Letters To The Editor

VIOLENCE

Utter disregard is what does it

I’ve been following the events from Littleton, Colo., since the day of the shooting and have constantly heard the question, “Why?” being asked. Specialists and experts have thrown around many answers, yet none seems to get to the heart of the matter. I realized after reading the many articles condemning the gothic culture and the Internet that these so-called experts have no idea what was going on in these kids’ minds. I refuse to accept the idea that either of those things incited the attacks.

I was part of this so-called gothic culture in high school and frequently surf the Internet. I knew kids who bragged of making bombs and brought guns to school. Why did they do that? Not because they had bad parents or were influenced by movies, but because they did not, and do not, believe their thoughts or even their lives are valued by society. I do not condone or excuse the actions of those boys, but until teenagers can feel their voices are heard and important, these tragedies will continue to occur.

Please, the next time you see a teenager, whether all dressed up for the prom or wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt, let them know that they have value in your eyes. Smile at them or ask them about their day. It could save a life. Kimberly Baker, age 20 Spokane

Where do our separate ways begin?

It appears the tragedy in Littleton, Colo., was at least in part racially motivated. As we seek a better understanding, I have some questions based on personal observations.

Drive by any grade school in Spokane during recess time and you will see the melting pot that is America, playing together. Now, go drive by any high school at the same recess time. On one corner stand the whites, on another, the blacks, on another, Asians and somewhere else, the Latinos and Native Americans - all separated.

Can anyone tell me why this occurs? Can anyone tell me when this separation comes about? Walter E. Lane Spokane

`Children learn what they live’

Of all the theories why kids are driven to violence, James Tarbert’s (April 27) was by far the most absurd. To say that the hippie culture is responsible for the recent rash of shootings is ludicrous.

It’s sad and ironic that Tarbert used this tragedy to point the blame at a group whose main focus was peace and nonviolent self-expression. Encouraging kids to find creative, peaceful outlets for expressing themselves is fostering healthy individuals who will become free thinkers, respect and celebrate differences among people, and understand there are alternatives to violence.

I agree with Tarbert that adults need to teach their children morality, respect and traditional family values. However, `traditional” is the operative word. A deeper historical conception is needed when using it.

People all over the world have raised their children in communal situations for much longer than in two- or oneparent households. In less consumeristic societies, people had a sense of shared responsibility that included child-rearing. The phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child,” is still around for a reason. I don’t understand why Tarbert thinks people who live communally are going against tradition when in the larger historical picture, segregated family units are actually the anomaly.

Children learn what they live. Kids need look no further than the newspaper to learn how their leaders “resolve” conflicts. In a society that puts more resources into manufacturing weapons than adequately educating its children, it is apparent that kids are learning values too well. Laura L. Toussaint Spokane

Tormentors share in blame

Who’s to blame for the Littleton shooting? The two people who did it are to blame but the fault is not theirs alone. More than one student has stated these boys had been belittled and badgered for three or four years on a daily basis, mainly by jocks or popular students. Maybe those people are guilty as well.

What gives popular people the right to harass and insult others? Why are they considered popular? I’ve always thought people who can’t leave other people alone are jerks, regardless of what position or other attributes they may possess. If they need to put others down to make themselves feel good, they have a problem, as do onlookers who see them badgering others and either join in or say nothing against such conduct.

Don’t expect the victims of such harassment to tell adult authorities, as they would only then be labeled babies or snitches by their tormentors. The students who know of such situations should alert adults, anonymously if necessary, so that action can be taken before the situation becomes critical, as it did in Littleton.

Perhaps popularity should be redefined, both in our culture and in our personal attitudes and behavior. Marian E. Henning Spokane

Ultimately, blame belongs to killers

I am a high school student and it’s no surprise the shooting in Littleton, Colo., came up in several of my classes. The main debate about this horrific tragedy always seems to center around who was to blame.

You can blame the gun manufacturers for making the guns but they weren’t the ones pulling the trigger. Some have brought up all the violence in movies, television and videogames as a cause for events like this but I’ve seen plenty of movies and played a lot of videogames and would never dream of doing anything of this nature.

