from friends who didn't find it quite appropriate to discuss how to remedy these incidents so soon after this tragedy. Unfortunately, we Americans are prone to a short attention span and long-term memory loss. So I will reiterate:
The shootings in Western Kentucky took place fifteen years ago. Since then, hundreds, if not thousands of students have been mentally, emotionally and physically wounded and nearly 200 students/teachers have died in the United States from school-related shootings.
Just when should we have this conversation?
No comments:
Post a Comment