Violence in America a growing concern?
Shane Pastor, '13 | Staff Reporter
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Opinion
I will always remember my father telling me that back in high school, when two kids got in an argument; they met on the front lawn of the school and settled the situation. After the altercation, there was no retaliation, the two shook hands and walked away. This was incomprehensible to me, because the night before, one of my close friends was attacked by a jealous ex-boyfriend in his driveway. He was brutally beaten with a wooden baseball bat. Violence in suburbia never seemed to pertain to me, until I realized the gravity of the situation. That day I realized the dangers of the real world.
When looking back on last week's attack at Fort Hood, violence in America may have become a national crisis. Statistics gathered from Fox News, before the Columbine High School attacks in 1999, show there were two separate incidents of mass shootings in US High Schools. One was in 1998 in Jonesboro, Ark., and another earlier that year in Springfield, Ore. Following these attacks, 11 mass shooting have occurred in the past decade, 10 of those in the past four years.
These statistics are alarming growing up in the 21st century, as only 22 mass shootings occurred in the past 43 years, according to CNN. It has been so random in its nature that it is impossible to determine where it will occur next. Violence seems to go unnoticed, until it directly affects the people that matter most.
Since Former President Bush began his infamous war on terror, it seems as though little has changed. I believe that little will change until light is shed on this important national issue. As the investigation of Fort Hood progresses, we are learning more about how attackers like Nidal Malik Hasan lived their lives. Most people immediately search for the attacker's justification or "reason". Although it is unknown whether Hasan planned the attack as an act of terrorism, it is common knowledge that an armed serviceman turned against the country he was serving. Maybe it's time that we start stepping up security and safety in towns across America. Instead of worrying about house parties and ridiculously small amounts of drugs in possession of teens, maybe we should worry about the homicide rates in cities across America.
When looking back on last week's attack at Fort Hood, violence in America may have become a national crisis. Statistics gathered from Fox News, before the Columbine High School attacks in 1999, show there were two separate incidents of mass shootings in US High Schools. One was in 1998 in Jonesboro, Ark., and another earlier that year in Springfield, Ore. Following these attacks, 11 mass shooting have occurred in the past decade, 10 of those in the past four years.
These statistics are alarming growing up in the 21st century, as only 22 mass shootings occurred in the past 43 years, according to CNN. It has been so random in its nature that it is impossible to determine where it will occur next. Violence seems to go unnoticed, until it directly affects the people that matter most.
Since Former President Bush began his infamous war on terror, it seems as though little has changed. I believe that little will change until light is shed on this important national issue. As the investigation of Fort Hood progresses, we are learning more about how attackers like Nidal Malik Hasan lived their lives. Most people immediately search for the attacker's justification or "reason". Although it is unknown whether Hasan planned the attack as an act of terrorism, it is common knowledge that an armed serviceman turned against the country he was serving. Maybe it's time that we start stepping up security and safety in towns across America. Instead of worrying about house parties and ridiculously small amounts of drugs in possession of teens, maybe we should worry about the homicide rates in cities across America.