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Commentary - It isn't bullying, stupid, it's the parenting
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Once again, this time in Finland, a teenage boy with Nazi fantasies went to school to kill. Calling himself Sturmgeist89 ("storm spirit"), Pekka-Eric Auvinen posted a YouTube video, entitled "Jokela High School Massacre - 11/7/2007," before killing his principal, seven students and himself.
In Cleveland, Asa Coon achieved video fame: security footage from SuccessTech Academy shows the short, pudgy boy walking with a gun in each hand, passing a terrified student, searching for victims. The 14-year-old wounded two teachers and two students on Oct. 10 before killing himself. A photo of Coon's bloody body, snapped by a police officer with a cell phone, is circulating online. For a moment, the self-declared Satanist is a star.
The conventional wisdom casts school shooters as victims striking back at bullies. The conventional remedies, therefore, start at school. Programs try to teach children not to bully classmates by touting the virtues of other races, religions, sexual orientations, etc. This misses the point.
You have no right to assault other students, physically or verbally, for any reason. Period. Disabled kids? Fat kids? Nerds? Not OK. Bullying is not wrong because Martin Luther King, Cesar Chavez, Walt Whitman or Helen Keller were admirable people. And it's not wrong because the worm might turn up with a gun. It's just wrong.
The Columbine killers and their imitators want to be famous. They're not seeking justice against bullies, just TV coverage and the online adulation of adolescent losers.
Coon's problems started early. His father abandoned the family; his mother was suspected of child neglect. Coon was suspended from middle school for attacking a classmate and arrested for hitting his mother. He attempted suicide while in a mental institution, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
SuccessTech was considered a safe school by Cleveland's standards. It fell victim to a very troubled kid.
The day Coon shot up SuccessTech, a 14-year-old named Dillon Cossey, was arrested in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania on charges he planned a "Columbine-style massacre" at the local high school.
Two weeks later, Cossey admitted the charges and apologized. There are now reports that Cossey chatted online about web sites and videos with the Finland school shooter Pekka-Eric Auvinen.
His lawyer, J. David Farrell, meanwhile, portrayed Cossey as a victim of "protracted and profound peer abuse," and the boy says he told a friend, "The world would be better off without bullies.'' But Cossey told police he'd only been bullied a few times in middle school.
Homeschooled for 18 months, Cossey withdrew from reality. His MySpace page reveals his admiration for the Columbine killers and his fantasies of being a mercenary.
His parents supplied him with real weapons -- though no ammo -- to match his fantasies: His bedroom contained a .9 mm semiautomatic rifle, homemade grenades, knives and swords. He also had a swastika flag, neo-Nazi literature and a Columbine massacre video.
His mother, Michele Cossey, has been charged with buying him the .9 mm, a Ruger .22 handgun, a single-shot .22 rifle and black powder for the grenades.
Father Frank Cossey is on house arrest because he lied about his criminal record when he tried to buy his son a .22-caliber rifle. Dad was convicted of manslaughter in a 1981 drunk driving case.
Classmates would have rejected Cossey, if he'd stayed in school. They would have told Dillon he's crazy, which would have been useful feedback. Instead, he was nurtured, accepted and loved by the world's dopiest parents.
Sometimes, it's not bullies at school. It's mental illness and incompetent parenting.
Joanne Jacobs, is an adjunct scholar at Reason Foundation and author of the book Our School: The Inspiring Story of Two Teachers, One Big Idea and the Charter School That Beat the Odds.
Comments from Examiner Readers
1:52 PM MST on Thu., Jan. 17, 2008 re: "GOP must reclaim its Reagan roots"
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Examiner Reader said:
while your at banning stuff,mike.could you ban those women in church from wearing all that cheap tiolet water.sometimes its so bad that lighting a match in there would blow the roof clean off.tell them that taking a shower is o k in the eyes of jesus.
173 agree | 173 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
huckabee wants to ban smoking in the u s? i guess it would be like the "war on drugs". what would madison ave call this one,"war on coffin nails".wow!!! another blackmarket business to get into. america is truly a great country full of opporunity for those of a criminal ilk.lets go after booze next,mike.in fact i think the program was written back in the 20's or 30'so all you need is a "ciggie and cocktail czar".that ought to clear out wash d c . BUT!thats o k you could sell it to pat robbersome and make some pocket change.your my man huckel!!!
