Shooting and Gun Tragedies: The Real Doomsday

The Mayans were wrong! Well, sort of. They predicted the world to end after 12-21-12, causing most folks to anticipate a doomsday of 9/11 or Y2K proportions. Of course, the world didn't end.

However, a few days before the dreaded 12/21 day of reckoning, we had another tragic school shooting. This time it was at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Connecticut. The biggest tragedy was that innocent little children were injured, killed, and traumatized perhaps forever. That is a true doomsday, and one that is more difficult to anticipate. 

Columbine, the Virginia Tech shootings, and even the DC sniper are all tragic events that revolve around guns and gun laws. Folks take their stands for and against firearms. Those for proudly shout the 2nd Amendment, which is the right to bear arms.

Filmmaker Michael Moore did a documentary about gun control and laws called "Bowling For Columbine". He included NRA rallies, and even spoke with their biggest spokesperson at the time, famous actor Charlton Heston. His famous quote is paraphrased as let them pry it from my COLD DEAD HANDS.

I don't have a clear solution for this abuse of guns, gun control and preventing school shootings. However, I don't feel sane, law abiding citizens should be denied their Second Amendment rights. Guns do a lot of good. You can hunt with them, protect yourself and others, and they are good collectors items. Being an arms dealer is very lucrative. Also, our military uses them.

However, gun usage and security at public places should be heightened to curb these tragedies. We as US citizens cannot fall asleep at the wheel and not anticipate disaster. Perhaps police and security needs to be effective and better paid. We cannot have decrepit, 70 year old men protecting our schools. Crazy is something not to be played with.

Therefore keep the guns, control those who shouldn't have them, and don't punish the innocent. We have already lost enough lives for nothing.

Suicide: Giving Up On Life, But Why?

Life is tough, always has been, always will be. It seems that many more people, young and old, are ending their lives early. They are throwing in the towel too easily instead of toughing it out.

This is the type of stuff that inspires Facebook drama and Lifetime movies. It also puts gun control laws in question. Suicide is nothing to be taken lightly. One can reach an extreme state of depression and mental anguish and feel this is their only way out. Matter of fact 9/11 is also known as National Suicide Prevention Day.

Depression is definitely a leading cause and reason for suicide. It seems people now, especially the younger generation, are doing it more common. They cannot handle heartbreak, money problems, or even others picking on them or gossiping about them. They feel their way is only one way out. Of course, they are wrong.

The Columbine kids felt this way after shooting up their high school. The same occurred with the Virginia Tech gunman in 2007.

 However, it seems these folks cannot live with the guilt and terror of taking lives, so they end up ending theirs.

Many notable celebrities, such as Ray Combs, former Family Feud host, retired NFL linebacker Junior Seau, novie director Tony Scott , and most recently Robin Williams have taken the most valuable gift there is from themselves. They may have had money and fame, but they are still human inside.

Suicide hotlines and mental assistance are available. One popular one is 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Too many have too much pride to seek professional help. What they don't realize is that failure to do this can make them even more insane. Regarding a suicidal scenario, these individuals need an added boost.

Therefore, do not ignore someone that's on the brink of ending their life. You have to at least get them to see why life is worth living. They at least need to see all those that love them and would miss them.

Life is really hard, but precious, and shouldn't be thrown away.  Ending your own life is the ultimate, and it’s unimaginable to me.  However, it does happen, and they need the proper help. They may thank you later when they come to their senses and realize how terrible and senseless suicide is.

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Teenagers, what has happened?

I'm mostly on a rant here because I don't know what is going on with our youth, especially the kids ages 13-19 (teens). It seems the teens of today have little regard for themselves or their future. They're too worried about the next Drake album, Nicki Minaj's next performance, and texting, texting, and more texting. You can't talk to a teen anymore directly, you must text them.

Many also seem to lack respect in many key areas: towards authority, themselves, their own peers. Teens now get strung out on anti depressants and/or commit suicide instead of dealing with life head on.

Years ago, troubled youth was often a nasty by-product of an absent parent, often the father. Now it is a bevy of reasons. Peer pressure is still relevant and much more intense. Also, its lack of attention at home from either parent. The discipline methods have also failed. When will these professionals realize that timeouts and simple stern looks do not solve every problem.  Often a parent or guardian will have to use strict discipline and punishment, preferably corporal punishment.