I am sure numerous things throughout those kids’ lives caused them to do an unthinkable thing like that. But in the end, the blame falls on the kids. Teenagers are individuals who are more than capable of making decisions on their own. We should handle the responsibility for our actions as well. Kyle Vessey Colbert

Classic tale offers insight

The recent slaughter in Colorado is surely food for thought, although too many are taking it as food for political ambition, media sales and career enhancement. But it is important to make sense of the tragedy.

It never hurts to begin with facts. One is that these killers were angry and in great pain. Happy people don’t kill themselves. Another is that murder as a result of anger and pain isn’t new. People are asking, what were these kids thinking? We can come to a reasonable speculation by looking to a famous fictional murder. The great and prescient Mary Shelley had something to say back in 1817 about such events. Her newly created monster confronts a young, “unprejudiced” child in the woods and speculates, “If, therefore, I could seize him, and educate him as my companion and friend, I should not be so desolate in this peopled earth.” But upon learning of a connection between the boy and Victor Frankenstein - by whom he’s been abandoned and towards whom he’s sworn eternal revenge - he makes the child his first victim. The creature then exclaims, “I, too, can create desolation; my enemy is not invulnerable; this death will carry despair to him, and a thousand other miseries shall torment and destroy him.”

Shelley was scarcely older than the two dead shooters in Littleton when she wrote the above words. Now, Shelley is deemed by some schools to be “too difficult” for study by teenagers. I believe the obvious resonance of the words call for a re-evaluation. Ronald A. Myers Spokane

Coordinated intelligence helps

I worked as a school nurse for 35 years in a large city, kindergarten through continuation high school. I cringe every time I hear that we need more counselors in our schools.

Counselors are not skilled to handle serious problems that face children today. We need more psychologists, attendance and welfare persons, and social workers. They are the ones who get into the homes. Counselors do not get into the homes. They are useful to help students arrange their classes and guide them in their academic interests. Any major disease is caused by many factors, not one. Many of the factors can be subtle. I cannot overemphasize the importance of those who get out in the real world, not only in the narrow confines of the school.

In my experience, we had a weekly meeting to discuss students who were having signs and symptoms of a problem. This group consisted of vice principal, psychologist, counselor, attendance and welfare counselor, social worker, speech pathologist, school nurse and the teacher of the particular student referred. This is the only way to identify those who seem to be having a serious problem. So often, all of the pieces from these professionals can show the large picture. T. Ann Harman, R.N. Moscow, Idaho

Media insensitivity appalling

Watching coverage of the Columbine High School shooting, I couldn’t help but notice how rude and inconsiderate the media were. The cameras were right up in the residents’ faces. Some had just lost a daughter, a son, a best friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend. Whatever happened to manners? These people need to be left alone, unless they actually agree to be interviewed later.

I’m a student at Mt. Spokane High School, and this shooting shocked and touched me deeply. Practically everyone in our school wore a blue ribbon showing they care and are praying for the people of Littleton. It hurt me to see how little respect the reporters had for these people. Lindsey Welsh Colbert

Reaction of victims’ kin deplorable

I read that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s memorial crosses were taken down and replaced with much smaller ones. I am saddened to see the attitude taken by the families affected by the shootings. Such hatred. I understand the victims’ families are in pain, but don’t they understand that pain is what made these young men shoot so many people? All these young people should be remembered and loved. If we all loved young people and children more there would be fewer tragedies like this.

Spend some time with young people and children, today! April Taylor Greenacres

Look to what’s good to be better

Everything we put into our consciousness counts in the determination of who and what we are. Images of violence, cruelty and death have a profound cumulative effect, as do images of loving and compassionate behavior. We all experience negative emotions and impulses and our society indulges this dark side of our nature.

We can change our society if we will each look in the mirror and ask, What can I do today to positively condition my own consciousness and that of those close to me? The answer might be, I will eliminate violent images from my life, whether printed, filmed or narrated. I will add images exhibiting the highest and most loving of human potential.” Clint C. Housel Spokane

Yes, let’s pile error onto mistake

Why are we Americans so surprised every time there is another school killing massacre? We’re only reaping what we have sown. We have thrown away our kids before all kinds of altars, killed them before, during and after birth; taught them all manner of harsh, dangerous ideas in our schools and media; glorified violence on TV and tried very hard to throw God out of our culture. And we are surprised?

