The latest craze? Two boys at an Arkansas middle school killed four girls and
one teacher in what police called a carefully planned ambush on the afternoon of
Tuesday March 25, 1998. Nine other girls and one other teacher were also wounded
in the attack at the Westside Middle School, located in a quiet rural area just
west of Jonesboro, Arkansas. In a similar incident in Littleton, Colorado, two
students, cloaked in black trench coats and armed with guns and bombs, opened
fire on the morning of Tuesday April 21, 1999 at Columbine High School, killing
15 people and wounding 28 others in the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
What do both of these real-life scenarios have in common? All of these crimes
were committed by juveniles or young adults. What is it that ignites such
violence in troubled juveniles such as the ones mentioned? Many different
factors cause violent behavior. In this paper I will explore the roots of
juvenile violence in order to understand why the atrocious acts in Jonesboro,
Arkansas and Littleton, Colorado were committed. Violence is not committed
without a reason. Violence is the act of intentionally hurting someone. A number
of reasons could lead to a violent outbreak. Individually, the more factors
present in one's life, the more likely that person is to commit an act of
violence. Some factors that contribute to violent behavior include: · homes
where parents are abusive or absent · Need for attention or respect · Feeling
constantly disrespected · Access to or fascination with guns Each of the
characteristics above can be summed up into two major categories, family
problems, and social problems. Social problems were present in both the Westside
Middle School and the Columbine High School murders. One thing that was
associated with all of the murders was bullying. Bullying is where a child or
group of children keep taking advantage of the power they have to hurt or reject
someone else. Some young people are bullied for many reasons, but mainly because
they will not stand up for themselves. Having been victims of bullying, Harris
and Klebold were constantly disrespected. "He [Harris] was going after
jocks. He hated them with a passion, because they always made fun of him and
they always threatened him. They did it especially his sophomore year, and he
just hated them." Why do some children bully? The main reason children
bully is to get attention or make other people afraid of them. In 13-year-old
Mitchell's case, he was a bully and was reported to have been upset because of
girl problems (rejection). Another thing in common with both murder cases is
that the victimizers had easy access to guns. "…Access to guns is the
biggest predictor for people committing homicides. If kids don't have guns,
these kind of situations don't escalate as fast…" Eleven-year-old Andrew
Golden learned to shoot from his father. Prior to the Columbine High School
murders Eric Harris would talk of buying guns in class. "Harris talked
constantly in philosophy class of buying a gun, especially since he recently
turned 18-years-old." Family problems, the second major category of
juvenile violence are perhaps the most prevalent cause of juvenile violence.
"To oversimplify it grossly, parents are not doing the jobs they used to do
in terms of transmitting values to kids. The slack is being picked up by the
entertainment world, whether it's television or movies or rap music or video
games." On the same note, a staff psychologist referring to the Columbine
High School murders states, "Violent children live in homes where parents
are abusive and absent. A lot of times, an absent father is a predictor for
violent aggressive males." As was the case with both 13-year-old Mitchell
Johnson of the Westside Middle School murders and 18-year-old Eric Harris of the
Columbine High School murders. Research indicates that the one person being the
most capable of changing the antisocial aggression of a boy is his biological
father. Johnson's parents were divorced and Johnson rarely saw his father. In a
similar situation Harris's father was immersed in the Marines up until the time
he retired and settled down in Littleton, Colorado, in 1993. In both situations,
Johnson and Harris lacked the need for attention and respect, something that is
needed most by children at the earlier stages of their life. So what causes
someone to punch, kick, stab, or fire a gun at someone or even him/herself? Why
did the treacherous murders of Westside Middle School and Columbine High School
occur? Violence can be used as a means to control others or get something the
victimizer wants. In both cases, the murderers used violence as a way to release
their feelings of anger and frustration. They resorted to violence to retaliate
against people who had mistreated them. If all fathers (married and divorced)
invested their time more in their children, male and female, then juvenile
violence could be reduced significantly. Also, if schools focused more on the
students rather than monitoring and detaining them, then the rate of juvenile
violence at schools could be reduced. Furthermore, if access to guns for
juveniles were reduced, then the overall occurrence for juvenile violence could
be reduced. We all need to come to grips with the frightening reality of
juvenile violence. Because of a lack of attention and respect at home and
school, the price that we are paying as a society is the de-moralization of our
American culture by at-risk adolescents. These children and young adults have
nowhere to turn to but violence. Why should we continue to focus on building a
better and brighter future without having focused on the real future, today's
youth? BibligraphyAmerican Psychological Association Help Center. Warning Signs. Jan 1999.
American Psychological Association. *http://helping.apa.org/warningsigns/index.html*.
Eddy, Mark. "Shooter Told Friend: Get Out of Here." Denver Post 20
April 1999 *http://denverpost.com/news/shot0420aa.htm*. Kastor, Elizabeth.
"What Makes Children Kill." Washington Post 27 March 1998: C1. Lowe,
Peggy. "Alike and Different." Denver Post 2 May 1999 *http://denverpost.com/news/shot0502a.htm*.
Martin, Claire. "Warning Signs to Watch For." Denver Post 21 April
1999 *http://denverpost.com/news/shot0420j.htm*.