176 agree | 193 disagree
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Mr. Mirth Alert said:
Apparently, Mr. Shirley needs to be reminded that this religious right was wrapped very tightly around those Reagan roots, something a genuine libertarian-conservative like the late Barry Goldwater railed against. The sirens' song of fed. intervention that the religious right heard when G.W. Bush was elected is one written & rehearsed in the latter days of the Reagan tenure & practiced in secret while Clinton reigned. When conservative ideology subplanted conservative values, then did Reagan roots shrivel & croak.
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Examiner Reader said:
Brilliant and well said. I have been saying for years that the social conservatives have hijacked the Republican party and are driving the party off of a cliff intellectually and philosophically.
169 agree | 168 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Well said. If anything, Mr. Kirchick is too polite in his assessment of Sudan. It is high time we resumed aboveground testing of nukes, and Khartoum would be an ideal location. Omar Bashir is nothing more than another copy of a Saddam Hussein or Manuel Noriega, save forthe fact that he is a representative of the great "religion of peace". Don't bother invading, just kill off the vermin.
209 agree | 183 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Perhaps this is why Disney decided to showcase Canada in their "Welcome to America" video; I guess they really do hate all of us and simply want our money. Shame on Disney.
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Examiner Reader said:
Follow the money for the real story. The Travel Industry Association desperately needs money and counts on some, if not all of the $200 million federal outlay to flow through its books. The Discover America staff is on Travel Industry Association payroll so the public isn't exactly getting an objective view from two different groups. Naturally the big attractions, hotel groups, etc. support the $200 million tourism promotion fund because it will directly help their business at taxpayer expense. When the Commerce Department opposes the plan, that tells you something. Follow the money. Look at little closer.
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Examiner Reader said:
Teaching Sudan a lesson - Muslim intolerance in this case was mild, in Kosovo the Muslim burn alive and decapitate their victims - why then do our government alaways pander to the Muslims? Why the double standards?
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Examiner Reader said:
"Non-profit" is a huge misnomer, as there is always someone who benefits (profits) from such activity. Profit itself is not bad - it's a necessary incentive to make sure people invest in activities that generate a return. Where it becomes a profit is when an activity or program is pushed as altruistic when there is clearly a party who stands significant financial gain.
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BostonRay said:
Nothing new here. All these "non-profits" exist as "advocates" for whoever and get to pretend they don't. Until the IRS cracks down on this major fraud do not expect any change. It is a massive tax dodge as they are lobbyists (without being taxed). It's all profit to them.
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Examiner Reader said:
Finally reconciliation and PBS and CBS and NPR Go ballistic.. its time once again to return to French food and wine ! Its time celebrate the friendship. Yes Vie Le France and Ms Sarkozy
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Eric Land said:
In my opinion, the leftists (including those in the media) want to silence rightists' opinions in any way they could, including but not limited to digging out the rightists' personal lives rather than where the rightists stand on the issues. For example, The Examiner commentator Jay Ambrose mentioned an interview of rightist French President Nicolas Zarkozy by leftist media reporter Lesley Stahl (from leftist TV broadcaster CBS): "What's not to like about Nicolas Sarkozy?" wherein Lesley Stahl insisted on asking about Nicolas' relations with his wife. Moreover, those leftists have the gall or audacity to accuse the rightists of doing the dirty tricks that they (the leftists) themselves are guilty of doing. I think those leftists have perception (or cognitive) distortions that are needed to be treated by psychiatric experts on cognitive therapy.
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Vincent Onditi said:
We all know that you examine all that might prevent Hillary from clinching the DC party nomination, but attacking Oprah, this way, you have exposed how the demon of racism inside you is reacting to the reality that Barack is the next President of the United States of America. According to you, if Oprah, should support Hillary instead of Barack, she‘d just be fine, but now that, she is supporting Barack, she an opportunist. Michael Taube you say, you are a public affairs analyst, commentator and columnist in Canada, but me, I only see hate and demagogy in this article. This article exposes your lack of information and your lack of ideas that emphasises general problem skills. I’m sure Mrs Clinton would not want an idiot like you to be in her campaign staff. Senator Barack Obama is the next President of United States of America, “sad” isn’t it? Ha ha! Dr. Vincent Onditi is white, and a supporter of Ill. Senator for president, because America believes and supports the idea w
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Examiner Reader said:
Kirk, first of all, the Armenian genocide by the fact of its denial is very much current. Second the USA was very much involved at the time and finally by not recognizing others does not mean the US should not recognize none! The where do we start? Many of the recent troubles of the US have their roots in the past. By ignoring the past the US is not doing a favor to itself neither to the world.