Of course, it’s because guns are available. If we make guns illegal, that will fix the problem. Only - if not guns then bombs or some other means will further destruction. When will we realize: It’s our hearts, stupid! Linda Jo Reed Spokane

Don’t hang blame on working moms

Re: C.F. Brenton’s letter, “All we need is full-time mothering.”

Many women today choose to work and some have no choice. They choose to put food on the table, clothes on their family’s back and have a place to call home. That does not mean their children are loved any less or that their children will turn to violence. Women who work are just as capable of loving their kids, teaching them right from wrong and being the role model the children need.

It is wrong to say that if moms stayed home, child violence would stop. As parents, we need to take the time to listen to our children and be positive role models. That would give us one giant step closer to stopping the violence. Michele L. Hutchinson Spokane

EVENTS

Good show is what our teens are doing

Where are our children? What are they doing? Are we afraid of what lies concealed beneath the surface of today’s teens? Spokane has a bright shining example of the real spirit of today’s youth.

Last Thursday night I attended the opening night of the North Central High School production, “The 20th Century Finale Doll Shop 1999, How Did I Get Here, Part II.” A virtually sold-out crowd of family, friends and classmates watched as over 200 NCHS students and faculty members and acted, sang and danced their story. They were accompanied by a finely tuned NCHS orchestra.

These young people are the true representatives of their generation. Putting together the “Doll Shop” required commitment to early morning and late day rehearsals that students and faculty coordinated with already busy schedules. It also took the support of parents, families and employers who recognize the importance of student involvement.

Seeing all of the young (and some not so young) faces filling the stage during Thursday’s finale reminded me of what a treasure our children are and how easy it is to overlook the gift we are being given in this new generation. We need not despair the future.

“Doll Shop” continues its run tonight, tomorrow night and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. Come see what our children are really doing. Carol R. Fullmer Spokane

Ah, the deadening corporate touch

Susan English, in her article about Northwest Bookfest moving from Pier 48 to the Convention Center touched on a larger issue: the homogenization of any potentially lucrative event, a sanitized-for-your-protection process that tends to excise the soul from the experience.

Folklife Festival in Seattle is another example. Once the corporate world recognized the profit potential, gone were the extemporaneous dance troupes and the little old lady’s juice stand. The dance troupe needs an agent now and Thomas Kemper wins the bid to monopolize the food concession. During my final attendance, I watched a cop remove a funkily scarfed and beaded tarot reader. She had read tarot cards at Folklife since it started, she said, as she folded up her aluminum tray table. The cop was unmoved. All he knew was that she didn’t have the Kemper corporate seal of approval.

The only spirit left at Folklife is in some of the performers themselves, the same creative energy one can perceive in the passion of garage bands but which is so often lost once the record contract is signed.

Northwest Bookfest’s move was predictable. The lame “reasons” offered are transparent. It’s not an impossible walk to local independent bookstores from the Convention Center; it’s just that the inspiration to do so will wane once participants are dulled by the clinically contrived setting. But hey, it’s sparkly clean, the floor is bumpless, the heat thermostatically controlled so you won’t need that darn sweater and Thomas Kemper root beer will be available for only $4 a glass. Mary Testa-Smith Spokane

Bloomsday - what a wonderful time

As a resident of Spokane for the last nine years, Bloomsday is an issue that has come up as often as our years of residence. Although it always seemed a wonderful experience by all local media coverage, it nonetheless can be intimidating by virtue of the masses and the length of the course.

This was our first year of Bloomsday participation. As soon as we picked up our timely shuttle provided by STA, I knew this was going to be a special journey. We immediately connected with our neighbors and felt at ease. Granted, this was the wettest Bloomsday on record. But the wonderful people who comprised the masses helped keep all of us warm - if not by body mass, then by spirit. I have never felt as safe nor as entertained by 53,000 people!

The precision and timing were exceptional. Everyone was on their mark and performed beautifully - and that was just the support staff!. All aspects of this incredible experience were timed down to the minute.

Thank you, Spokane, for an experience that I will never forget. Look for us next year. I personally will at least will be prepared with better shoes and socks! Connie H. Moody Spokane