I can’t help but notice that the recent shootings at Fort Hood are receiving more importance and media focus than the other outbursts of shootings that have occurred across the US in the last decade or so.
Here’s a brief list of just those that occurred in schools:
” – October 2007: A teenage gunman reportedly shoots and wounds five people at a high school in Cleveland, Ohio, before killing himself.
April 2007: At least 32 people are killed in two shooting incidents in the campus of Virginia Tech university in Virginia.
- October 2006: A 32-year-old gunman shoots dead at least five girls at an Amish school in Pennsylvania, before killing himself
- September 2006: Gunman in Colorado shoots and fatally wounds a teenage schoolgirl, then kills himself; two days later a teenager kills the headteacher of a school in Cazenovia, Wisconsin
- November 2005: Student in Tennessee shoots dead an assistant principal and wounds two other administrators
- March 2005: Minnesota schoolboy kills nine, then shoots himself
- May 2004: Four people injured in shooting at a school in Maryland
- April 2003: Teenager shoots dead head-teacher at a Pennsylvania school, then kills himself
- March 2001: Pupil opens fire at a school in California, killing two students
- February 2000: Six-year-old girl shot dead by classmate in Michigan
- November 1999: Thirteen-year-old girl shot dead by a classmate in New Mexico
- May 1999: Student injures six pupils in shoot-out in Georgia
- April 1999: Two teenagers shoot dead 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves at Columbine School in Colorado
- June 1998: Two adults hurt in shooting by teenage student at high school in Virginia
- May 1998: Fifteen-year-old boy shoots himself in the head after taking a girl hostage
- May 1998: Fifteen-year-old shoots dead two students in school cafeteria in Oregon
- April 1998: Fourteen-year-old shoots dead a teacher and wounds two students in Pennsylvania
- March 1998: Two boys, 11 and 13, kill four girls and a teacher in Arkansas
- December 1997: Fourteen-year-old boy kills three students in Kentucky
- October 1997: Sixteen-year-old boy stabs mother, then shoots dead two students at school in Mississippi, injuring several others.”
In these cases, the victims were not soldiers but purely civilians and often kids; boys and girls, and/or teachers etc. If anyone didn’t deserve to be killed, it was these victims.
There were no flags being flown on buildings or repeated tributes and interventions by the President into the matter or on the level as with case…it just appears that this spree is being treated with more attention, suspiciously disproportionate attention it must be said…
All I am saying is that isn’t the life of these kids and teachers of the same value as soldiers…if anything they were more undeserving of getting killed whereas soldiers kind of train for combat to kill or be killed (but that doesn’t mean of course that it automatically justifies their killing).
Would like to hear your thoughts…
@michael. OBVIOUSLY they made headlines!You can clearly see the list above is taken from BBC! But the level of attention and focus is different; flags being flown at half mast for 5 days, the president intervening and calling it a day of mourning…
