Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Serious Editorial: Red Lake Slayings
Redby. In this incident, the R.A.G. Files cannot poke fun at anyone. Only contemplate what could have been done to prevent it.
Jeff Weise, a sophomore at Red Lake Indian Reservation High School, shot his grandfather, his grandfather's wife, a security guard, a teacher and students. Killing 9 and wounding several others and then killing himself, on Monday March 21st, 2005.
Jeff Weise, was a loner. His father commited suicide and his mother is in a nursing home in Minneapolis from a serious brain injury. He was being cared for by his grandfather and his wife. He prescribed to National Socialist views, visiting and posting his ideals on a neo-nazi website. A Native American who beleived in racial purity. He was teased quite a bit in school, for his ideals and more than likely his personality was like everyone elses after going through what he went through.
Where were the concerned family members? Where were the concerned teachers? Why didn't anyone try and help him? When I was in school, my mother taught me to always help out the "underdog". And I did. Why do we ignore potential problems? We can blame Marilyn Manson, they blamed Ozzy in my day, we can blame video games, we can blame television. But I grew up on Popeye, who spent the majority of the time kicking Bluto's a$$. We are all to blame. We've become a society where we tell ourselves, "It's not our problem."
Take the kidnapping case in Mendota Heights. Where an estranged and deranged ex-boyfriend made his way onto his ex-girlfriend's school bus and slapped the crap out of her and then left with her kicking and screaming. He had no weapon. The bus was full of teenaged kids and one adult bus driver. And no one, did anything.
It's this writer's opinion, that if you teach your children unity, love, and acceptance, they'll spread that throughout their lives.
Jeff Weise, a sophomore at Red Lake Indian Reservation High School, shot his grandfather, his grandfather's wife, a security guard, a teacher and students. Killing 9 and wounding several others and then killing himself, on Monday March 21st, 2005.
Jeff Weise, was a loner. His father commited suicide and his mother is in a nursing home in Minneapolis from a serious brain injury. He was being cared for by his grandfather and his wife. He prescribed to National Socialist views, visiting and posting his ideals on a neo-nazi website. A Native American who beleived in racial purity. He was teased quite a bit in school, for his ideals and more than likely his personality was like everyone elses after going through what he went through.
Where were the concerned family members? Where were the concerned teachers? Why didn't anyone try and help him? When I was in school, my mother taught me to always help out the "underdog". And I did. Why do we ignore potential problems? We can blame Marilyn Manson, they blamed Ozzy in my day, we can blame video games, we can blame television. But I grew up on Popeye, who spent the majority of the time kicking Bluto's a$$. We are all to blame. We've become a society where we tell ourselves, "It's not our problem."
Take the kidnapping case in Mendota Heights. Where an estranged and deranged ex-boyfriend made his way onto his ex-girlfriend's school bus and slapped the crap out of her and then left with her kicking and screaming. He had no weapon. The bus was full of teenaged kids and one adult bus driver. And no one, did anything.
It's this writer's opinion, that if you teach your children unity, love, and acceptance, they'll spread that throughout their lives.
