Well, I may not come across as being the perfect person to be doing this, but, as an 18 year old high shool student, I have to get a few things off my chest. After this whole thing out in Colorado, I noticed quite a bit of what's known as scapegoating going on everywhere. I can't stand it anymore. All I've been hearing for the past week and a half is 'Violent games this...' and 'Lyrics cause kids to do that...'. Hey, look, I'm one of those people that, a year ago, would have gotten the hell beaten out of themself for even setting foot in school after the incident took place. I wore a long black trenchcoat, black makeup, fishnets on my arms, all black clothing...I took my fair share of harassment for it. Someone even went so far as to say they wanted to see what would happen if they set my coat on fire with me in it, since they thought I was a witch. Nothing was done about it at all, even though I did go to someone about the comment.
Now, I'm a high school senior. Not much has changed for me at all. I still get weird looks, even though I stopped wearing all of the stuff I use to, and went from the 'Goth' subculture to being a 'skater'. People still get labeled and harassed no matter what they do. Hell, I still go in school doing weird stuff, like wearing a set of fangs. Yes, I do happen to be an avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And yes, people, there are kids, and lots of them, like Cordelia and her little group in high schools. Ther are jocks like the ones on that show, too, who think it's funny to belittle others for no reason but to make themselves feel bigger than they are. But, they never seem to stop and think about what thy say, and how damaging it can really be. Not that I'm tossing all the blame for this directly on to them, because I'm not. The kids that did this had some serious problems for a very long time, from what I can figure. Now, people may not have noticed it, but these things, amazingly, can be hidden. But that isn't the point of this rant of mine, as that's exactly what it is. A rant...An outpouring of my personaly frustration over this whole scapegoating thing.
When is it going to end? How far will it be taken? I have friends that are into roleplay, online stuff, playing games like Doom and Quake, wearing all black clothing, doing things like researching stuff on vampires...I happen to do alot of the above. I do online roleplay. I play Vampire the Dark Ages. I do play Doom, though I have yet to try Quake. I still have my Marilyn Manson CDs, as well as many others that could be construed as having 'violent lyrics'. Some people consider me to be a very smart person. I do still own my trenchcoats, though I rarely wear them unless it's pouring outside, and I am still considered to be 'unusual' and a 'non-conformist, social outcast' in many respects. It's called being an individual, and damnit, if I'm going to be put down for it, I'd really love to know why. Is it really going to stop things like this if we take all these things away from people? I, in my very honest and humble opinion, don't think it will. Neither does my mother, who actually stands behind my opinion of this whole thing. People will still do these types of things regardless of whether people start wearing uniforms to school, are stripped of their individuality, and are made to conform. It isn't the lack of conforming the did this. It was two messed up kis that had been planning it for a year. I know I'm repeating myself, but honestly...It was them, and not a song, not a video game, not a movie..None of that...That killed those people. Hopefully, I've made my point clear. And thanks for your time reading this, if you have. I appreciate it.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I may not come across as being the perfect person to be doing this, but, as an 18 year old high shool student, I have to get a few things off my chest. After this whole thing out in Colorado, I noticed quite a bit of what's known as scapegoating going on everywhere. I can't stand it anymore. All I've been hearing for the past week and a half is 'Violent games this...' and 'Lyrics cause kids to do that...'. Hey, look, I'm one of those people that, a year ago, would have gotten the hell beaten out of themself for even setting foot in school after the incident took place. I wore a long black trenchcoat, black makeup, fishnets on my arms, all black clothing...I took my fair share of harassment for it. Someone even went so far as to say they wanted to see what would happen if they set my coat on fire with me in it, since they thought I was a witch. Nothing was done about it at all, even though I did go to someone about the comment.
Now, I'm a high school senior. Not much has changed for me at all. I still get weird looks, even though I stopped wearing all of the stuff I use to, and went from the 'Goth' subculture to being a 'skater'. People still get labeled and harassed no matter what they do. Hell, I still go in school doing weird stuff, like wearing a set of fangs. Yes, I do happen to be an avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And yes, people, there are kids, and lots of them, like Cordelia and her little group in high schools. Ther are jocks like the ones on that show, too, who think it's funny to belittle others for no reason but to make themselves feel bigger than they are. But, they never seem to stop and think about what thy say, and how damaging it can really be. Not that I'm tossing all the blame for this directly on to them, because I'm not. The kids that did this had some serious problems for a very long time, from what I can figure. Now, people may not have noticed it, but these things, amazingly, can be hidden. But that isn't the point of this rant of mine, as that's exactly what it is. A rant...An outpouring of my personaly frustration over this whole scapegoating thing.
When is it going to end? How far will it be taken? I have friends that are into roleplay, online stuff, playing games like Doom and Quake, wearing all black clothing, doing things like researching stuff on vampires...I happen to do alot of the above. I do online roleplay. I play Vampire the Dark Ages. I do play Doom, though I have yet to try Quake. I still have my Marilyn Manson CDs, as well as many others that could be construed as having 'violent lyrics'. Some people consider me to be a very smart person. I do still own my trenchcoats, though I rarely wear them unless it's pouring outside, and I am still considered to be 'unusual' and a 'non-conformist, social outcast' in many respects. It's called being an individual, and damnit, if I'm going to be put down for it, I'd really love to know why. Is it really going to stop things like this if we take all these things away from people? I, in my very honest and humble opinion, don't think it will. Neither does my mother, who actually stands behind my opinion of this whole thing. People will still do these types of things regardless of whether people start wearing uniforms to school, are stripped of their individuality, and are made to conform. It isn't the lack of conforming the did this. It was two messed up kis that had been planning it for a year. I know I'm repeating myself, but honestly...It was them, and not a song, not a video game, not a movie..None of that...That killed those people. Hopefully, I've made my point clear. And thanks for your time reading this, if you have. I appreciate it.
~Angel~