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Examiner Reader said:
Kirk, You miss the whole point. We have cozy relations with the genocidal perpetrating turks. MY TAX DOLLARS GOES THERE. The price of that relationship with the turks is we have to rewrite history for them which you seem to not have a problem with. Your message is: as long as there is gain, we can overlook mass murder???? The Armenian genocide isn't disposable or arguable. It is a fact and the turks need to get used to being "insulted" if that is what the truth does. P.S. Tell me one george w. bush policy that isn't flawed?
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Dawn Deskins said:
Mike clearly doesn't have a problem with iconic celebrities endorsing or raising money for political candidates; he only has a problem with Black celebrities endorsing Black candidates! Where's the castigation of Hillary Clinton supporters and fund-raisers like Steven Spielberg, arguably the most successful and powerful director in the world or Rob Reiner or Quincy Jones or Magic Johnson...? What makes their endorsements and fund-raising any different than Oprah's? Only one: Oprah is a Black woman supporting the only Black candidate running. He makes a bill deal of Oprah exclusively interviewing Senator Obama, but he doesn't mention that Cathy Hughes, Black female owner of TV One (only one of two national telelvision networks) as well as the largest urban radio network in the world has endorsed Hillary Clinton and she will only be interviewing Hillary Clinton during the primary season--not Barack Obama or any of the other candidates.
325 agree | 322 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The real problem is: Turkey lives in “civilized isolation” and it is exporting its saggresive denial policy US should have the courage to call a genocide by its name... Which message is US congress going to send to the world if US cedes to the turkish threats and blackmails ? what will ask Turkey next ? to "deport" kurds, inorder to get ride of tehm? Why should the "partnership" of US with Turkey be build on the foundation of denial a crime aginst all humanity, this is denial of Armenian Genocide? How lang can exist such a partnership because of American Values (freedoom, justic , moral )!? Promisses, promisses .. read more on this in internet G. BUSH in 2000 ... GEORGE W. BUSH RECOGNIZES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Republican Candidate Calls on Americans to Remember and Acknowledge "Facts and Lessons" of the "Genocidal Campaign" against the Armenians ...
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Arnold said:
As a parent of children in Prince George's County schools, I can see how the unfortunate reputation of the system might seem useful as a way to promote libertarian values. However the author needs to look deeper into what happens at schools in the targeted county to provide a full diagnosis and remedy. First, not all schools in the county system are troubled. County schools just received the US Department of Education's highest honor, the blue ribbon or NCLB's adequate yearly progress. Second, parents don't need a tax credit in order for their choices and involvement to make a difference. Parents in the system already have selective programs from which to choose. They also can choose to become more active in their own school and work with teachers to get the desired result. I know it works, because I've done it. Third, with choices comes the challenge for preferred programs to "scale-up" to meet demand. Tax-credits do not guarantee service. The answer is in shared leadersh
367 agree | 343 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Mr. Carney is totally ignorant of the provisions of the treaty or of the 1994 protocol which modified it in order to accommodate the concerns stated in President Reagan's Oceans Policy Statement of March, 1983. (So is Ms. Schlaffly, who makes repeated false statements about the TEXT of this treaty. Not interpretation, the TEXT!) Please inform me what article of the treaty proclaims the oceans and all their resources to be the "common heritage of mankind," whatever that means. The reference should be to the seaBED beyond national jurisdiction. That's why Russia is busily trying to claim large portions of the Arctic, and as non-parties to the treaty, we can't lodge our own claim or object to Russia's. The opponents to this treaty have been waging a disinformation campaign for years. Before that, they were telling us that water fluoridation was a communist plot. Having raised three kids to adulthood with no cavities, I'm in no mood to listen to them now.
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