Sunday is 4/20, the day every pothead in the world marks on their calendar. But this post is not about marijuana, much to your chagrin. Sunday is also the ninth anniversary of the Columbine massacre, when two loner high schoolers took out their frustrations on 12 of their classmates in a suburban Denver high school.
In the years since, the Columbine tragedy has been overshadowed by Sept. 11 and the Virginia Tech murders. But I would venture to say that the events of April 20, 1999 had more of an effect on me than either of those. You see, I was a senior in high school in 1999, just getting ready to graduate and head to college. And just like every arrogant teenager, I thought the world revolved around me and that I was invincible.
The news broke around lunchtime at North Moore High School. As the day progressed, we were glued to the television as the death toll rose, both sad and afraid at the same time.
In the days that followed, fears were heightened that we would have a copycat at our school, just as they did at every high school. And as one of the popular kids (president of the student body, editor of the school newspaper, etc…) I was sure I would be on that list. A week later, word got out that a couple of kids had made such a list, along with bomb threats which closed school that day.
Nine years later (has it really been that long?), I hope that we have worked hard enough to secure our schools, in the wake of all of these tragedies. I hope that we have also tried to stem these problems in our youth before they get that far along. Schools should be a place to learn and grow, not a source of worry.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not, Sunday is also Adolph Hitler’s birthday.
3 responses so far ↓
billyliggett // April 15, 2008 at 8:03 pm |
You were a popular kid?
jonbowens // April 15, 2008 at 8:18 pm |
There was only 500 students. Everyone was popular.
Byron // April 16, 2008 at 2:10 pm |
I was glued to CNN in my dorm room as the facts were coming in, and was disgusted as usual at the thirst to report the body count. I would later be disgusted in the same way with the 9/11 and Katrina coverage. The rush to count the bodies ends up sounding like they are reporting a sports statistic, and are usually inaccurate anyhow.
I remember getting into an argument about gun control with a police officer in my dorm lobby a couple days after Columbine. I have since changed my mind, (I was under the assumption, in my young mind, that taking every one’s guns would prevent this sort of thing). Even though he was a weirdo, that police officer was right. This kind of traumatic event can have a really powerful effect on people who aren’t even connected to it.