Leslie Marshall

  • Comment (5)

Related Articles

The Failures in the Ohio School Shootings

By

February 29, 2012 RSS Feed Print

When I was a little girl, my mother used to sit in her car directly across from where I waited for the bus to go to our town's public school. I was embarrassed and wanted her to leave. The kids made fun of me. The bus stop was around the corner from our house, why was my mother so over protective? What was she worried about? What was she afraid of?

As a mother now, I know what my mother was afraid of. She was afraid of someone hurting her children, or losing her children. It used to be the "Chester the Molester" guy in a blue van, whether urban legend or true; now it's the other kids on that bus, in that classroom, or as we have seen from so many school shootings, in the cafeteria.

The town of Chardon, Ohio will bury three of its children. And parents of two others watch as they slowly heal from their wounds; at least the physical wounds. The emotional wounds, the nightmares yet to come, may never fully leave the minds of these children or their parents.

The district attorney has decided to try T.J. Lane as an adult. The 17-year-old allegedly walked into the cafeteria and randomly shot his victims; he has reportedly admitted to not knowing who they were.

As a talk show host, it is rare when I am at a loss for words, but I am. But I do have a lot of questions.

  • How are our children getting guns into their hands so easily?
  • How are our children getting guns into our schools?
  • What will it take for us to stop the bullying? How many children must die before we truly address this problem as a nation?
  • Why aren't we noticing the warning signs when a child is withdrawn and holds his or her anger deep, deep inside?

In other words, have we, the village failed this child, the victims, and our society?

T.J.'s friend posted on Facebook, "I could see in your eyes you didn't care anymore..."

If a child could see that, why couldn't T.J.'s family or teachers? And why didn't anyone do something about it? 

I remember a quote from a psych class years back when I was in high school: "Please hear what I am not saying."

We need to pay attention to our children. We need to watch for the warning signs. We need to put a stop to bullying. We need to prevent guns from getting into our children's hands, and we certainly need to protect our kids when they get on that bus to go to school. It does take a village. And I believe, as a village, we have failed the children of Chardon and failed the children of America.

We need to watch out children more closely, because my mom can't sit in her car on every corner.

 

Tags:
bullying,
gun control and gun rights

Reader Comments Read all comments (5)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

(2of2) It is also important to note that, as previously mentioned, a child experiencing these feelings and presenting as being overly self-confident may “fly under the radar” as teachers, administrators, parents, peers, etc may not have the opportunity to “see” those depressed and anxious feelings since they are internalized within the individual. As you mentioned, adults and peers alike need to be paying attention to what is NOT being said.

I am of the opinion that this kind of information should be shared with everyone in a school (students included) and with the community, rather than being kept within the smaller groups of social workers, special education teachers, and guidance counselors. Knowing what to look for and how to get a struggling adolescent the help and support he or she may need can only help to prevent incidents such as the recent shooting in Chardon. My heart goes out to the families directly affected and the community at large, and I sincerely hope that schools across the country begin and continue to educate their own about bullying and the many negative consequences that can result from the community tolerating and accepting it as “normal.”

Grace H of IL 9:16PM March 06, 2012

(1of2)As a former resident of Ohio, and having a close tie with a family who currently lives in Chardon, Ohio, I am immensely saddened by this tragedy. It is so difficult to wrap one’s mind around how much pain the community is experiencing, as well as the amount of pain and frustration that the young man who took several peers’ lives may have been, and may still be, experiencing. Please understand that I absolutely do not, in any way, condone the actions taken by this young man, but I think this tragedy brings to light, as you have suggested, the fact that these horrible things may be prevented if people are made more aware of possible warning signs.

Bullying is a major issue in our schools today and it can be difficult to detect and understand. Often, we find that bullying is a result of a systemic issue, whether within a family group, a school setting, or the community at large. Speaking from a psychological perspective, children who bully have often been victims (of other bullying, abuse, etc) at one time themselves and they therefore may have some insight into how to really hurt (emotionally or physically) others. I may be incorrect in this statement, as the information I have read and received about this event is piecemeal at best, but considering that this young man was receiving his education at a local behavioral/academic day school, it is more than likely that his self-esteem had been wounded at one time or another.

In children and adolescents, signs of decreased self-worth, decreased self-esteem, depression, and anxiety do not necessarily manifest in the way that they do in adults. For example, depression may present as social withdrawal, extremely inflated self-concept (as a compensation for the low self-esteem), or irritability, rather than, or in addition to, the “traditionally” understood sadness, increased fatigue, and lack of motivation or effort. When these things are suddenly recognized in an adolescent, without a visible or immediately perceivable trigger for the sudden change in attitude, action and intervention needs to be implemented quickly (psychoeducational evaluation, meeting with a school social worker, individual therapy, etc) to help understand any socio-emotional issues the adolescent may be experiencing and to help prevent the situation from escalating. Feelings and thoughts of anxiety can manifest differently in adolescents as well, looking more like avoidance and defensiveness rather than seeming panic-like. Individuals who are experiencing feelings and thoughts around both depression and anxiety are at an increased disadvantage, because they are likely to be confused and frustrated and may further withdraw and harbor resentment toward others who they perceive as having hurt them in some way.

Grace H of IL 9:15PM March 06, 2012

Certainly the sleazy slop and twisted degrading ideas spewed out of the "Entertainment Capitol of the World" and into our homes, theaters, schools and public places has nothing to do with the decline of a nation.

Such a silly notion.

R.L. Schaefer of CA 10:00PM March 01, 2012

Leslie Marshall

Leslie Marshall

Leslie Marshall is a nationally syndicated radio host heard nationwide weekdays from 7-10pm Eastern time on radio and streamed live at www.lesliemarshallshow.com. Leslie is also a Fox News contributor seen weekly on The O'Reilly Factor, America Live, monthly on Hannity and she sits in for Bob Beckel as one of the co hosts on The Five. She lives in Los Angeles.

advertisement

Cartoons

Robert Schlesinger

An End to the NRA’s Angry Swagger

Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans, and even of NRA members, favor universal background checks.

Mary Kate Cary

Washington’s Toxic Stew

President Obama's burgeoning problems affect more than this week’s three scandals.

Latest Videos

advertisement