I also blame the media. Whether it be through these awful reality shows, to celebrity drama in your face 24/7, our youth aren't seeing much positive, enriching material.

Technology is also the blame. Texting, smartphones, tablets, laptops, the web, and of course social networks. Many of these are necessary for our daily lives, but now teens are so drawn into them its hypnotizing.  They are no longer or often incapable of being active outside or holding regular, traditional conversations. They are too busy texting, or on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter.

I do my part, especially with my younger cousins. Many of them have these destructive traits. However, I teach and show them alternatives, to keep them well rounded. Reading, writing, the gym, documentaries, even getting involved in their schools and communities. I feel that those activities can still make them positive, productive adults. Sometimes we need to return to what works the best.

Encourage and nurture these troubled teens, they are our future CEOs, presidents, city council officials, teachers, principals, and caretakers. They must know how to handle the real world and not think life is a game of Angry Birds or Words With Friends.

To my friends/readers with grandkids , you think raising their children is rough? Consider the fact that your golden years are in their hands. They will either be the ones taking care of you, or choosing your nursing home.

Now are we ready to be the village again?

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Bullying: my personal battles

There are many things wrong with this country, this world. We're nearing a depression, no major disease has been cured in nearly 60 years, and it seems our younger generation is not offering much promise. However, there has been one great form of justice that I love seeing and believe its far too late. This is the anti-bullying laws that are on the books and growing. Too bad this wasn't around in the 80s and 90s when I was a child, but this gives our troubled generation something to be fortunate about.

I was bullied and tormented throughout most of my school days. I was beaten up, called names, made fun of, ostracized from most of my peers, and just made to feel an outcast. It's not that I didn't fight back. I can fight, and as a muscular man who grew up in the sticks, I learned how to defend myself early on. In fact, I got into four fights in one school year, all on defending myself. However, I had to start fighting off of school grounds because all of this fighting was not looking good on my school record.

You name it, I got bullied for it. Being one of the smart kids, being poor, not having nice clothes or my own car when I turned 15, not being able to get girls, being overweight, biracial, stuttering.  Needless to say, my mother stayed up at the school for years, talking to teachers and principals to put a stop to this.  It was horrific, and made me realize who my true friends were then.

This sort of bullying, and even in more extreme forms, occurred for years until April 20, 1999, when a couple of teenagers at Columbine High in Colorado had enough.  They confronted and killed their assailants, several other students, then killed themselves. This single incident not only changed public school dynamics forever, it spawned many other school shootings and bomb threats. 

Technology also intensified bullying to a different level. Texting and social networks such as Facebook gave bullies other vehicles to get at folks that were simply "different" Victims then began committing suicide as they could not handle all the bullying coming from every angle.

Finally, a change was necessary. That is when anti-bullying laws finally came into effect in many states. Now I never consider taking my own life because of a bully. I do hate it took extreme fatalities before legislation was passed to control this. Bullying dates back to even biblical times. There has always been a bully for every smart, unique person that just couldn't fit in. Looks like a change is here. Perhaps not the change President Obama campaigned of in 2008, but a positive one nonetheless.

Now I'm not the type to hold a grudge. I'm very forgiving and am cool with many of the folks that bullied me in childhood. Many of them have apologized to myself and my mother for making my childhood hard. There is no weakness in forgiveness.

My faith in God, plus my strong willed nature and family and friend support have helped me to overcome my demons from the past. You have to move on, and not let bad moments turn you into a monster. I feel I became a better man as a result of my experiences.

My advice to current victims is not textbook but effective. Defend yourself. Stand strong and don't back down. Try to refrain from weapons if possible.  Take up boxing or MMA at your local Y, gym, or join a self defense class. If all that fails, find an adult you trust to help. This can be a parent, guardian, teacher, coach, pastor, or even a positive mentor. Let's end bullying once and for all. 

I appreciate everything I have and have accomplished in life because I have earned it.  I could have taken a left turn and ended up in jail, dead, or just an angry hoodlum. But instead I am a positive, educated, productive members of society. Life is full of choices and I was determined at a young age that these mean, misunderstood children were not going to get the best of me. Matter of fact, they motivate me and continue to do so to this day.

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