Is the stigma of being a "rat" enabling school shootings?
Tattletale
Informer
Rat
Squealer
Narc
Terms for someone who reports it when they see a transgression. We inculcate people into believing there is a strong negative stigma involved with reporting what we see/know about to the authorities.
Institutions go out of their way to air their dirty laundry in the public's view. The recent firing of a gynecologist by USC is just one of a myriad of examples. Nondisclosure agreements (NDA) where victims are paid to remain silent. I wrote a blog entry about another incident at a private high school where they got rid of a teacher who was ultimately arrested and charged with four felonies that involved "improper touching."
There are a lot of things that are involved in the dynamics of the ever-increasing epidemic of school shootings in the U.S. The Santa Fe School shooting in Texas was the 22nd in the first 138 days of this year. That's more than one per week, on average. This time it wasn't an assault rifle. There are indications that the first student targeted by the shooter was a girl who had spurned the shooter's romantic overtures. Scorned lover doesn't explain everything though.
There were some clues in his postings on social media. Talk about how he always wore an overcoat, no matter how hot the day was. Did some of his fellow students suspect he was a ticking time bomb, bound to explode at some point? Perhaps. The better question though is would they have spoken up, given the extreme reactions they would have been subjected to by their peers for being a narc?
I was driving in traffic last Friday afternoon, after the shooter was in custody and we knew that ten people were dead. I listened to a former FBI agent who was a guest on talk radio. He spoke about the stigma of people who report things to the authorities. When it comes to what most consider "terrorist" stuff, the mantra 'if you see something, say something' is followed. But not when we see bullying. Not in schools and not in the workplace.
Why? Because we are afraid of being tagged with one of those labels? Because we are even more afraid that the bully will turn their attentions to us for "tattling" on them? Or is it that while the negative consequences of tattling are well-known, there is no upside to taking the risk?
All across the land there are anonymous tip-lines where you can report a crime without your identity being revealed. The fear of reprisal is why this is such an important resource. Should we be providing that kind of anonymous reporting for school-age kids to report bullying or social media posts that might indicate yet another potential shooter?
* * *
The role of the father in allowing his son access to his guns is also something that must be examined. Reports are that this shooter used a shotgun and a handgun. This wasn't a case where an assault rifle was used.
A story in the New York Times indicates that while Texas is one of 14 states that has a criminal charge for improper storage of firearms, that law won't apply to the father of the Santa Fe High School shooter. That's because that law references children 16 and under and the shooter is 17. What kind of lunacy is that, where a parent cannot be prosecuted because his minor child is 17 instead of 16; when neither age is old enough to legally own or possess a firearm in the state?
Every state should have such a law and it should hold adults legally responsible if their firearms are misused by their children. It should be a civil tort and a criminal offense.
Gun control worked here. The firearms were purchased legally. Proper gun safety measures were not used here, or this teenager would not have been able to put his hands on those guns.
Assault rifles are a separate issue. There is no need for anyone who is not a part of that "...well-regulated militia..." to own one. That topic has been addressed repeatedly in this blog.
* * *
There is one thing we can all do to help stem the tide of these school shootings. Identify every single politician who has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and work tirelessly to vote them out of office.
Informer
Rat
Squealer
Narc
Terms for someone who reports it when they see a transgression. We inculcate people into believing there is a strong negative stigma involved with reporting what we see/know about to the authorities.
Institutions go out of their way to air their dirty laundry in the public's view. The recent firing of a gynecologist by USC is just one of a myriad of examples. Nondisclosure agreements (NDA) where victims are paid to remain silent. I wrote a blog entry about another incident at a private high school where they got rid of a teacher who was ultimately arrested and charged with four felonies that involved "improper touching."
There are a lot of things that are involved in the dynamics of the ever-increasing epidemic of school shootings in the U.S. The Santa Fe School shooting in Texas was the 22nd in the first 138 days of this year. That's more than one per week, on average. This time it wasn't an assault rifle. There are indications that the first student targeted by the shooter was a girl who had spurned the shooter's romantic overtures. Scorned lover doesn't explain everything though.
There were some clues in his postings on social media. Talk about how he always wore an overcoat, no matter how hot the day was. Did some of his fellow students suspect he was a ticking time bomb, bound to explode at some point? Perhaps. The better question though is would they have spoken up, given the extreme reactions they would have been subjected to by their peers for being a narc?
I was driving in traffic last Friday afternoon, after the shooter was in custody and we knew that ten people were dead. I listened to a former FBI agent who was a guest on talk radio. He spoke about the stigma of people who report things to the authorities. When it comes to what most consider "terrorist" stuff, the mantra 'if you see something, say something' is followed. But not when we see bullying. Not in schools and not in the workplace.
Why? Because we are afraid of being tagged with one of those labels? Because we are even more afraid that the bully will turn their attentions to us for "tattling" on them? Or is it that while the negative consequences of tattling are well-known, there is no upside to taking the risk?
All across the land there are anonymous tip-lines where you can report a crime without your identity being revealed. The fear of reprisal is why this is such an important resource. Should we be providing that kind of anonymous reporting for school-age kids to report bullying or social media posts that might indicate yet another potential shooter?
* * *
The role of the father in allowing his son access to his guns is also something that must be examined. Reports are that this shooter used a shotgun and a handgun. This wasn't a case where an assault rifle was used.
A story in the New York Times indicates that while Texas is one of 14 states that has a criminal charge for improper storage of firearms, that law won't apply to the father of the Santa Fe High School shooter. That's because that law references children 16 and under and the shooter is 17. What kind of lunacy is that, where a parent cannot be prosecuted because his minor child is 17 instead of 16; when neither age is old enough to legally own or possess a firearm in the state?
Every state should have such a law and it should hold adults legally responsible if their firearms are misused by their children. It should be a civil tort and a criminal offense.
Gun control worked here. The firearms were purchased legally. Proper gun safety measures were not used here, or this teenager would not have been able to put his hands on those guns.
Assault rifles are a separate issue. There is no need for anyone who is not a part of that "...well-regulated militia..." to own one. That topic has been addressed repeatedly in this blog.
* * *
There is one thing we can all do to help stem the tide of these school shootings. Identify every single politician who has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and work tirelessly to vote them out of office.
posted by me at 7:43 AM
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